"It is commonly known these days as the Luke Littler effect. A teenage phenomenon bursting on to the scene and almost becoming a bigger force of nature than the sport he or she was born to succeed in. But while darts is only experiencing that boom now, snooker has tasted this sensation before. In the 1990s, it was Ronnie O'Sullivan's arrival on the baize as a teenager that revitalised snooker's fortunes in the UK."
"Perhaps that is where Halifax's Stan Moody comes in. Like Littler, Moody was obsessed with his sport of choice from a young age, after picking up a cue to play pool as a nine-year-old on a family holiday. And like the darts prodigy, he has already enjoyed immense success belying his years, turning professional at 16 and winning national championships at under-14, under-16 and under-18 level. Along the way he beat Ding and Barry Hawkins to pick up a cheque for 16,000."
Teenage sporting sensations can transform a sport's popularity, exemplified by darts' Luke Littler, Ronnie O'Sullivan in 1990s snooker, and Ding Junhui in China. British snooker currently leans on veteran figures such as O'Sullivan for mainstream attention and lacks a comparable teenage upheaval. Halifax teenager Stan Moody has exhibited prodigious form: turning professional at 16, winning national under-14, under-16 and under-18 titles, retaining his tour card at 18, and reaching the Wuhan Open quarter-finals after beating Ding Junhui and Barry Hawkins, earning £16,000. Momentum, media promotion and grassroots engagement remain necessary for a wider ripple effect.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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