Stan Moody denied by Ma Hai Long in world amateur final as teenage snooker duo secure professional tour cards

ByEurosport

Updated 12/02/2023 at 13:41 GMT

Ma Hai Long will join fellow teenager Stan Moody in competing on the main professional snooker circuit next season after completing a 5-0 victory over Moody in the World Snooker Federation final in Sydney. Moody had already earned a tour card for next season after winning the WSF Junior Championship title last week. Stream top snooker action live on discovery+ and the Eurosport app

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Ma Hai Long joined Stan Moody in securing a professional tour card with a 5-0 victory over his fellow teenager in the World Snooker Federation (WSF) final.

Staged by the Mounties Club in Sydney, Australia, 19-year-old Chinese talent Ma lifted the WSF title – the biggest event in the sport's amateur game – in some style with a high break of 78 helping him dominate the showpiece match.

16-year-old English kid Moody from Halifax had already earned his World Snooker Tour card courtesy of his 5-1 triumph against Liam Pullen in last week's junior final.

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“I was very excited to play in this final,” said Ma on the World Snooker Tour website. “Even though I was already guaranteed the World Snooker Tour card, that was always in the back of my mind and I just wanted to take one ball at a time and to get the win.

“I know that in the history of this event, players from China have been very successful and as a young player I did not want to let China down. Not only for myself, but the other young players in our country."

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Ma is relishing the chance to compete on the professional circuit against figures such as four-time world champion Mark Selby.

“I am now very excited to join the professional tour and meet players like Mark Selby, to play him in a big competition," he said. "I cannot wait to play in the tournaments that I have seen on television and to play in the famous snooker venues around the world.”

Ma emulates compatriots Luo Honghao and Si Jiahui in winning the prestigious WSF title since it was first held in 2018.

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