Teenager Stan Moody breaks 'The Ding Junhui Curse' and moves into Wuhan Open last 16

With that result, the 18-year-old Englishman breaks ‘The Ding Junhui Curse’ - a bizarre hex that spanned three seasons and 22 tournaments on the World Snooker Tour.

Moody is one of the most improved players on the professional circuit over the past 12 months. Last season - in only his second year on snooker’s top flight - the teenager managed to keep his tour card by getting into the world’s top 64 rankings; a very fine achievement, especially for someone so young.

During this fledgling 2025/26 campaign, Moody has made a bright start: qualifying for the televised stages of the British Open and winning two matches at the Saudi Arabia Masters.

Having seen off Antoni Kowalski in qualifying in June to book his Wuhan berth, on Monday, Moody scored one of the most impressive wins of his young career by defeating home hero Ding Junhui, 5-3, on centre stage in front of a huge live and television audience.

Returning to action the next day, Moody backed up that statement result with another one, as he compiled breaks of 66, 95, 54 and 81 in dispatching world number 32 and three-time ranking event finalist Zhou.

It means that Moody progresses to the last 16 of a ranking event for the fourth time in his career. He will be aiming to reach his maiden quarter-final.

What is ‘The Ding Junhui Curse’ and a full list of matches for the hex

‘The Ding Junhui Curse’ involved players who defeated Ding at a tournament. Those players then lost their next match.

This incredible sequence began at the Players Championship in February 2024 - two seasons ago. John Higgins defeated Ding in the first round, but Higgins then lost to Zhang Anda in his next match.

In the following tournament - the World Masters of Snooker - Ali Carter defeated Ding, but Carter then lost his next match.

Ding reached the final of the 2024 World Open but was denied the title by Judd Trump. However, in Trump's next tournament outing, he lost his opening match at the Tour Championship.

Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Selby, Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy, Mark Allen and Luca Brecel are some of the other names to have been a ‘victim’ of the streak.

Elsewhere during Tuesday's afternoon session in the Far East, Mark Williams top scored with a break of 129 during a 5-1 victory over Joe O'Connor.

Mark Selby took the final three frames to defeat David Gilbert 5-2, while China's Zhang Anda whitewashed compatriot Chang Bingyu, 5-0.

Reigning champion Xiao Guodong kept his title defence alive with a 5-3 win against David Grace.

Matt Selt, Aaron Hill and Barry Hawkins also advanced to round four at the Optics Valley Gymnasium of Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

Visit our 2025 Wuhan Open tournament information centre here for the draw, results, and details on the format, schedule, prize money and how to watch.