Northern Ireland and England both made it into the World Cup quarter-finals on Thursday after pool stage victories in Bangkok.
Teenager shows his skills but Irish still through to last eight
Northern Ireland became the first team into the PTT-EGAT World Cup quarter-finals in Bangkok after beating Belgium 3-2, and they were quickly followed by England after they beat India 4-1.
The Northern Irish pair of Mark Allen and Gerard Greene managed to close out the match before Belgian teenager Luca Brecel showed his superstar credentials by beating Allen in the final frame of their closing match.
"We got what we needed and that was what we set out at the start of the competition to do," said Allen.
"We still have to play England and that's going to be another tough match but we have to beat them and win the group to avoid the likes of Scotland."
Brecel has been tipped as a future major player in the sport for several years already and he impressed established tournament contender Allen.
Potential
"Stephen Hendry did a few exhibitions with him and he talked highly of him," said Allen. "If Hendry talks highly about someone of that young age then you know he's doing something right."
England's team of Mark Selby and Ali Carter will now face Northern Ireland on Friday to see who tops the group after also booking their place in the last eight.
"At the start of the tournament our aim was to get out of the group and it looked tough on paper but we've done it quite easily," added Selby. "It wasn't pretty to watch but it's the result that counts. We wanted at least 4-1 and got 4-1.
"I would be more than happy if we don't play to a great standard if we win the tournament. It's not about playing pretty snooker and in a one-frame tournament you have to be solid throughout."
Wales, represented by Mark Williams and Matthew Stevens, are likely title contenders. They also won a third straight match but let a 3-0 lead slip to beat Pakistan only by a 3-2 margin.
Williams said: "It's another win but the way you get through is by the number of frames you've won and match wins sort of don't count.
"We were 3-0 up and could have nicked one of the last ones and guaranteed it. A few things could happen but we won't know until tomorrow what we have to do and we might not have to do anything."
Scotland almost there
Scotland's team of Stephen Maguire and John Higgins need one frame from their game against Hong Kong on Friday to join England in the quarter-finals after they scraped a 3-2 success over Thailand 2.
"Stephen played great in the match and I was lucky to win my frame," admitted Higgins. "Thepchaiya (Un-Nooh) missed a pink and if he hadn't done that I would've lost. To get to 3-2 we've got out of jail again."
Ireland need a good result against Wales to advance, but their fate is still in their own hands after a nervous 3-2 win over Germany, while China beat Australia 3-2 meaning both could still qualify for the knock-out phase.
Afghanistan registered their first ever World Cup win, beating Poland 4-1.
Afghanistan's Mohammad Saleh said: "In Afghanistan snooker is a new game but we have a lot of talent. Our association supports us and we have a lot of young players playing from 10 in the morning to eight in the evening with more than 100 clubs in Kabul."
Tony Drago found some vintage form as rapid breaks of 100 and 70 in his two singles frames helped Malta beat United Arab Emirates 5-0.
