Irish trio Michael Judge, TJ Dowling and Jason Devaney have all reached the knockout stages of the 2016 IBSF World Amateur Championship in Qatar.
In truth, this is really where the tournament begins proper as the niceties of the opening exchanges have concluded.
An incredible 78 out of the initial 119 competitors who took part from all around the globe have earned qualification from the league phase.
Devaney, who finished the last Irish campaign ranked as number one, was in the most precarious position after losing his first two contests in Doha.
Indeed, the Mayo man was 2-0 down in his third tie as well before producing a late flourish there to win 4-2.
A subsequent 4-0 victory in his last league match sent him through to face Sweden’s Simon Lindblom.
The 2011 national champion could then meet Thailand’s former professional Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon.
It was much more straightforward for Judge and Dowling.
The former won his three clashes to the loss of just two frames to become the fifth seed left remaining in the draw.
Meanwhile, Dowling boasted Muhammad Asif – the 2012 world amateur champion – as one of his scalps as he progressed undefeated as well.
Both Judge and Dowling have been place in opposite halves of the draw.
Elsewhere, defending champion Pankaj Advani eased through as the third seed while the likes of Jamie Clarke, Yuan Sijun and Lukas Kleckers also looked strong.
Northern Ireland’s Declan Brennan advanced with three wins out of three, including an impressive victory over World under-21 finalist Alexander Ursenbacher.
The action continues on Friday where the field will be whittled down to the last 32.
