Yan Bingtao is undoubtedly one of the most gifted youngsters on the snooker circuit and he showed glimpses of turning his potential into talent as he humbled Ronnie O'Sullivan at the International Championship.
Bingtao could be the future of the sport
The number 55 seed ensured O'Sullivan did not pot a single ball in the final four frames as he thrashed the multi-World champion 6-1 in the opening round of the competition.
O'Sullivan was left in awe of the performance and suggested, "if he [Bingtao] continues to play like that, he will go on to win numerous ranking titles".
The 17-year old is looking to add that maiden title to his name at the end of this week and he cemented his place in the last 16 with a 6-4 win over Ricky Walden who continues a poor run of form.
Half of the top 16 depart
Mark Joyce, seeded 46, has also impressed in the opening days of the competition. After surprising Anthony McGill with a 6-2 success in the first round, he then saw off a second top 16 player in Luca Brecel with consummate ease.
The number of top names continuing their progression in the tournament is beginning to dwindle. Barry Hawkins lost 6-2 to Jack Lisowski, who is beginning to fulfil his potential, whilst Ding Junhui was defeated by number 60 seed, Oliver Lines. Both surprise results occurred in the first round.
Ryan Day was defeated by his Welsh compatriot Mark Williams in the second round, leaving just eight top 16 players left in the competition after Marco Fu failed to qualify and Stuart Bingham started his six-month suspension from the sport.
Wilson formulates a maximum but fails to progress
A couple of players were left feeling unfortunate as things did not quite go their way this week. Kyren Wilson manufactured his first professional maximum break but lost in a final frame decider to Martin Gould after the 147 appeared to give him momentum at 5-5.
Joe Perry continues to falter as he lost to Robbie Williams but Iran's Hossein Vafaei can be regarded as the unluckiest player on the tour this week. After his visa application was delayed, Vafaei's flight was late and he missed his first round match with Akani Songsermsawad.
Judd Trump and John Higgins appear to be the players to beat after dropping just three frames in their opening two matches. However, the likes of Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy have also made the last 16 as they all seek to kickstart their seasons.