In doing so, the young man has become the first German player since Patrick Einsle to get professional status, and plenty of snooker fans in Germany consider him their greatest hope to win world titles.

The rookie German raised hopes in his homeland further at the Riga Masters in June, when he beat world number seven Neil Robertson in just his second match as a professional.

Though Kleckers has shone at the World Cup, his team has little chance of qualifying from a tough group that includes Hong Kong, China, Belgium and Ireland.

"We are in a tough group, and one frame score is always very hard, so many good players," said Kleckers.

But the 21-year-old player maintains a positive attitude, saying that it the World Cup has been "still a good experience for them."

Looking forward, Kleckers is determined to keep a level head on his shoulders.

"I know it's still a very long way and I really need to improve to get the world title. But I just try to focus on every single event, and try not to think about the pressure or something like that."

Lukas Kleckers talks to a reporter after his match against Ireland in the 2017 Little Swan Snooker World Cup in Wuxi on July 6. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]