China's Liang Wenbo competes in the 2019 Snooker World Cup group stage match against Alexander Ursenbacher/Luis Vetter of Switzerland in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu Province, June 26, 2019. [Photo by Xiao Da/chinadaily.com.cn]

The Chinese teams came one step closer to qualifying for the quarterfinals of the 2019 Snooker World Cup as they took the leads in groups A and D respectively here in Wuxi, Jiangsu province on June 26.

China's former world No. 1 Ding Junhui and 19-year-old Chinese hot shot Yan Bingtao are moving up the ranks in group A after their third consecutive victory, beating Austria 4-1.

Similarly, China B secured a comfortable win over Switzerland 5-0 and moved to the top of group D. The pairing of Liang Wenbo and Zhou Yuelong, who played together for the first time, took just over an hour and a half to secure the runaway victory.

The 41st seed Liang closed out the momentous victory with a record high break of 138.

"We have played two matches and are gradually adapting to the environment, a lot of preparations were made for today's matches," said Liang.

Zhou said the two made a great team, and Liang's outstanding performance was a source of inspiration and confidence for him.

Mark Williams (right) and Ryan Day (left) from Wales pose for a photo at the 2019 Snooker World Cup in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu Province, June 26, 2019. [Photo by Xiao Da/chinadaily.com.cn]

Wales came in second to the Chinese duo by only one point in group D after defeating Malta 4-1. Mark Williams hit an impressive break of 127 to secure victory in the final frame.

In group C, the Scottish pair of John Higgins and Stephen Maguire secured a 5-0 win over Israel to move to the verge of progression.

Unexpectedly, Mark Allen and Jordan Brown of Northern Ireland in group B suffered a 1-4 loss to the Republic of Ireland and put themselves into a three-way tie with Hong Kong for the second spot. Meanwhile England's Kyren Wilson and Jack Lisowski took a narrow 3-2 win over Iran and ranked first in the group.

Ken Doherty of the Republic of Ireland competes during the 2019 Snooker World Cup group stage match against Mark Allen/Jordan Brown of Northern Ireland in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu Province, June 26, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]