The snooker stars to watch at World Cup 2017

7. Mark Allen

Age: 31

Team: Northern Ireland

Group: D

World Ranking: 10

The high-scoring Northern Irishman is one of the best break-builders in the business. He has compiled more than 300 centuries in his professional career and completed the perfect 147 maximum break last year during the UK Championship.

Mark Allen competes at the 2015 World Snooker International Championship in Daqing, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on Oct 28, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

8. Defending Champions Zhou Yuelong and Yan Bingtao

Zhou Yuelong

Age: 19

Team: China B

Group: A

World Ranking: 32

Yan Bingtao

Age: 17

Team: China B

Group: A

World Ranking: 56

Zhou Yuelong and Yan Bingtao caused possibly the biggest shock of the season in 2015 when they came from nowhere to win the World Cup in Wuxi, beating John Higgins and Stephen Maguire in the final. Zhou and Yan were just 17 and 15 years old respectively at the time.

The youngsters have continued to make great strides over the last two years. Zhou recently broke into the top 32 in the world rankings, while Yan won the Rookie of the Year award in 2016/2017.

But they will need to be at their very best if they are to retain their title next week.

China B Team's Zhou Yuelong (Right) and Yan Bingtao win the 2015 snooker World Cup in Wuxi on June 21, beating Scotland 4-1 in the final. [Photo/Xinhua]