Another UAE player, Saif Al Shamsi, also advanced to the knockout stages, but he will have to battle it out in the last 24 stage Saturday morning first before he can join Shehab in the last 16.

Shehab won four of his five matches in Group E, before losing his final match to Qatar’s Mohsen Bukshaisha 5-3.

Even though Shehab and Bukshaisha won four matches each, it was Shehab who topped the group because of his better frame difference of 12, compared to his rivals’ nine.

Al Shamsi was in Group A, in which his only loss was against group-topper, Keen Hoo Moh of Malaysia, on Thursday.

Playing his last round-robin match Friday night, the UAE star lost the first frame to Iraq’s Hasanain Alsultani 35-12, but then fought back well to win the next five frames for a 5-1 win.

In the last 24 stage, Al Shamsi will face off against Hong Kong’s Chau Hon Man.

Among the other group toppers were India’s Pankaj Advani and Aditya Mehta, Pakistan’s Babar Nasih and Muhammed Asif, Iran’s Soheil Vahedi and Hong Kong’s Chi Wai Au.

Advani was a 5-0 winner from his Group B, losing just five frames in the entire round-robin phase.

Mehta, Vahedi, Nasih and Hoo Moh were the other four players to advance with a perfect 5-0 record.

The last 24, last 16 and quarter-final matches will play out on Saturday in the UAE capital.

The last 24 matches start at 10:00, while the quarter-finals will begin at 19:00, while the final will be played Sunday at 18:00.