And then there were eight.
On a sensational day for the home players in the men’s open at the oneills.com World 4-Wall Championships in Croke Park, two fancied Mexicans and the rising American star were narrowly defeated in the round of 16 to ensure an unprecedented all-Irish quarter-final line-up.
Much was expected of brothers Luis and Daniel Cordova from Juarez, who have been among the leading players on the professional circuit in the US. But both fell in close tiebreakers.
In arguably the match of the tournament so far, Kilkenny’s Peter Funchion defeated Daniel Cordova 15-11, 10-15, 11-8 in an epic round of 16 clash which lasted almost two hours.
Not to be outdone, Cork’s Daniel Relihan then came from 10-7 down in the deciding set to topple Luis Cordova on a wafer-thin 11-10 margin.
Meanwhile, 2022 All-Ireland senior singles champion Diarmaid Nash was pushed all the way by 22-year-old Chicago star Ray Ure, dropping the second game but using his experience to win the tiebreaker comfortably.
There was no such drama in the other open singles matches as Martin Mulkerrins, Killian Carroll, Robbie McCarthy and five-time champion Paul Brady all cruised through against Braulio Ruiz (Los Angeles), Ivan Burgos (Canada), Shane Dunne (Kilkenny) and Michael Hedigan (Cork) respectively.
The quarter-finals are down for decision on Thursday at Croke Park, with Nash v Carroll the tie of the round.
Elsewhere, it’s Mulkerrins v Funchion, while Brady takes on Relihan and McCarthy meets Walsh in a repeat of this year’s All-Ireland semi-final, which Mullingar’s McCarthy won.
Meanwhile, the Ladies’ open singles served off on Wednesday, with Kilkenny’s Aoife Holden losing to Arizona’s Mikaila Esser in another 11-10 tiebreaker.
Kildare’s Mollie Dagg, Tyrone’s Eilise McCrory, Limerick’s Martina McMahon and Galway woman Niamh Heffernan all recorded wins, with the top seeds entering the fray on Thursday.