Sweden and Russia, the two favourites from Group A, the stronger of the two groups in the tournament, claimed victories against Norway and the United States respectively to claim the top two places in the group, guaranteeing them both a semi-final spot.

Sweden brushed Scandinavian rivals Norway aside by an emphatic 9-0 scoreline whilst Russia defeated the US 5-0.

Despite being on the end of a heavy loss to Sweden, by virtue of finishing third in the stronger group, Norway have also been awarded a semi-final spot, where they will once again face Sweden.

Although they finished bottom of their group on zero points, the US could still book a spot in tomorrow's semi-final, if they can beat Finland in their quarter-final earlier in the day.

The Finns confirmed their place in the quarter-final by finishing top of Group B, the competition's weaker group, after a 9-0 victory over Estonia.

Following yesterday's heroics in their match against Estonia, hosts China claimed their second-ever World Championship victory by beating Switzerland 12-1.

However, even though they finished second in their group, they can still only finish as high as fifth due to being in the weaker group.

China will play the loser of the quarter-final between the US and Finland for that right.

Estonia and Switzerland will face each other for seventh place after finishing third and fourth, respectively, in Group B.

Tomorrow’s matches, which will once again be taking place on a frozen lake in the Chinese city, start at 9am local time.