Ben Camille met with Duncan Bezzina who opened up on the huge passion he has for the game of snooker.
Bezzina is regarded as one of the best players of the game in Malta, winning several national and international titles over the years.
“My love for the game of snooker started at a very young age when I used to accompany my father at the Senglea Band Club where I spent my childhood roaming around snooker tables,” Bezzina said.
“Then as I grew up I started to practice the game and started to take it more seriously. In fact, my dream was that I would follow in the footsteps of great players such as Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump and Steve Davis.
“To reach this goal, at the age of 18 years I started to train between six to eight hours every day.”
Bezzina heaped praise on SportMalta for providing snooker players with a state-of-the-art snooker academy in Ħamrun.
“I only have words of gratitude towards SportMalta for providing us with such an impressive venue to play our favourite sport,” Bezzina said.
“Snooker players have been dreaming of having a venue that reaches the high standards of other countries and today we can say that we have been provided with that.”
This week, Ben Camille continues with his challenge against Times of Malta Sports Editor Valhmor Camilleri to try and predict the results of the hottest games on schedule this weekend.
We will keep you updated with a tally of their scores every week. A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
How did they do last week?
Valhmor Camilleri made a strong start to the challenge after he managed to guess one correct result and two correct scores from last week’s matches – Inter vs Lazio 2-1 and Manchester United vs Aston Villa 1-0 – while also having predicted that Juventus would beat Roma at the Stadio Olimpico to gain 90 points.
On the other hand, Ben Camille only predicted that Inter and Juventus will come out victorious from their Serie A matches to finish with 20 points.
Juventus vs Udinese (Saturday, January 15 at 20.45)
Injury-hit Juventus will be bidding to bounce back from their midweek disappointment in the Italian Super Cup when they host Udinese at the Juventus Stadium in Turin.
On Wednesday, Massimiliano Allegri’s side suffered a heart-breaking 2-1 defeat to Inter at the San Siro, with Alexis Sanchez netting the winner just before the final whistle in extra-time to hand the Nerazzurri their first title of the season.
Juventus need to put that setback behind them and try and pick up all points as they look to step up their chase for a top-four finish that would earn them a place in next season’s Champions League.
At present, Juventus trail fourth-placed Atalanta by three points but the latter have a game in hand.
On the other hand, Udinese will be desperate from last week’s 6-2 mauling suffered at the hands of Atalanta as they look to continue to move away from the relegation places.
Ben’s prediction: Juventus vs Udinese 2-0
Valhmor’s prediction: Juventus vs Udinese: 3-0
Atalanta vs Inter (Sunday, January 16 at 20.45)
Buoyed by their Super Cup success over Juventus, champions Inter will be looking to preserve their top status in the Serie A when they travel to Atalanta.
Inter have been in hot form lately, as they are unbeaten in their last Serie A matches.
However, they will be aware of the tricky challenge awaiting them as they face an Atalanta side who have shown that are capable of beating any team in the Italian top division this season.
Atalanta need the three points to keep themselves ahead of their Champions League rivals and coach GianPiero Gasperini will hope his team will preserve their hot-scoring form which saw them tore apart Udinese last weekend.
Ben Camille’s prediction: Atalanta vs Inter 0-0
Valhmor Camilleri’s prediction: Atalanta vs Inter 1-2
Manchester City vs Chelsea (Saturday, January 15 at 13.30)
Chelsea need a repeat of their Champions League final victory over Manchester City to rekindle their Premier League title challenge with the English champions threatening to build a realistically unassailable lead just days into the new year.
An 11-game winning run has taken City 10 points clear of the Blues at the top of the table, while third-placed Liverpool are 11 points back with a game in hand.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel appeared to be the one coach with an Indian sign over Pep Guardiola with three wins in quick succession towards the end of last season, culminating in lifting the European Cup in Porto.
However, City’s 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in September proved to be a telling turning point in the campaign at a time when Chelsea led Guardiola’s men by three points.
In contrast to City’s formidable form, Chelsea have faltered during the busiest spell of the Premier League season, winning just one of their last five games.
Ben’s prediction: Manchester City vs Chelsea 2-1
Valhmor Camilleri’s prediction: Manchester City vs Chelsea 1-0.
Tottenham vs Arsenal (Sunday, January 16 at 17.30)
Tottenham and Manchester City will be looking to gain ground in the race for Champions League places when they face off in the North London derby on Sunday.
Tottenham are four points back on fourth-placed West Ham but would go above them should they win two of their three games in hand.
However, Spurs are in desperate need of a response from their meek exit in the League Cup when Arsenal visit for the first north London derby played in front of a full house at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
The Gunners have shot back into contention for a return to the Champions League as young talents such as Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe and Aaron Ramsdale have flourished since a miserable start to the season.
But Arsenal’s poor record on the road against the other members of the traditional top six has returned with crowds this season.
Mikel Arteta’s men were thrashed at City and Liverpool and blew a lead to lose 3-2 at Manchester United in December.
On Thursday, the Gunners put on a valiant display as they held Liverpool to a goalless draw at Anfield in the first leg of the League Cup.
Ben Camille’s prediction: Tottenham vs Arsenal 2-0.
Valhmor Camilleri’s prediction: Tottenham vs Arsenal 2-1.
Do you reckon you can beat Ben and Valhmor? Let us know your predictions for this weekend’s hottest matches in the comments below.
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