Malta start with four wins in European Snooker Championship teams competition

The Teams competition of the European Snooker Championship, which is being held in Albena, Bulgaria, kicked off on Tuesday – the Championship’s ninth day.

This competition, divided into two categories- the men’s and the men’s senior, saw Malta represented with four teams who had a very good start after winning won four games out of five. During these group matches, all five frames are played as the qualification for the knockout stage will be calculated out of an average of frames won.

Malta’s first men’s team, formed by Aaron Busuttil and Isaac Borg, won against France’s first team composed of Niel Vincent and Nicolas Mortreux 3-2. Malta’s success came after the two victories managed by Isaac Borg and the doubles match.

The second Maltese men’s team, that of Chris Peplow and Joseph Casha played two matches today as their group is made up of five teams. They won their first game but lost the other.

In the morning, they won against the first team of Ireland represented by Greg Casey and Noel Landers. The victory for the Maltese team arrived after winning three individual frames, two by Peplow and the other by Casha who managed to close the fifth frame with a break of 95 points. During this match, Malta was briefly 2-1 down but after winning the last two frames the match was settled for a successful score of 3-2.

Later in the afternoon, the duo Peplow and Casha lost 4-1 against the first team of Poland composed of Mateusz Baranowski and Antoni Kowalski. Peplow opened with a win in the first frame but the Polish won all the following four frames.

In the seniors category, the first Maltese team, formed by Alex Borg and Duncan Bezzina won against the second Belgian team of Rene Hemelsoet and Patrick Geysels. Alex Borg and Bezzina won the first three frames but Borg lost the fourth frame only with a black to win. In the final frame, Bezzina continued to increase the lead for a final score of 4-1. During this game, Bezzina managed to close the second frame with a break of 80 points.

The other Malta Seniors team, composed of Philip Ciantar and Arthur Cachia won against the second team of Wales formed by David Hooper and Khurram Khan. After the fourth frame, the Maltese team had already won the match after Ciantar won his two individual frames and the doubles frame but in the last frame, the Welsh emerged victorious for a final score of 3-2.

After the first day of the teams’ competitions Joseph Casha and Duncan Bezzina are provisionally heading the highest breaks lists in their respective category.

On Wednesday, the Maltese teams will play one game. All the matches are scheduled for the morning session, at 9 a.m., Malta time. All matches are as follows; Aaron Busuttil and Isaac Borg (Malta 1) against Ukraine 1, Chris Peplow and Joseph Casha (Malta 2) against Bulgaria 2, Alex Borg and Duncan Bezzina (Malta Seniors 1) against England 1 while Philip Ciantar and Arthur Cachia (Malta Seniors 2) play against Belgium 1.