Malta shines in Golem: five wins and a knockout spot for Arthur Cachia

The European Snooker Championship got underway on Saturday in Golem, Albania, with the start of the individual Seniors competition. It was a strong opening day for Malta, which secured five victories out of nine matches. Arthur Cachia stood out with two convincing wins, ensuring his qualification to the knockout stage.

Cachia dominated his group matches, defeating Thomas Grendelmeier of Switzerland and Saulius Pajarskas of Lithuania, both by a 3–0 scoreline. On Sunday, he will face England’s Stuart Watson in a decisive encounter to determine the winner of Group J.

Philip Ciantar, Alex Borg, and Frans Mintoff also began their campaigns with victories and will complete their remaining two group matches on Sunday.

Ciantar claimed a 3–0 win over Austria’s Peyman Chitsaz, impressively recording a 102-point break in the second frame. Borg matched that scoreline against Albania’s Edlir Kurthysa, maintaining a flawless performance.

Mintoff demonstrated remarkable sportsmanship in his match against Albania’s Myqerem Dervishaj. Although entitled to a 3–0 walkover after his opponent’s late arrival, Mintoff chose to play the match, taking only the first frame by default. He eventually secured a 3–1 win after dropping the third frame.

Meanwhile, Tony Mifsud and Ivan Attard both suffered two defeats on the opening day.
Mifsud lost 3–0 to Ireland’s Mark Walsh and 3–2 to Northern Ireland’s Declan Lavery, despite leading 2–0 in the latter encounter. Attard was narrowly beaten 3–2 by Belgium’s Tim Van Goubergen and then fell 3–1 to Wales’ Philip Williams. Both players are now mathematically out of contention for the knockout stage.

The remaining group matches will take place on Sunday, followed by the announcement of the knockout phase fixtures later in the evening.

Sunday’s Schedule for Maltese Players

• 10:00 – Group M: Philip Ciantar vs Jean-Christophe Margontier (France)

• 10:00 – Group S: Frans Mintoff vs Sergej Korolkov (Lithuania)

• 13:30 – Group E: Tony Mifsud vs Bekim Aliu (Albania)

• 13:30 – Group T: Alex Borg vs Darius Bublys (Lithuania)

• 16:00 – Group F: Ivan Attard vs Andrius Ščerbakovasn (Lithuania)

• 16:00 – Group J: Arthur Cachia vs Stuart Watson (England)

• 16:00 – Group M: Philip Ciantar vs Tony Morgan (Wales)

• 20:00 – Group S: Frans Mintoff vs Marcin Nitschke (Poland)

• 20:00 – Group T: Alex Borg vs Allan Morgan (Wales)

Gerald Fenech

Sports Editor
Veteran Journalist