Malta’s participation in the European Snooker Championship in Gandía, Spain came to an end on Thursday as the knockout rounds progressed through the last 64 and last 32 stages.
Three Maltese players – Aaron Busuttil, Chris Peplow and Philip Ciantar – had advanced to the last 64. However, only Busuttil managed to progress further, reaching the last 32 before eventually bowing out.
Busuttil began the day in impressive fashion, defeating Arturs Kengis of Latvia 4-0 with frame scores of 90-8, 61-23, 61-0, 100-0. He sealed the victory with a strong 87-point break, his highest of the tournament.
In the last 32, Busuttil faced experienced Finnish player Robin Hull. The Maltese cueist had chances early on but missed an opportunity in the opening frame, allowing Hull to take control and win the first two frames. Busuttil fought back and narrowed the deficit to 3-2, finishing the fifth frame with a 52-point break. However, Hull regained control in the sixth frame and closed out the match 4-2 (53-63, 45-83, 67-23, 33-84, 61-32, 15-62).
Earlier, Chris Peplow was eliminated after a 4-2 defeat to England’s Zachary Richardson. The match remained competitive throughout and could have gone to a deciding frame, but a fortunate fluke in Richardson’s favour in the sixth frame proved decisive. The frame scores were 41-59, 46-33, 8-70, 5-104, 64-40, 46-56.
Philip Ciantar also exited at the last-64 stage after losing 4-1 to 16-year-old Romanian Iustin Scripei. The young Romanian took an early two-frame lead and maintained his composure despite Ciantar briefly reducing the gap to 2-1. Scripei eventually secured the victory with frames of 27-57, 26-63, 74-27, 17-77, 47-68.
Attention now turns to upcoming international events organised by the European Billiards and Snooker Association (EBSA). The next championships, including the Masters, Teams Championship, 6 Reds and Shoot-Out, are scheduled for September, with Bulgaria expected to host the competitions.
Sports Editor
Veteran Journalist
Leave a Reply