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Johan Attard at Blackball World Championships

Johan Attard reaches World Grand Prix final at Blackball World Championships

Malta’s Johan Attard secured a place in the Men’s World Grand Prix final at the 2026 WPA Blackball World Championships in London following an impressive series of victories.

Attard enjoyed an outstanding run through the competition, winning five consecutive matches to reach the final and keep Malta in contention for another international title.

He began his campaign with a narrow 5-4 victory over Tony Griffin before comfortably defeating Jeff Owen 5-0.

In the last 16, Attard prevailed 5-1 in an all-Maltese encounter against Matthias Debono before overcoming Neil Toms 5-2 in the quarter-finals.

His impressive form continued in the semi-finals, where he defeated South Africa’s Kevin Martin 5-1 to book his place in the final.

There was also an encouraging performance from Mevrick Zammit, who reached the quarter-finals after recording three consecutive victories.

Zammit defeated Ayoub Bakhtaoui and Chaylon Castaldi by identical 5-2 scorelines before overcoming Mark Leathem 5-1.

However, his campaign came to an end following a narrow 5-4 defeat against Kevin Martin.

Several other Maltese players also registered victories during the competition.

Miguel Mizzi defeated Thomas Zantedeschi 5-2 before losing 5-3 to compatriot Miguel Amato, who had earlier edged Aaron Downey 5-4.

Amato subsequently suffered a 5-4 defeat against Neil Toms.

Keith Caruana recorded a convincing 5-0 victory over Oussama Masskini before defeating Andrianina Ramaroson 5-4, although he was eliminated in the last 16.

Clayton Castaldi also registered two victories, overcoming Mark Badham 5-4 and Soulaimane Ouzzaouit 5-2 before losing to Abderrahmane Ech-Chorfy.

Meanwhile, Casdy Vella defeated Dalron Booysen 5-4 before being eliminated by Kevin Martin by the same score.

In the Youth World Grand Prix, Jake Castaldi opened with a comfortable 5-1 victory over Harley Harrison but was subsequently beaten 5-0 by Arthur Crespin in the last 16.

Busy programme for Maltese players

The Maltese contingent also faced a packed schedule on Saturday, 24 October, with matches across the team, singles and doubles competitions.

In the team events, Malta’s Under-18 side was scheduled to face Australia at 10am, followed by the Under-23 team’s encounter against England at 12.30pm.

Malta Men’s A were also due to meet India Men’s A at 12.30pm.

The singles programme included Jake Castaldi against Devandre-Shane Phillips and Calvin Creach against Dielyn Edwards in the Under-18 category, both scheduled for 3pm.

In the Under-23 competition, Matthias Debono was due to face Jordan Wenn at 5pm, while Chaylon Castaldi was set to meet Jordan Govindasamy at the same time.

Mario Spiteri was also scheduled to face Shane Robinson in the men’s singles at 6pm.

Five Maltese pairings were involved in the men’s doubles competition, with all matches scheduled for 4pm.

World Grand Prix finalist Johan Attard was paired with Clayton Castaldi against Abderrahmane Ech-Chorfy and Bouchaib Farhat.

Mevrick Zammit and Gary Carr were due to face Gareth Hibbott and Clint I’anson, while Miguel Mizzi and Clevion Micallef were scheduled to meet the pairing of Mario Spiteri and Philip Farrugia.

Clint Azzopardi and Miguel Amato were drawn against Shayden Brown and Alex Brooks, with Keith Caruana and Gabriel Vella facing Pranit Ramchandani and Shrenik Jain.

All scheduled times were UK local time.

Attard’s qualification for the Men’s World Grand Prix final represents the highlight of Malta’s campaign so far, with several other players continuing to compete across the various categories at the London championships.


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One response to “Johan Attard reaches World Grand Prix final at Blackball World Championships”

  1. […] continued to impress at the WPA Blackball World Championships 2026 in London, with several players and doubles partnerships securing places in the quarter-finals […]

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