Italian Grand Master Open – Bologna, Italia
INCREDIBLE RESULTS BY THE MALTESE PLAYERS IN ITALY
Various local players this weekend took part in the Italian Grand Master Open in Bologna, Italy. This competition is part of the World Darts Federation (WDF) calendar.
On day one, the doubles competition took place in which local players achieved very good results, with father and son Brian and Owlyn Abela reaching the quarter final stage where they were eliminated by another Maltese pair; that of John Agius and Tony Borg who came very close to claim the title with a 5-3 defeat in the final.
On the last day local players managed to go one step further in the singles competition as the final was contested by two local players. Norbert Attard won the title with a 6-3 win over Godfrey Abela. Both players required to win seven matches to reach this accolade and on the way higher ranked players were eliminated. With this win Norbert Attard has automatically qualified for the BDO Winmau Masters 2016, which is one of the major tournaments on the WDF/BDO calendar and also for the BDO World Championship qualifiers in the UK.
On behalf of the Malta Darts Association we would like to thank all local players which took part in this competition and made us proud. Forza Malta!
National Team – Qualifiers 1-3
SIX PLAYERS ALREADY BOOK THEIR PLACE IN PHASE II
The long road to forming up the national team for the WDF European Championships taking place later this year in the Netherlands commenced in January with ranking qualifying tournament taking place at Domus in Zejtun.
In the first qualifier fifthyeight participants competed looking to progress to the next stage with Andy Keen of Kalkara St Joseph and John Agius of Floriana Ajax A claiming the honours. In the two deciding matches Andy defeated fellow team mate Gordon Stanmore 3-0 and John Agius winning by the same scoreline against Mosta Horseshoe`s, Kevin Spiteri.
In the second qualifier the participants increased to sixtynine (national record) with Gordon Stanmore and Albert Scerri booking their place in the second stage. In deciding matches Albert Scerri of Mosta Horseshoe Bar won against Chris Cohen of Kalkara St Joseph 3-0 and Gordon Stanmore defeated team mate Mario Aquilina 3-1.
In the third qualifier veteran player Vince “Hassu” Busutill who plays for Floriana Ajax A booked his place in phase II together with Mario Camilleri of Mosta Horseshoe Bar. In their respective finals they defeated Godfrey Abela of Mosta Horseshoe Bar and Mario Tonna of Hamrun Education Bar A by the same scoreline of 3-1.
In total sixteen players will progress to the next stage in which the top four then will form the National team after a series of best of two matches between all players.
MALTA NATIONAL DARTS LEAGUE – ROUND UP
Kalkara St Joseph and Mosta Horseshoe Bar lead the way in their respective divisions
Ten weeks have been played in the National league and Kalkara St Joseph lead the way in Division One with 28 points with nine wins – one draw and no losses. They find themselves five points ahead of Marsa St Michaels in second place and a further three points behind we find current champions Floriana Ajax A. The remaining teams in the division are behind the pace of the top three and will be fighting for placing between 4th and 8th, with the main aim being that of avoiding relegation.
Division two also looks like a three horse race with only two promotion places available. The new formed team of Mosta Horseshoe Bar are in command and still unbeaten on 28 points, followed by Gudja POs Bar B on 25 points and Zejtun Beland Bullseye on 23 points.
The two cup competitions are also in progress with the 4 a-side cup still in the group stages and the 5 a-side in the round of 16.
Andy Keen of Kalkara St Joseph currently holds the top spot in the player of the year award with 38 points, followed by Albert Scerri of Mosta Horseshoe Bar A on 32 points and Godfrey Abela also of Mosta Horseshoe Bar A on 27 points. The race is wide open as there is still plenty of points to be earned.
The team top scorers at this stage are:
Divison One
Kalkara St Joseph – Andy Keen – 38 points
Marsa St Michaels – Norbert Attard – 22 points
Floriana Ajaxa A – John Agius – 16 points
Birzebbugia Cox Sports Club A – Jesmond Grima – 16 points
Bormla Bocci Club A – George Mizzi & Kirsten Aquilina – 15 points
Hamrun Education Bar A – Martin Cutajar – 13 points
Gudja POs Bar A – Franklin Farrugia – 10 points
Birkirkara Juventus Vero Amore – Anthony Caruana – 10 points
Division Two
Mosta Horseshoe Bar – Albert Scerri – 32 points
Gudja POs Bar B – Kevin Grech – 19 points
Zejtun Beland Bullseye – Louis Barbara – 15 points
Floriana Ajax B – John Pisani – 14 points
Fgura Xuereb Installations – Malcolm Cassar – 14 points
Hamrun Education Bar B – Vince Galea – 13 points
Mosta Bocci Club – Tony Attard – 13 points
Bugibba Munchies Pub – Alex Turnbull – 12 points
Cospicua Rangers – Melchior Farrugia & Kevin Aquilina – 12 points
Zejtun Juventutis Domus – George Borg & Joe Mallia – 12 points
Bormla Bocci Club B – Gabriel Farrugia – 11 points
Birzebbugia Cox Sports Club B – Andrew Williams – 9 points
Tony Borg currently holds the highest finish (160), John Ciantar holds the best leg (11) and Andy Keen, John Ciantar and Norbert Attard lead the way on the most 180s scored on (8).
Regards,
Andre Zammit | Public Relations Officer | Malta Darts Association