May at the Eden SuperBowl featured the popular MTBA Gold Cup, wherein no fewer than 40 bowlers participated in separate men and women’s intermediate level categories.
At just 13 years of age, Matthew Magro became the youngest ever Gold Cup champion in the 38-year history of the event.
He led the men’s field early on in the first of two six-game qualifying sessions, which included scratch highs of 207 and 246 for a 1,216 total. That put him ahead of Gabriel Borg 1,175, Clayton Zammit 1,158, and Luke Burke 1,155.
Magro faced a strong challenge from veteran Benny Hili on day two, but he shot a scratch 1,058 for a good 1,178 gross.
That put Magro on a 2,394 final qualifying total and kept him on top, with Hili improving from seventh to second place on a very good 1,177 (1231 gross).
The qualifying scores were slashed by half for the five-game round robin to make for a closer contest.
Magro opened with two high scoring wins, before stumbling to a low 159 in game three which he lost. A poor 145 (125) meant another defeat, but he rallied to win the final game for more bonus points. That meant he retained his status as top seed and guaranteed him a place in the final match.
Vying to face him in the final were Hili and Zammit and they met in a one-game semi-final clash. That went to Zammit, 170-156, for Hili to settle for third place.
As the underdog, Zammit would have to beat Magro twice in the final. The end result became clear as the frames progressed, and it certainly wasn’t going to a second game, Magro ending up the Gold Cup champion with a 217-158 victory.
In the women’s event, National Sports School student Sara Xuereb was unstoppable during her head-to-head matches to reach the final as top seed, while Cynthia Duca gave a good and consistent display in winning three games to go through in second place ahead of Marthese Cossai.
The single game semi-final between Duca and Cossai went right down to the wire, and it was the former who just clinched it 203-197, to take her place in the final against Xuereb.
Again it would take two wins for Duca to take the cup, and she won the first 178-155.
Xuereb showed mettle beyond her years to improve to 176 in game two, but the glory went to Duca thanks to a 203 match-winner.
Apart from their titles and trophies, the two winners received prizes valued at €600 while the runners-up were awarded with a free entry into a national tournament of their choice, all courtesy of the Malta Tenpin Bowling Association.