Cremona, Ħamrun 'A' retain Grand Prix titles

The Malta Table Football Sports Association held the international Grand Prix last weekend with competitions for teams and individuals played over two days in Ħamrun.

The teams' tournament saw the participation of three Ħamrun TFC sides along with Valletta SC and Italians Palermo ASD and CCT Roma.

Ħamrun 'A' booked their place in the semi-finals after winning the qualifiers in a group that also included Valletta and Palermo.

On the other side of the draw, it was Roma who won their group.

Roma lost to Ħamrun 'A' in the semi-finals as Palermo knocked out Ħamrun 'B'. In the final, Grand Prix holders Ħamrun 'A' had the better of the Sicilian team with a tight 2-1 win to retain the title.

Day Two of the Grand Prix was reserved for singles matches.

The Open category had an entry of 30 players. They were split into 10 qualifying groups before the direct elimination phase.

Massimo Cremona went on to defend the honour he won in the 2008 Grand Prix after beating Mark Gauci 1-0 in the final. Derek Conti and Charles Aquilina were the beaten semi-finalists.

Emanuele Lo Cascio, from Palermo, had the better of Angelo Borg 3-2 (golden goal) in the U-15 category. Borg made up for that upset by winning the U-19 title, defeating Adam Gatt 1-0 in the final.

Eleven players took part in this competition.

In Veterans, four Italians and four locals vied for the honour.

After the group stage, Adrian Bonnici eliminated Enrico Corso 4-0 in the semi-finals and Joe Mifsud scored a late winner to seal a place in the final at the expense of Fabrizio Sonnino.

In the final, Mifsud maintained his composure as he cruised to a 3-0 win for maximum points in the international rankings.