Russell beats Gilchrist to retain title

World champion Mike Russell of England yesterday claimed his seventh world title after he defeated Peter Gilchrist 6-4 in the final played at the Corinthia Jerma Palace Hotel, Marsascala.

For Russell this was his second consecutive title won against Gilchrist after the two English players had already met in last year's final played in Bath, England. On that occasion Russell won 2,251-1,273.

Russell had qualified for the final when he beat Chris Shutt 5-1 in the semi-finals while Gilchrist had the better of Devendra Joshi 5-2.

Yesterday's final turned out to be a balanced affair with both players sharing the first four frames. The equilibrium was broken by Russell who raced into a 4-2 lead after hitting a century break in the sixth frame. Gilchrist, the world no. 2, responded in style with a 101 in the next frame to close the gap to 4-3.

The match increased in excitement when Russell took a 5-4 lead and despite Gilchrist's resistance, the world champion potted a break of 89 to claim the title. As winner of the tournament Russell pocketed the sum of £7,000 while Gilchrist received £4,000.

The tournament was organised by Snooker Promotions and the Malta Billiards and Snooker Association.