Snooker took much of the spotlight in the local sports scene late last month as the Malta Billiards and Snooker Association (MBSA) hosted the European U-21 and Teams Championships at the Dolmen, in Qawra.

The two tournaments were a great success with hundreds of cue sport enthusiasts filling the auditorium to see the continent’s upcoming players and top amateurs in action.

In the U-21 tournament, Brian Cini confirmed his potential when reaching the quarter-finals where he lost to eventual finalist Louis Heathcote, of England.

Cini then teamed up with his mentor, Tony Drago, and the two combined skill with enthusiasm to reach the final of the tournament for teams. However, Ireland pair Michael Judge and Robert Murphy won the title match 5-3.

Frans Bugeja, MBSA president, said although none of the Maltese players had succeeded in winning one of the titles at stake, the association was still proud of their achievements.

“Malta proved it is still a great destination for snooker events of this calibre,” Bugeja said.

“For sure, this was by far our best organisation of a European Team Championship here.

“We received glowing praise from all the participating players and the European Billiards and Snooker Association after providing a perfect setting for the two competitions.

“With matches being screened live on TVM, the tournaments generated a lot interest among the Maltese. Snooker has always been very popular here.

“Our organising team, including Louis Vella, Ivan Brincat and Chris Brincat, deserve a pat on the back for a job well done.”

Bugeja agreed Cini was the surprise packet at the Dolmen.

“As I said, our players did pretty well in both competitions,” Bugeja said.

“But Brian Cini produced a great showing and confirmed he is one to look out for in future.

“He has talent and we all hope that he continues to train hard because he represents the future of our sport.

“In the Team Championships, Tony and Brian did very well and deserved to be in the final. They were close but luck did not smile on them when needed most.

We want to own a facility that can take 14 tables. That way training can be held simultaneously and under the guidance of our licenced coaches

“However, they should be satisfied with their showing at the Dolmen.”

Bugeja returned to the helm of MBSA late last year when he succeeded Joe Caruana Curran who stepped down from his post. He wants the game to flourish and is ready to contribute to attract more numbers to local clubs.

“We are facing great challenges to keep this sport alive, particularly among the ones come through,” Bugeja said.

“At the moment we are struggling in terms of numbers when it comes to young players. Perhaps, the emergence of other cue sport, such as pool and blackball, affected our game considerably.

“But we have to work together and, in fact, we are planning to hold combined events in the future to promote both sport among our new players.”

The MBSA head also said that it was crucial for his organisation that the long-time planned academy finally comes to reality.

“There is no question that there is an urgent need to step up our effort in the grassroots sector,” he contended.

“At present Brian Cini is our most talented player in our fold.

“Brian has made a smart decision to fly to the UK and practise with Tony Drago and Jimmy White. I think, he is already reaping fruit of his move as he has improved considerably.

“We have other promising players coming through, like Aaron Busuttil, Chris Peplow and Isaac Borg. However, we need more to remain competitive and produce a real winner.

“Strangely, some parents object to having their children attending band clubs to play snooker as they feel it’s not the right environment for under-age persons.

“That makes the academy project even more important. Having our own premises and academy will make things easier for us to manage training.”

The academy project has been in the pipeline for several years but plans have never got off the ground.

“The academy concept is something that we have been working on for several years but so far without success,” Bugeja said.

“We had assurances from the authorities that once we identify a site they will give us their full backing and funds as well to complete works.

“We want to own a facility that can take 14 tables. That way training can be held simultaneously and under the guidance of our licenced coaches – Alex Borg, Duncan Bezzina and Kevin Vella.

“I will see that more emphasis is made on this issue... a smooth-running academy would mean the future of snooker in Malta is secure.”