Mifsud seals hat-trick of Australian titles

Steve Mifsud has won the Australian National Snooker championship for the third year in succession.

Mifsud carried his rich vein of form into last Sunday's matches. This was his 'farewell' participation in Australian competitive tournaments and those present will long remember his performance.

In the semi-final, Mifsud came up against the experienced Stan Gorski who is a previous runner-up of the world championship and a Victorian champion six times over. Mifsud disposed of Gorski's challenge 4-2, scoring a 103 break in the last frame.

But, better things were to follow in the 11-frame final where he met Johl Younger. The latter had beaten Mifsud in the Albury tournament and, at first, it seemed as though history might repeat itself when he won the first frame.

Mifsud, however, had other ideas and he became very focused to see off Younger as he won the next six frames. In the process, he also achieved the highest break of the tournament, 133, to underline his total supremacy.

This latest success confirms why Mifsud is ranked the Australian No.1 by a big margin.

His brother, James, is not too far away as he is ranked Australia's number five. James Mifsud has recently had his first sweet taste of success since graduating from the junior ranks.

For many years, he has been promising to reach great heights in snooker and has performed well among the juniors. He is, after all, the current Australian U-21 champion.

Being the younger brother to a world champion, Steve, has its advantages as well as disadvantages. James showed that he is a champion in his own right recently when he won the highly prestigious Yarraville tournament which always attracts high-calibre competitors from all over Australia. One hopes that this will be a big incentive for him.

Steve Mifsud, the current IBSF world champion, will now be travelling to England where he will be mixing it with the professionals in the 'main' tour organised by the World Snooker Association.

The main tour, which includes all the ranking tournaments including the World Embassy, starts next month and is run by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.

This latest success will hopefully give him the confidence to launch a successful professional career which is an ambition that he has cherished for a very long time.

Behind a calm, organised and well-disposed personality, there is an inner hunger that needs to be satisfied.

Mifsud has come a long way and he has matured enough to be able to make his mark among the world's elite cueists.