Borg retains title after beating Cundy 7-5 in final

Alex Borg became the second player these past 18 years to retain the European Billiards and Snooker Association championship after a hard-earned 7-5 victory over England's Jeff Cundy in Constanta, Romania, yesterday.

Last year Borg won the title in Poland with a clear 7-2 margin over Icelandic Kristjan Helgason. However, yesterday he had to rely on all his experience to overcome the stiff challenge of Cundy, the Scunthorpe cueist who was British U-21 champion way back in 1986.

Borg had already beaten Cundy 4-1 in the group stages last week. The Mellieha player, who had extended his domain in the Malta championship to a fourth year earlier this month, opened a 3-0 lead yesterday but was pegged back to three-all at the interval.

However, three frames in a row put the Maltese player back on his way even though Cundy clawed back into contention by winning frames 10 and 11 to pull back to 6-5.

Borg lost the European Championship finals in 2004 and 1998 but in Romania he put the record straight by wrapping up the title in the 12th frame after potting a decisive blue.

"I beat Cundy 4-1 in the group but the final was something different," Borg told The Times after the match.

"There was too much tension I suppose and despite going in front 3-0 and 6-3, and potting a 107 in the process, he fought back strongly to make a contest out of it."

The other player to win successive European Championships was David John. The Welshman won the 2002 and 2003 titles in Poland and Germany after victories over David McLellan (7-2) and Andrew Pagett (7-3) respectively.

The success in Poland last year had earned 37-year-old Borg the right to play in the WSA Main Tour in 2005/06. However, he lost his status on the professional scene after missing the qualification cut by just a handful of ranking points.

"With a place in the Main Tour at stake, more and more players are doing their utmost in the European Championship to make that slot theirs," Borg said.

"Unfortunately, despite winning the final, the Main Tour place will go to Jeff Cundy. I was close to keep my place with the top players in the world rankings but missed out by a whisker.

"However, there's still an outside chance of a wild card so I'm keeping my hopes alive for the time being.

"We knew the position before the European Championship started but I still put my 100 per cent to retain the title. I trained hard and owe this success to those around me, particularly my mother, close relatives and friends at Melita Band Club."

According to the EBSA website, the championship had a prize-money fund of 5,200 euros. Borg, as winner, received a cheque for 2,000 euros. Cundy got 1,000 euros.

Jamie Jones, of Wales, potted the highest break, a 132.

After his 12 victories in Romania, Borg has now extended his unbeaten run in the European Championship to 24 matches.