Maltese youngsters Grixti, Pisani to take part in Swiss Open

Young Maltese players Thurston Grixti and Duncan Pisani are in Switzerland to take part in the prestigious Swiss Snooker Open.

Ken Doherty, currently ranked no.1 in the world, Stephen Lee (no.9) and Mark King (no.16) are among the 22 professionals set to compete in this tournament.

The principal aim of Grixti, 16, and Pisani, 18, is to gain experience and step up their preparations for the forthcoming European U-19 Snooker Championship to be held in Prestatyn, Wales in the first week of April.

Although the Swiss Open is not a world ranking event, it has a total prize fund of £10,000. The tournament will be staged in Zofingen, about 50 kilometres west of Zurich.

This is not the first time the two Maltese youngsters will be playing in a professional tournament. Last March, Grixti and Pisani figured in the Baltic Cup in Latvia where they managed to win frames against some renowned professionals.

Grixti produced a break of 54 in a 3-1 defeat to John Dickson of Northern Ireland while Pisani lost with an identical score against Patrick Einsle and Roy Stolk. Also in the Baltic Cup, Shawn Agius, another up-and-coming Maltese player, lost 3-2 to Lee Richardson after leading 2-0.

A few days after their participation in the Baltic Cup, the young Maltese trio reached the last 32 stage of the European U-19 Championship by winning a total of 11 games.

The same players teamed up recently to help Malta U-17 beat Austria in an international match, winning 60 frames and losing only 12.