Cremona back to his best

Massimo Cremona, the no.2 player in the FISTF world rankings, was back to his old self as he won the Gran Prix of Norway in Skien last weekend.

The Maltese player captured the title after edging Eric Verhagen, ranked no.1 in the world, 5-4.

This was Cremona's second victory in the Gran Prix of Norway after his maiden success in the tournament's first edition two years ago.

Cremona cruised through his group commitments after victories over Italian Balboni, 6-0, and Norwegian duo, Sagafos, 5-0, and Eikeland, 11-1. In the last 16 stage, Cremona ousted Brekke, another Norwegian player, with a 4-1 victory.

The quarter-final was a rematch of the 2005 final as Cremona came up against Norway champion Grorud. The Maltese showed his character by coming back from a goal down to win 2-1 and book his place in the semi-finals.

The semi-final was another tight affair that saw Cremona beating Italy's Galeazzi 3-2.

Thirty-two players from eight countries, namely Norway, Finland, Germany, England, Belgium, Holland, Italy and Malta, competed in the Norway Gran Prix last Saturday.

The following day, the International Open started with a field of 29 players. Cremona obtained group wins over Norway's Ellefsen (8-0) and Tore Myge (4-1).

In the last 16, Cremona routed Vulpes of Germany 12-1 but his run came to a halt with a 1-3 loss to Verhagen who thus made up for his defeat to the Maltese player in the final of the Gran Prix.

This coming weekend, Cremona will attempt to extend his positive run by winning the Gran Prix of Italy, to be staged in Rome. On Saturday, Cremona will play for Perugia in the team event. The individual competition will be held on Sunday.