Pace beats Timmers in U-12 final

The Malta Table Football Sports Association was elated yesterday as Matthew Pace was declared the World Cup U-12 champion in Les Herbier, France, after winning the tournament in his category.

Pace, who plays his club table football for Hamrun, made it all the way to the final where he beat Mitchell Timmers, of Belgium, with a convincing 4-1 scoreline.

There were other Maltese players taking part in other World Cup categories but none managed to go as far as Pace.

In the Open category, Massimo Cremona was also beaten at the quarter-finals stage when going down to Italy's Efrem Intra 1-0, a repeat of last year's World Cup final outcome.

Derek Conti and Samuel Bartolo were both eliminated in the earlier rounds of the tournament.

Conti was beaten by Kasper Bennett, of the UK, 2-1, while Bartolo lost to Italian Daniele Bertelli. In the final, Bertelli beat Bennett 1-0.

In the U-19 competition, Mauro Camilleri was eliminated in the quarter-final by Belgian Justin Leroy 1-0.