Euro U-17 Open at Apple Club

The fifth European U-17 Snooker Open gets underway on Sunday afternoon at the Apple Club in Buġibba.

The curtain-raiser will be a friendly international between 147 Snooker Hall, of Ħamrun, and England’s Hartlepool Academy Hall. Philip Ciantar and Thurston Grixti will take on Liam Clark and John Hartley from the Hartlepool club.

The Open officially starts on January 6 with the first six matches in programme. The quarter-finals are scheduled for January 10, the semi-finals will be played the day after and the final on January 12.

The winner receives €300.

So far, 16 players from seven countries have registered to take part. They will be residing at the San Antonio Hotel & Spa. Malta will be represented by a record five players – Luke Borg, Chris Peplow, Dylan Cassar, Ryan Pisani and Matthew Zammit.

The tournament director is Vincent Pisani. He is also in the referees’ pool along with Ambrose Licari and Emmanuel Fiott.

The organisers of the U-17 Open, Pro Am Snooker, will hold a second friendly on January 9.

The three players who figured in previous tournaments, Grixti, Shaun Sultana and Wayne Pace, will join forces to play against Ireland. The latter are expected to field their best U-17 cueists for the match – Andrew Doherty, Dylan Scully and Ross Doyle.

The U-17 Open and the friendly matches are backed by the sponsorships of the Malta Tourism Authority, Bank of Valletta, San Antonio Hotel & Spa and Apple Snooker Club.