Cini reaches last eight at Under-17 Open

Brian Cini is the only Maltese player who secured a place in the last eight of the European Under-17 Open, currently being played in Ħamrun and Buġibba.

Cini booked his place in the last eight thanks to group wins over Dan Parkinson (England) 3-1, Benjamin McCabe (Sweden) 3-0 and Leong Man Hoi (Hong Kong) 3-1.

The 12 players who qualified to the final stages were all seeded.

The top four earned an automatic berth in the last eight while the other eight had to figure in a pre-quarter-final round.

Cini is seeded number three in the tournament.

Meanwhile, the other two Maltese players who also qualified from the group stages, Chris Peplow and Ryan Pisani, were ousted from the competition in the first KO round.

Peplow was unlucky to lose his match to McCabe 4-3 as Pisani was eliminated by promising Pole Mateusz Baranowski 4-0.

Cini plays McCabe in the quarter-finals.

The highest breaks so far came from Baranowski, 86, Cini, 84, Kamil Zubryzcki, 83, and Peplow, 73.