The 2011 Open Gold Cup, organised recently by the MTBA at the Eden SuperBowl, saw a total of 31 bowlers compete in separate male and female divisions.
In the men’s event, there was a lot of jostling for positions during the two eight-game sessions, as the Day One lead alternated between Mauro Anastasi and Mark Muscat.
The top spot was eventually occupied by Anastasi with a total 1,761 ahead of Muscat on 1,693. Peter Mallia followed with 1,680 with Nathan Brimmer in fourth place on 1,665.
Day Two saw more big changes at the top, most surprisingly Anastasi who slipped to seventh and out of the running. The top qualifier was Muscat, on 3,376, followed by Brimmer, 3,361, and Mallia, 3,339. They were joined in the Round Robin by Philip Gruppetta, Matthew Cossai and Ryan Grech.
Muscat retained top spot, winning three of five games for some valuable bonus points to assure himself of a place in the final. Mallia scored well to climb to second place, ahead of Brimmer who made it to the semis, a mere five pins ahead of Gruppetta.
The semi-final between Mallia and Brimmer was tight, with the latter just nicking it by a mere three pins (213-216). That meant that Brimmer advanced to a final against Muscat who, as the top seed, only needed to win one game to secure the title.
Brimmer claimed the first game 230-169 to force a decider. He was full of confidence by that stage, beating Muscat with an even better 237-203 score for the title.
The women’s competition also saw various changes at the top.
After the initial eight games, it was Marthese Cossai who led the field ahead of Melissa Swift, Josephine Borg and Pam Demanuele.
In the second session, only Borg retained her top-four position, still in second place as the new leader was Maryanne Mula with a 2,994 tally. Stephanie Said went through in third ahead of Swift, Cossai and Josephine Borg.
Stage two saw Mula drop to sixth place after an unfortunate five-game set as Said pulled off an excellent five wins from five, to soar to the top and book a spot in the final. Joining her were Swift and relative veteran Borg.
In the semi-final, Borg showed that experience counts as she stepped up to qualify for the final with an easy 222-168 victory over Swift, and so would play Said for the championship title.
That was to be a much better match, but it was Said who proved the more worthy, winning with just one game required, 226-201.