Johan Attard (picture, left) is the new no.1 player in Malta after beating Wayne Bonnici 9-8 in a tense final from the Malta Pool Association Cisk Lager championship, played recently.

Attard had a very promising start when racing to a 4-1 lead.

However, before the break Bonnici pulled back to 5-3 and extended his momentum to the second session, winning five frames in succession to open an 8-5 lead and go one win away from the national title.

Attard was not finished yet.

He produced an incredible comeback with impressive clearances, claiming the next three frames and the decider to become champion for the first time in his career.

February was a month to remember for Attard after representing the country at the European Champion-ships in Nantes, France.

The national team lost the final 8-7 to their England counterparts but Attard still had something to cheer about after being named the best player of the continental tournament.