Alex Borg easily won his first round encounter in Prestatyn, Wales, in the fourth Challenge Tour event of the World Snooker season. Borg is hitting some good form lately even though he required his minimum effort to eliminate Marvin Aldridge, of England, 4-0 on Sunday. His best breaks were of 63 and 61. Borg faces Rene van Rijsbergen in the next round. The Dutchman won his previous match against Eddie Barker 4-3.

Borg, who reached the second round twice in the previous three Challenge Tour events this season, is still in with a chance to qualify for the 2004/05 Main Tour but requires a longer stay in the tournament, the last one on schedule.

Last month, the Mellieha cueist established a new national record after compiling a 144 break during an Open Ranking Tournament, organised by the Malta Billiards and Snooker Association. The previous record belonged to Joe Grech - a 141 potted in 1996.

Meanwhile, last week Borg became the first player to book a place in the final of the national Premier League. He beat Arthur Cachia, of Zurrieq, 7-1 on aggregate. In the final, Borg will meet the winner of the semi-final between Joe Grech and Simon Zammit.