The 36 players in the Summer League, organised by the Scrabblers Club, were divided into groups of four with the top two earning a place in the second phase.
While all favourites sailed through as expected, a few of the second highest rated players in each group failed to qualify and will now figure in a round robin tournament.
Pauline Cilia, Marie Testa and Moses Azzopardi were among the surprise qualifiers to the second phase.