Simon Zammit just missed out on a place in next season's WSA Challenge Tour after the former Malta champion lost his final qualifier against Brynajar Valdimarsson of Iceland 5-4, in a match which last over five hours in Austria.

After topping his group with three wins from the same number of matches, Zammit won convincingly his last 32 match against Martin Schamaun of Switzerland 4-1 on Tuesday evening.

Yesterday morning he beat Dutch player Johan Oenema 4-2 to set up a decisive match against Valdimarsson.

Malta's other player in the Challenge Tour play-offs, Duncan Bezzina, lost his last 32 match against Markku Hamalainen 4-0.

Meanwhile, the EBSA European Championships will start today, with Zammit, Bezzina and Alex Borg all lining up to challenge Europe's best amateur players for the title.

Tony Mifsud will also represent Malta in the Seniors event. These championships will be played over 10 days, with the final to be held on June 5.

Maltese referees Paul Galea and Raymond Debattista are among the officials taking part in these Championships in Volkermarkt .

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