Alex Borg has moved into the second round of the Riga Masters without potting a ball as his opponent Mark Selby, the world no.1, has decided to pull out of the tournament.

The Malta champion was due to face the current world champion in the opening round of the first ranking event of the season in the Latvian capital of Riga.

However, Selby has informed the organisers that he was withdrawing from the tournament due to personal reasons thus handing victory to Borg.

The Mellieha-born cueist will now proceed to the second round where he is due to face Chinese player Zhang Anda.

Borg had booked his place in the Riga Masters earlier this month when he eliminated Allan Taylor 4-2 in Preston.

Meanwhile, Borg will team up with Duncan Bezzina when they compete in the World Cup tournament which will be played in Wuxi, China, next month.

Teams from 24 nations will be taking part in the competition which will be held between July 3 and 9.

The Maltese duo were drawn in Group C alongside Australia, England, Switzerland, Pakistan and Iran.

Malta plays its opening match on July 3 when they face Australia before they on England.

Borg and Bezzina will then face Pakistan (July 5), Switzerland and Iran (July 7).

The top two teams from each group progress to the quarter-finals with the tournament final scheduled for July 9.

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