Valletta Subbuteo Club win team event
Last weekend the Table Football International Open and Grand Prix of Malta were played under the auspices of the Federation of International Sport Table Football.
A good number of Maltese and foreign players took part in different age categories.
The International Open was held on Saturday and in the Open category, Massimiliano Nastasi of Italy took the honours against Derek Conti by seven goals to four.
To reach the final, Massimiliano eliminated Sebastian Sheen of Belgium and Derek eliminated Saverio Bari of Italy.
In the Veteran category, it was an all-Maltese final, with Jason Pisani winning with a golden goal in a seven goal thriller against Charles Aquilina. Mario Camilleri and Joseph Mifsud reached the semi-finals.
In the Under 19 category Alessandro Natoli won against Jamie Bonnici by five goals to one and in the Under 15’s it was Jamie Bonnici’s turn to win this category on goal difference against Riccardo Natoli.
The Grand Prix was played on Sunday and once again, Massimiliano Nastasi was on top form to win the Open Category, this time against Angelo Borg by two goals to one. Samuel Bartolo and Saverio Bari reached the semi-finals.
Mario Camilleri won the Veteran category after a penalty shoot-out against Jason Pisani, in a very tactical match which finished goalless. Pascal Scheen and Joseph Mifsud reached the semifinals.
Local uprising youngster Jurgen Balzan won the Under 19 category final beating Alessandro Natoli of Italy 1-0.
The Under 15 category was very balanced once again and this time it was Riccardo Natoli who finished ahead of Jamie Bonnici on goal difference to claim the title.
The team event was once again dominated by Valletta Subbuteo Club, thus winning the tournament for the sixth consecutive year.
Subbuteo Team Stembert of Belgium, Messina Subbuteo Sport Club of Italy, Valletta Lions TFC and Bormla Subbuteo Club, who finished runners up, tried to claim the title, only to be beaten by the local champions.
Under the captaincy of Derek Conti, the rest of the Valletta Subbuteo Club consisted of Samuel Bartolo, Joseph Borg Bonaci, Roderick Vassallo, Jason Pisani and foreign player Massimiliano Nastasi.