Malta’s two teams registered a win and a defeat apiece as the European Senior Snooker Team Championships got under way in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sunday.

Malta is represented by Philip Ciantar and Emanuel Mallia in the Over-40 category, while France Mintoff and Ivan Attard are competing together in the Over-55 Super Seniors event.

Ciantar and Mallia made an excellent start with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Austria 2, represented by Daniel Seyser and Gunter Kulle.

The Maltese pair dominated the encounter, winning the three frames 64-31, 77-9 and 78-32.

Their second match proved a much closer affair, however, as they faced Poland 1, represented by Marcin Bek and Piotr Murat.

In a contest lasting almost four hours, the two teams went all the way to a deciding frame before the Polish pair eventually prevailed 3-2. The frame scores were 25-71, 62-22, 41-33, 43-61 and 37-47 from Malta’s perspective.

Those were the only two group matches for Ciantar and Mallia and the Maltese pair have secured their place in the next stage. However, they must await the outcome of the encounter between Poland 1 and Austria 2 to discover whether they will have to contest a play-off for a place in the quarter-finals.

Win and defeat for Mintoff and Attard

In the Over-55 category, Mintoff and Attard opened their campaign against a strong Wales 1 combination of Darren Morgan and Brian Rees.

The Welsh pair emerged 3-1 winners, with the frames ending 37-64, 57-50, 18-54 and 38-55 from Malta’s perspective.

Mintoff and Attard responded strongly in their second match as they swept aside Finland 2’s Juha Lehto and Juhani Koskelin 3-0.

The Maltese pair won the frames 74-13, 57-9 and 86-58 to keep their hopes of progressing very much alive.

Their final group encounter against Ireland 2, represented by John Carney and Paul Kellett, will now prove decisive in determining who advances to the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, the men’s team competition gets under way on Monday, with Malta represented by two teams.

Malta 1 consists of Aaron Busuttil and Chris Peplow, while Joseph Casha and Alex Borg will represent Malta 2.

Five matches involving Maltese teams are currently scheduled for Monday, with further senior knockout encounters potentially being added to the programme.

Monday’s fixtures – Malta time

9am – Over-55 Group B
Malta (France Mintoff/Ivan Attard) v Ireland 2 (John Carney/Paul Kellett)

1pm – Men’s Group B
Malta 1 (Aaron Busuttil/Chris Peplow) v Netherlands (Benjamin Lamberts/Jasha Kiers)

1pm – Men’s Group C
Malta 2 (Joseph Casha/Alex Borg) v Germany 2 (Robin Otto/Tobias Friedrichs)

5pm – Men’s Group B
Malta 1 (Aaron Busuttil/Chris Peplow) v Cyprus (Antonis Poullos/Demetris Nicolaou)

5pm – Men’s Group C
Malta 2 (Joseph Casha/Alex Borg) v Austria 2 (Emil Becker/Josef Wimmer)