Malta enjoyed another highly successful day at the European Team Snooker Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Monday, registering six victories across the various categories.

The two Maltese teams competing in the Men’s Championship won all four of their matches, while Philip Ciantar and Emanuel Mallia progressed to the Over-40 quarter-finals.

France Mintoff and Ivan Attard also reached the last eight of the Over-55 competition before their run was brought to an end by Ireland 1.

In the Men’s category, Malta 1, represented by Aaron Busuttil and Chris Peplow, made a perfect start to their Group B campaign by winning both matches without dropping a frame.

They opened with an emphatic 3-0 victory over the Netherlands pair of Benjamin Lamberts and Jasha Kiers, winning the frames 103-3, 77-16 and 60-14.

Busuttil and Peplow also registered impressive breaks of 96 in the opening frame and 76 in the second.

Their excellent form continued later in the day when they defeated Cyprus duo Antonis Poullos and Demetris Nicolaou 3-0, with frame scores of 74-52, 80-0 and 65-12. A break of 74 was recorded in the second frame.

Those two victories have already guaranteed Malta 1 a place in the knockout stage.

They face Bulgaria 2, represented by Bratislav Krastev and Viktor Iliev, in their final group match on Tuesday at 9am. A similar result would enable the Maltese pair to avoid the qualification round and advance directly to the quarter-finals.

Two victories for Casha and Borg

Malta 2, represented by Joseph Casha and Alex Borg, also enjoyed a perfect day in Group C, although both their victories went to deciding frames.

Their opening encounter against Germany 2’s Robin Otto and Tobias Friedrichs ended in a 3-2 Malta victory. The frame scores were 48-62, 52-27, 64-30, 21-54 and 70-25.

Casha and Borg then recorded another 3-2 success against Austria 2, represented by Emil Becker and Josef Wimmer.

Malta lost the opening frame 64-67 before drawing level with a 58-8 victory. Austria regained the advantage by taking the third 70-39, but Malta responded by winning the final two frames 55-47 and 64-43.

Malta 2 have yet to mathematically secure qualification but need just one frame from their final Group C encounter against France 1’s Nicolas Mortreux and Niel Vincent on Tuesday at 1pm to advance.

For Malta to be eliminated, Austria 2 would need to record a 3-0 victory.

Ciantar and Mallia into quarter-finals

In the Over-40 competition, Ciantar and Mallia booked their place among the final eight following a hard-fought victory over Wales 1.

The Maltese pair defeated David John and Gavin Colcombe 3-2 in a match which went all the way to a deciding frame.

Malta took the opener 54-7 before Wales won the next two frames 57-35 and 55-38. Ciantar and Mallia responded by edging the fourth 57-54 before clinching the decider 69-62.

They will now face Poland 2’s Marcin Nitschke and Jarosław Kowalski in the quarter-finals on Tuesday at 9am.

Mintoff and Attard bow out in last eight

France Mintoff and Ivan Attard, meanwhile, secured their place in the Over-55 quarter-finals after defeating Ireland 2’s John Carney and Paul Kellett 3-1 in their final group match.

The Maltese pair won the opening two frames 82-24 and 69-52. Ireland took the third 58-11, but Mintoff and Attard edged a tense fourth frame 54-53 to seal victory.

Their run came to an end later in the day when they suffered a 3-1 quarter-final defeat against Ireland 1, represented by Brendan Thomas and Paudie Kelly.

Malta made a promising start by winning the opening frame 74-42, but the Irish pair responded by taking the next three 64-36, 69-42 and 79-14 to secure their place in the semi-finals.