ith a rattle from the battle, they fall into place.

The second and final phase of Autumn League 2 is about to start with players divided quite neatly in two groups according to their latest player rating, with the sole exception of Alfred Xuereb who surprisingly clinched a place in Section A.

Yet this neat division belies the vicissitudes of a first phase which saw a few top spots usurped by the likes of Mario Seychell (shown in picture) who got the better of five time national champion David Delicata in the direct encounter between the two players.

By contrast, reigning national champion Charles Micallef confirmed the superior form shown in League 1 by securing top spot in his group albeit dropping one game in the process.

Despite all this, the scoreboard is now back to zero as the top players try to avoid further mishaps in their quest for the second of the two autumn titles.