rom finished to favourite

After putting himself in the unenviable position of having to face both of his two rival contenders for the top spot midway through Autumn League 1, former National Champion Charles Micallef made a decisive break by beating both six time National Champion David Delicata and eleven time National Champion Theresa Brousson by 2 games to 1 apiece.

In so doing, Micallef has ousted Brousson from a place in the semifinals after the latter lost by the same margin to Delicata, and put himself in the commanding position of favourite to defend his title. 

Also going through were a resurgent Sammy Mangion, who topped the other group, and Mario Saliba. The two men will now face Delicata and Micallef respectively in two best-of-five semis.

Brousson can find solace in her clear leadership of the standings in Autumn League 2 which neither Mario Saliba nor defending champion Nicky Vella Laurenti seem able to pose any real threat to. 

(penned & published by Nicky Vella Laurenti, photo credit John Chew, photo editing Bryan Priest)