Brian Cini claimed victory in the second ranking tournament of the season after defeating Chris Peplow 5–1 in the final, a clash that closely mirrored last year’s decider between the same two players.

As in their previous encounter, it was Peplow who made the early running, taking the opening frame and registering the highest break of the match with an impressive 82. However, Cini responded immediately, levelling the score and then asserting full control of the contest.

From that point on, Cini dominated proceedings, winning five frames in succession. His consistency and scoring power proved decisive, highlighted by breaks of 76 and 65 in the third and fourth frames respectively.

Peplow came closest to narrowing the gap in the fifth frame, where he potted the final two balls — the pink and the black — to force a dramatic re-spotted black at 58–58. Once again, though, Cini held his nerve to win the shoot-out and edge further clear.

The final frame scores were: 15–106, 56–17, 76–13, 67–14, 65–58 and 66–17.

Both finalists had been pushed to the limit in the semi-finals earlier in the week, with each securing a 4–3 victory in the deciding frame. Cini overcame Isaac Borg, while Peplow booked his place in the final by defeating John Farrugia.

Elsewhere, the season’s second ranking Masters final was also contested this week, with Alex Borg emerging victorious after a hard-fought 5–3 win over Ivan Attard.