The Maltese contingent continued their strong showing at the European Snooker Championship in Gandia, Spain, securing four wins from five matches during the second day of group stage action on Monday.

Reigning Maltese champion Brian Cini began his campaign in impressive fashion with a dominant 3–0 victory over Spain’s Jose Ignacio Enciso. Cini produced an outstanding display, compiling breaks of 86, 101 and 66 to win the frames 90–0, 112–8 and 75–14.

Aaron Busuttil, Chris Peplow and Joseph Casha also recorded victories, all winning their matches 3–1 to register their second success in the group stage.

Busuttil defeated Slovakia’s Martin Orinak with frame scores of 38–58, 66–33, 64–40 and 86–29, while Peplow overcame Austria’s Thomas Janzso 52–85, 69–2, 66–18 and 56–9. Both players recovered well after losing the opening frame to win the next three.

Casha also secured a 3–1 win against Turkey’s Kayhan Durukan, taking the frames 67–44, 82–56, 30–60 and 65–43. With this result, Peplow and Casha have mathematically secured qualification for the second round.

The only Maltese defeat of the day came through Philip Ciantar, who lost 3–0 to current Spanish champion Daan Leyssen Janssens. The frames ended 50–54, 32–66 and 2–69, leaving Ciantar’s chances of progressing dependent on other results in Group S.

The group stage concludes on Tuesday, with four Maltese players returning to action, while Brian Cini is scheduled to play two matches.

Tuesday’s matches involving Maltese players:

• 12:30 – Group AO: Brian Cini vs Diego Minxalli (Albania)
• 15:00 – Group E: Aaron Busuttil vs Sebastiaan Kan (Netherlands)
• 15:00 – Group F: Chris Peplow vs Fabian Haken (Germany)
• 15:00 – Group G: Joseph Casha vs Craig Steadman (England)
• 17:30 – Group AO: Brian Cini vs Amaan Iqbal (Scotland)