Malta fall to Ukraine in the final once again

The curtain came down on the European Snooker Championship 2025 with a repeat of last year’s men’s team final, as Malta once again faced Ukraine. Despite an outstanding run throughout the tournament, Philip Ciantar and Isaac Borg were narrowly denied the title, falling 3–1 to the same opponents who they had beaten earlier in the group stage.

Malta 3 — the only remaining Maltese team in the competition — had delivered a brilliant performance earlier in the day during the semi-finals, defeating France 1 (Nicolas Mortreux and Gauvain Bazin) with a commanding 3–0 victory.

In the final, they met Anton Kazakov and Mykhailo Larkov, against whom they had previously triumphed 3–0. This time, however, the match unfolded differently. The Maltese duo started strongly, taking the opening frame, but the Ukrainians regrouped quickly. With greater focus and consistency, they claimed the next three frames to seal the title 3–1, with frame scores reading:

• 73–30
• 24–69
• 20–68
• 1–82

Although Philip Ciantar and Isaac Borg finished as runners-up, their performance throughout the tournament was exceptional. Out of six matches played, they secured five victories — a remarkable achievement on the European stage.

This result also marks the second consecutive year that Malta has reached the final of the men’s team event, underlining the country’s growing presence and strength in European snooker.