Chris Peplow and Joseph Casha saw their runs at the World Snooker Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria, come to an end on Thursday after both were eliminated in the last-64 stage of the competition.

Casha had earlier kept his hopes alive by successfully negotiating a preliminary knockout match, producing a convincing 4–0 victory over Serbia’s Vasilije Pešić. He dominated the encounter to progress, winning the frames 48–16, 64–55, 62–9 and 76–26.

However, the step up in quality in the last 64 proved decisive for both Maltese players, as they were drawn against experienced English opponents. Chris Peplow faced Luke Pinches, who had also come through a preliminary round, while Casha was up against former professional Stuart Carrington.

Both matches followed a similar pattern, with the English players in firm control throughout. Peplow was unable to find his rhythm against Pinches and was beaten 4–0, with frame scores of 0–91, 37–53, 24–80 and 5–58. Casha also struggled to impose himself against Carrington, losing by the same margin. The frames ended 24–84, 1–64, 27–69 and 35–47.

With these defeats, Malta’s participation in this year’s World Snooker Championship has concluded, following the involvement of seven Maltese players across the event. The championship will now move towards its conclusion, with the final scheduled to be played on Sunday, 1 February.