The Malta Billiards and Snooker Association is organising two major European events in Malta in March – at the Dolmen Hotel in Bugibba.

They are the second edition of the 2005 European Team Championship and the 2005 Mediterranean Cup.

The first ever edition of the European Team Championship was held last year in Riga, Latvia, where the Malta team, comprising Alex Borg, Simon Zammit and Duncan Bezzina, had emerged winners.

The competition has replaced the former Continental Cup.

The MBSA is staging the events – ladies, seniors and men’s team championships – in the name of the European Billiards and Snooker Association.

Invitations were sent last month to all European associations and there is a maximum entry of two ladies, two seniors and three men players from each member country. Sixty four participants will be able to take part in the event.

Invitations have also been sent to the Mediterranean Federations to send their teams to take part in the Mediterranean Cup which will precede the European Team Championship. In fact, the Med. Cup will be played between 5 and 6 March and the European Team Championship follows on 6 to 12 March.

The MBSA has not yet named its participants in the competitions. It will only be expected to do so after 15 January, which is the closing date for applications.

The opening ceremony of the European Championship will be held on Sunday 6 March at 8.30pm and the competition will start the following day with the Round Robin matches continuing through to the final which is to be staged on Saturday 12 March.

In every match, each player in a team will play two frames against all the players of the opposing team.

The venue is the renowned Dolmen Hotel at Bugibba where 14 tables will be laid out – 12 for the competitive matches and another two for practice purposes.

In the Men’s teams event, there is a total prize money of 2,500 euros.

The winning team will collect 1,200 euros and three trophies, the runners-up 600 euros and three trophies and the semi-finalists 300 euros each. In addition there will be a prize of 100 euros and a trophy for the player registering the highest break.

In the ladies and seniors events, the total prize money in each event amounts to 1,250 euros, and this consists of 600 euros and two trophies for the winning team, 300 euros and two trophies for the runners-up and 150 euros each for the semi-finalists.

There will be a prize of 50 euros and a trophy for the highest break.