Daniel Bajada (12 years old, picture) was the winner of the second Under 18’s Ranking Tournament of the season.

In a closely fought final Daniel eventually emerged the winner against Matthew Micallef (15 years old). In a best of seven game final it went all the way to the ‘wire’ and ended in Daniel’s favour, with scores of 11-13, 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 6-11, 11-5 and 11-8.

It is a great testament to the future of the sport in Malta to see a 12-year old and a 15-year old contesting an Under 18’s final having knocked out players much older and much more experienced.

In several tournaments throughout the year players are awarded ranking points towards their personal totals when playing in these knock-out tournaments.

The top 12 Under 18 ranked players in Malta, after this tournament are:

1 Borg Cardona Umberto, 2 Micallef Matthew, 3 Carbonaro R., 4 Abela K, 5 Bajada Daniel, 6 Grech Stefan, 7 Vella Daniel, 8 Mikhailenko Sergei, 9 Vella Thomas, 10 Schembri Jean Paul, 11 Azzopardi John, 12 Magri Gatt Gary.