Alex Borg (photo) won the third Malta Open ranking tournament by beating Duncan Bezzina 5-3 in the final.

Borg won the first three frames by 64-39, 57-47 and 70-21, but Bezzina replied with another three straight frames 81-7, 55-46 and 65-40 to level the score at 3-3. In the last two frames Malta Champion Borg was on top again by winning both of them 74-15 and 67-19.

In the semi-finals Borg beat Richard Lewis 4-0 while Bezzina beat Arthur Cachia 4-0.

In the quarter-finals, Borg beat Clint Grima 3-0 during which he compiled a fantastic 137 break, being the highest in the tournament. In the other quarter-finals Bezzina beat Joe Grech 3-1, Richard Lewis beat Marlon Bugeja 3-1 and Arthur Cachia beat David Cortis 3-1.

The first four places in the Provisional Ranking List are now occupied by Alex Borg, followed by Joe Grech, Simon Zammit and Duncan Bezzina.