A team of eight players has travelled to Poznan, Poland, this week to take part in the Poznan inter-city challenge tournament.

The challenge tournament is the brainchild of Academy coach Paul Lake and sees teams from Warsaw, Tychy, Poznan and Marsa competing against each other.

This team event is not only for the top players in a club but also for ‘A’ & ‘B’ grade players giving players of all standards the chance to compete in an international tournament. Each team consists of 8 players and will play against players of a similar standard.

The team representing the Marsa Sports Club will play a pre-tournament test match today against a Poznan select team, with the main team event starting tomorrow.

Marsa start against the team representing Tychy and follow this with a tough match against Warsaw.

The final match against the tournament favourites and this year’s hosts Poznan rounds up the team event.

On Saturday two individual tournaments will be held, one ‘A’ event and one ‘B’ event where the players will fight out the Poznan city individual championships in their respective categories.

Nigel Dunkerley, fresh from his victory in the men’s ‘A’ event in the Malta International Open is hoping to carry his good form into these tournaments and is optimistic about his chances.

He said: “The open has given me more confidence, I feel stronger and my match tactics are improving all the time. I hope that we all perform well in Poznan and that the Marsa team all do their best and enjoy the team tournament. Personally I’ll be aiming for a top three finish in the individual event!”