The snooker European teams’ championship started yesterday at Qawra.

Team 1 (Alex Borg, Duncan Bezzina and Simon Zammit, beat Austria 10-4 in their opening Group A match. In the evening they had to play against Russia.

In Group B, Team 2, consisting of Clayton Castaldi, Simon Camilleri and Mark Saffrett, got off to a brilliant start beating Finland 10-3, and had to face Iceland later in the evening.

In Group C, Team 3, consisting of Duncan Pisani, Philip Ciantar and Marius Gatt, beat France 10-8 in a keenly contested match, and had to face Belgium later in the evening.

Also yesterday, in the Masters Championship, Team 1, composed of Frans Mintoff and Arthur Cachia, also started their commitments with a convincing 4-0 win against Russia. In another match, later in the day, they faced Belgium and emerged winners 4-3.

Also yesterday, Masters Team 2, composed of Tony Mifsud and Ivan Rizzo, played against Germany, and were beaten 2-4.

Today, Malta’s Team 1 will be playing against Wales 1 at 5.30pm. Team 2 will face Croatia and Teram 3 will be playing Scotland.

In the Masters Championship, Malta’s Team 1 will be playing against Scotland at 10am and against Russia at 5.30pm. Team 2 will be facing Russia 2 at 8pm.