In a couple of months, the Malta Table Football Sports Association will be celebrating the 30th anniversary from its official foundation in 1982. Meanwhile, Samuel Bartolo established a record in the Malta Knock Out by winning the 2010-2011 edition beating Mark Gauci, ex-colleague at Valletta SC and CCT Roma in the past years in a spectacular match.

Records of finals and wins

Last Sunday’s final was the fifth consecutivefor Samuel Bartolo. A year ago, against Joseph Borg Bonaci, Bartolo was stopped from winning four knock-outs in a row and the title went to Borg Bonaci together with a World Cup qualification for Rain in September 2010.

This year, Bartolo managed to regain the title and in the final he overcame the challenge of Mark Gauci and thus achieving a passport for the World Cup 2011 to be held in Palermo next July.

Bartolo is one of the key players in the Maltese national team and his age ensures a number of years of service to the national squad.

The final was a game full of goals. Bartolo guaranteed himself the success and the post in the World Cup, while Gauci lost the possibility to make the double as he is the favourite candidate to win the Maltese Premier Division.

Clubs’ Championship

During the same day, the Clubs’ Championship (Round 1) was also held. Out of the four clubs registered with the MTFSA, only three had the possibility to participate as a disciplinary measure was taken against Attard SC and thus leaving only Bormla SC, Hamrun TFC and Valletta SC. Hamrun TFC, following the number of successes in the last years, started the competition as the favourites for the title.

The initial match ended in a 2-1 win for Bormla SC over Valletta. Following that game, Bormla had to face Hamrun TFC where the latter won 2-1. In the final match of the round, Valletta SC grapped a surprising draw against Hamrun TFC and left all possibilities open for the second round to be played on 19 June.