The World Masters here in Malta was a great success. This was a well organised tournament where the cream of the crop battled it out to see who is the real champion. This prestigious event which was held in Marsa, Malta, saw some of the World’s finest table football players come to the Mediterranean Island. In all there were 4 Italians, 4 Maltese, a Belgian and a Spaniard participating in this event, as well as two German referees.
All games were Final-Standard in themselves and some shock results kept everyone into the competition till the end. From the first session, when Francesco Mattiangeli overcame heavy favourite, Massimo Bolognino, one could notice that everyone had a chance to win the 800 Euros. Massimiliano Nastasi seemed the strongest player in the group stage, only dropping two points against eventual winner, Carlos Flores.
In group two, some surprise results ruled out world number one, Massimo Cremona, from the Semi Finals, his 2-1 defeat to David Fraikin from Belgium being the main cause of his elimination. However Joseph Mifsud made up for Cremona’s elimination and gave the home supporters something to be happy about.
The semi-finals paired Joseph Mifsud with Massimiliano Nastasi and Carlos Flores with Massimo Bolognino. The encounter between Mifsud and Nastasi was a very one-sided affair and the Perugian went through the match with ease ending in a comfortable 3-0 win. The other match however was a little closer and Flores, the Spaniard managed to beat Bolognino with the scoreline ending 2-1.
The final was a very exciting affair and the Spaniard took advantage of two early goals to mess with the Italian’s mind, and although the Italian managed to bring the score down to 2-1, another long-range goal from Flores secured the victory, and the 800 euros. Nastasi managed to get another one in before full-time, but it was too late for him. So indeed, Carlos Flores is the 2006 World Master.
