Feature image: Billiards table — Kurt Kaiser / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
Malta’s Busuttil Takes European Six Reds Gold
The final that was still chalking up when we left Sofia at midday is done — and the gold is Maltese.
Aaron Busuttil beat Germany’s Alexander Widau 5–3 in the EBSA European Six Reds Championship final at the Princess Hotel in Sofia on Sunday. Widau opened with a 56 break to steal the first frame; Busuttil answered with the next two, including a 69 in frame three, and never really let the German settle after that. Widau levelled at 2–2 and later trimmed a 4–2 deficit, but Busuttil closed it out in the eighth with a 49.
It’s Busuttil’s first individual European title, and a landmark for Maltese snooker. The semi-finals we already logged — Busuttil 4–1 over Chris Peplow in an all-Maltese shootout, Widau 4–0 over Wales’ Alfie Davies — set up a clean final. Irish referee Aonghus McAnally took the showpiece.
Where next for the champion
Q Tour Europe Event 2 opens today (21–24 September) at the same Princess Hotel in Sofia. Five Maltese are entered, including the newly crowned Six Reds champion, plus Alex Borg, Brian Cini, Caiden Casha and Joseph Casha. Fresh cloth, same building — Busuttil barely gets a night off.
Leicester — Scottish Open Quals Day 2
Mattioli Arena flips to Monday without replaying Sunday’s amateur shocks. First session from 10:00 BST (best of seven):
- Reanne Evans vs Oliver Sykes
- Mateusz Baranowski vs Patrick Whelan (a)
- Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon vs Paul Norris
- Liam Davies vs Julien Leclercq
Afternoon (13:00) brings Marco Fu against Ng On Yee — a former women’s world champion crossing paths with the Hong Kong veteran — plus Liu Wenwei–Andrew Higginson, Wang Xinbo–Luo Zetao and Artemijs Zizins–Craig Steadman. Evening (19:00) headline for the Whirlwind crowd: Leone Crowley vs Jimmy White, alongside Jamie Clarke–Fergal Quinn, Zhao Hanyang–Phil O’Kane and Ian Burns–Liu Yang.
Venue stages still December in Edinburgh (Meadowbank) for the Stephen Hendry Trophy. Streams: WST Play (global ex-China), HBO Max, Huya.
Tokyo & HCMC — finals day and World 10-Ball grind
The 39th Japan Open moves into New Pia Hall today for men’s last 16 through the final (race to 8) and women’s quarters onward. Combined published payout about ¥6.77 million; JPBA / Billi-Walker for draws and streams. No clean overnight champion story yet as London’s morning coffee hits the desk — we’ll pick up the Tokyo hardware when the results land.
In Ho Chi Minh City the Iwan Simonis WPA Men’s 10-Ball World Championship keeps double-elim rolling at Phú Thọ Indoor Stadium ($80,000 to the winner). CueScore / Pro Billiard Series for live boards; Billiard TV / Box Billiards Vietnam on YouTube for the main tables. Poison Saigon Women’s Open also opens the Vietnam midweek slate.
More from Leicester’s Monday boards and Tokyo’s New Pia Hall once the scores stick.
