Clayton Castaldi created history by becoming the first player from Malta to win the Ultimate Pool WEPF World 8-Ball Pool Championship after a thrilling 11-9 victory in the final against Josh Kane.
Held in Agadir, Morocco, it was the first time that the prestigious event – celebrating its 29th edition – had been staged outside of Europe, and following a landmark World Eightball Pool Federation vote last year, International 8-Ball Pool Rules made its debut in the competition.
As a non-seed, 38-year-old Castaldi began his campaign in the qualifying section, coming through three matches to reach the 64-player main draw. Then in the opening round he eliminated last year’s runner-up Chris Day (England) 8-5 before victories against Steve Singh (India), Zak Shepherd (Wales) and Hiten Patel (India).
In a tense semi-final, Castaldi managed to oust Richard Gifford (Wales) via a deciding frame, 10-9, to reach the final; never had a cueist from Malta reached the showpiece title match before.
England’s Kane – a current Ultimate Pool professional and a former WEPF World Masters Champion – worked his way through the other side of the draw.
As the number five seed, Kane avoided the qualifying rounds. He dropped just one frame during his first two match wins before denying fellow professional Declan Brennan (Northern Ireland) 8-7 in the last 16. Brennan was going for a double having already secured the World Masters title at the same venue last weekend.
After a resounding 9-1 quarter-final success against Thomas Louboutin (France), Kane ended the challenge of three-time Ultimate Pool title winner Stevie Dempsey, 10-8, in the last four.
With two maiden finalists, a new name on the illustrious roll of honour was guaranteed. Kane’s experience suggested that he was the favourite for the trophy, however, it was Il-Hamrun-based Castaldi who made a dream start, taking his chances and capitalising on uncharacteristic errors from his opponent as he established a 7-1 lead.
Resilient Kane dug deep, though. He bounced back by claiming the final three frames before the interval to make it 7-4, and with pressure now telling on Castaldi, Kane kept momentum on his side as he got to within one at 7-6.
The encounter then see-sawed. Kane missed the chance to level in frame 14, with Castaldi stopping the rot before also depositing a protracted frame 15 to go three clear and two away from glory at 9-6 up.
Kane won frame 16, but Castaldi subsequently produced a reverse break clearance to get on the hill at 10-7. More drama was to come, though, as – after Kane once again reduced the gap to two – Castaldi had the balls at his mercy in frame 19 for the title after Kane had earlier missed the 8-ball. However, under extreme pressure, Castaldi missed a straightforward – under normal circumstances – penultimate colour to allow his opponent to sink the 8-ball and breathe again.
Nevertheless, Castaldi – nicknamed ‘The Castle’ - picked himself up in frame 20, constructing a classy break clearance to get over the line and cue ecstatic celebrations from the Maltese onlookers in the arena who congratulated the new champion.
The images above are courtesy of Ultimate Pool/World Eightball Pool Federation