The match opened with a shaky start for Debono, as he lost the first two frames of the best-of-19 showdown. Despite the early setback, he held his nerve, rallying back in spectacular fashion. Debono captured five consecutive frames, establishing himself as the frontrunner and leaving Shields struggling to keep up.

Shields managed to break Debono’s streak with a win in the eighth frame, but the Maltese player quickly regained control, taking the next three frames to extend his lead to 8-3. As the match edged closer to its conclusion, Debono showed signs of tension, allowing Shields to close the gap slightly. However, Debono maintained his composure and delivered a brilliant table clearance in the 15th frame to secure a 10-5 victory.

Debono’s win thrilled the local crowd and added another prestigious title to Malta’s blackball achievements on the world stage

The match opened with a shaky start for Debono, as he lost the first two frames of the best-of-19 showdown. Despite the early setback, he held his nerve, rallying back in spectacular fashion. Debono captured five consecutive frames, establishing himself as the frontrunner and leaving Shields struggling to keep up.

Shields managed to break Debono’s streak with a win in the eighth frame, but the Maltese player quickly regained control, taking the next three frames to extend his lead to 8-3. As the match edged closer to its conclusion, Debono showed signs of tension, allowing Shields to close the gap slightly. However, Debono maintained his composure and delivered a brilliant table clearance in the 15th frame to secure a 10-5 victory.

Debono’s win thrilled the local crowd and added another prestigious title to Malta’s blackball achievements on the world stage.