he M factor

Although touted as a two-horse race between the main contenders for the National title, Theresa Brousson and David Delicata, the St Joseph One-Day Tournament panned out differently with the two aces having to settle for third and fourth place respectively behind the marvellous namesakes Mario Saliba (right of photo) and Mario Camilleri.

The margin of victory was even more startling, with the two favourites each managing four wins out of seven games, one less than runner-up Mario Camilleri and two games shy of winner Mario Saliba.  

Coming in closely behind fourth-placed Delicata was another one-day specialist, Josephine Mayo, who took home the Ratings Prize. 

In the B Section, despite dropping just one game, the victory hopes of the fast-improving Kevin Pirotta were frustrated by a visiting lady from Ireland, Mary Doyle, who pipped Pirotta to first place on spread. Alfred Xuereb finished third on 5 wins. Dave Parkin managed 3 wins in only his second competitive Scrabble tournament. 

Thanks to a majestic performance, Mario Saliba and Mario Camilleri climb up the National Player Rating List, with the former jumping from sixth to fourth place and the latter from eleventh up to eighth. 

(penned & published by Nicky Vella Laurenti)