Alex Borg (born 5 June 1969) is a Maltese former professional snooker player. Borg currently resides in Mellieha, Malta. [1]

Alex Borg
Paul Hunter Classic 2016
Born (1969-06-05) 5 June 1969 (age 55)
Mellieha, Malta
Sport country Malta
Professional1991–1997, 1998/1999, 2001/2002, 2005–2007, 2013–2015, 2016–2018, 2019–2021
Highest ranking80 (2005/2006)
Best ranking finishLast 32 (x1)

Career

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Borg first turned professional in 1991, and regularly appeared as a wild card in the Malta Grand Prix, where throughout the event's history he defeated players including Nigel Bond and John Higgins. His best performances were reaching the semi-final in 1997 and 1998. He also competed as a wild card in the Malta Cup. However, in ranking events he has not had such success, his best finish being to the last 64, he has achieved this on three occasions, all in the Grand Prix. He has won the EBSA European Snooker Championships twice, the first in 2005 where he beat Kristján Helgason 7–2 in the final, and the following year when he beat Jeff Cundy 7–5.

In the second event of the 2016 Q School, Alex Borg won against Alexander Ursenbacher to gain a two-year tour card. He endured a difficult opening to the 2016/17 season, losing his first eight matches on tour. His best win of the season was a 5–1 victory over Jack Lisowski at the 2017 China Open.

Borg came through the third event of the 2019 Q School by winning six matches to earn a two-year card on the World Snooker Tour for the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons.[2] In 2019, the Maltese Billiard and Snooker Association (MBSA) announced that he will be the captain of the Maltese Team during the 2019 World Cup held in China alongside his teammate Brian Cini. He also represented Malta with Tony Drago and Duncan Bezzina during the past years.

In 2021, Alex Borg ended his career as a professional snooker player after being dropped from the tour. Despite this, he still plays snooker in his home country and till date, he is currently recognised as one of the most active players affiliated with the Malta Billiards & Snooker Association.

Performance and ranking timeline

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Tournament 1991/
92
1992/
93
1993/
94
1994/
95
1995/
96
1996/
97
1997/
98
1998/
99
1999/
00
2000/
01
2001/
02
2003/
04
2004/
05
2005/
06
2006/
07
2007/
08
2013/
14
2014/
15
2015/
16
2016/
17
2017/
18
2019/
20
2020/
21
Ranking[3][nb 1] [nb 2] 241 193 180 174 164 [nb 3] [nb 2] [nb 3] [nb 3] [nb 2] [nb 3] [nb 3] [nb 2] 84 [nb 3] [nb 2] 80 [nb 3] [nb 2] 83 [nb 2] 97
Ranking tournaments
European Masters[nb 4] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ NH LQ Not Held LQ A WR LQ LQ NR Not Held LQ LQ LQ 1R
English Open Tournament Not Held 1R 1R 1R 1R
Championship League Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event RR
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held 2R 2R 1R 1R
UK Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ A A LQ A A LQ LQ A 1R 1R A 1R 1R 1R 1R
Scottish Open[nb 5] NH LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ A A LQ A Tournament Not Held Not Held 2R 1R 1R WD
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held NR DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
German Masters[nb 6] Tournament Not Held LQ LQ A NR Tournament Not Held LQ A A LQ LQ LQ LQ
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking 1R 3R 1R WD
Welsh Open LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ A A LQ A A LQ LQ A LQ 2R A 2R 1R 1R WD
Players Championship[nb 7] Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
Gibraltar Open Tournament Not Held MR A 1R 1R A
WST Pro Series Tournament Not Held WD
Tour Championship Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ
World Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ A A LQ LQ A LQ LQ A LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
World Seniors Championship A Tournament Not Held A WD A A NH A A
The Masters A LQ A A A A A A A A A A A A LQ A A A A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Classic LQ Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open[nb 8] LQ MR NR Tournament Not Held
Dubai Classic[nb 9] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Not Held Non-Ranking Event WR NR Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 10] LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ A A LQ Not Held NR Tournament Not Held
British Open LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ A A LQ A A Tournament Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Tournament Not Held NR LQ A Tournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 11] Tournament Not Held A LQ Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open[nb 12] Not Held NR Tournament Not Held A LQ A Not Held
Shanghai Masters Tournament Not Held A LQ LQ A LQ LQ NR NH
Paul Hunter Classic[nb 13] Tournament Not Held Pro-am Event Minor-Ranking 1R 2R NR NH
Indian Open Tournament Not Held LQ A NH LQ LQ Not Held
China Open[nb 14] Tournament Not Held NR LQ A A LQ NH A LQ LQ A LQ A A WR LQ Not Held
Riga Masters[nb 15] Tournament Not Held Minor-Rank. LQ 1R LQ NH
International Championship Tournament Not Held LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ NH
China Championship Tournament Not Held NR LQ LQ NH
World Open[nb 16] LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ A 1R A A LQ A A LQ LQ A LQ Not Held LQ LQ LQ NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Malta Masters Tournament Not Held 1R Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Not Held 1R QF 1R SF SF R RR Tournament Not Held
European Masters[nb 17] Ranking Event Tournament Not Held Ranking Event RR Not Held Ranking Event
Six-red World Championship[nb 18] Tournament Not Held RR RR A A A A NH
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
DQ disqualified from the tournament
NH / Not Held event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Event means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
PA / Pro-am Event means an event is/was a pro-am event.
  1. ^ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g He was not on the Main Tour.
  4. ^ The event was called the European Open (1991/1992-1996/1997 & 2001/2002-2003/2004), Irish Open (1998/1999) and the Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)
  5. ^ The event was called the International Open (1992/1993–1996/1997) and the Players Championship (2003/2004)
  6. ^ The event was called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  7. ^ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2012/2013) and the Players Championship Grand Final (2013/2014–2015/2016)
  8. ^ The event was called the Strachan Challenge (1992/1993–1993/1994)
  9. ^ The event was called the Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and the Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  10. ^ The event was called the Asian Open (1991/1992–1992/1993) and the Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/1997)
  11. ^ The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)
  12. ^ The event was called the Australian Open (1994/1995) and the Australian Masters (1995/1996)
  13. ^ The event was called the Grand Prix Fürth (2004/2005) and the Fürth German Open (2005/2006–2006/2007)
  14. ^ The event was called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  15. ^ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
  16. ^ The event was called the Grand Prix (1991/1992–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010), the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004) and the Haikou World Open (2011/2012–2013/2014)
  17. ^ The event was called the Malta Cup (2007/2008)
  18. ^ The event was called the Six-red World Grand Prix (2009/2010)

Career finals

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Amateur finals: 30 (22 recorded titles)

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1987 Malta Amateur Championship   Joe Grech 3–8
Runner-up 2. 1989 Malta Amateur Championship   Paul Mifsud 0–8
Runner-up 3. 1990 Malta Amateur Championship   Paul Mifsud 2–8
Runner-up 4. 1996 Malta Amateur Championship   Paul Mifsud 4–8
Runner-up 5. 1997 Malta Amateur Championship   Joe Grech 7–8
Winner 6. 1998 Malta Amateur Championship   Joe Grech 8–7
Runner-up 7. 1998 EBSA European Snooker Championships   Kristján Helgason 2–7
Runner-up 8. 1999 Malta Amateur Championship   Joe Grech 6–8
Winner 9. 2001 Malta Amateur Championship   Simon Zammit 8–5
Runner-up 10. 2002 Malta Amateur Championship   Simon Zammit 6–8
Winner 11. 2003 Malta Amateur Championship   Duncan Bezzina 8–2
Winner 12. 2004 Malta Amateur Championship   Joe Grech 8–4
Runner-up 13. 2004 EBSA European Snooker Championships (2)   Mark Allen 6–7
Winner 14. 2005 Malta Amateur Championship   Simon Zammit 7–4
Winner 15. 2005 EBSA European Snooker Championships   Kristján Helgason 7–2
Winner 16. 2006 Malta Amateur Championship   Simon Zammit 7–2
Winner 17. 2006 EBSA European Snooker Championships (2)   Jeff Cundy 7–5
Winner 18. 2007 Malta Amateur Championship   Simon Zammit 7–4
Winner 19. 2008 Malta Amateur Championship   Simon Zammit 7–3
Winner 20. 2009 Malta Amateur Championship   Duncan Bezzina 7–2
Runner-up 21. 2010 Malta Amateur Championship   Duncan Bezzina 2–7
Runner-up 22. 2010 EBSA International Open   Kurt Maflin 2–5
Winner 23. 2011 Malta Amateur Championship   Simon Zammit 7–6
Winner 24. 2012 Malta Amateur Championship   Duncan Bezzina 7–4
Runner-up 25. 2013 Malta Amateur Championship   Duncan Bezzina 1–6
Winner 26. 2014 Malta Amateur Championship   Duncan Bezzina 6–4
Winner 27. 2015 Malta Amateur Championship   Duncan Bezzina 6–5
Runner-up 28. 2016 Malta Amateur Championship   Brian Cini 4–6
Winner 29. 2019 Attrans Malta Snooker Open   Duncan Bezzina 6-4
Winner 30. 2019 Second MBSA Amateur Ranking Tournament   Duncan Bezzina 5-4
Winner 31. 2021 Maltese Masters Final   Pierre Pace 5-1
Winner 32. 2022 Ranking Shootout   Manuel Mallia 1-0
Runner-up 33. 2023 Malta Master   Duncan Bezzina 1-5
Runner-up 34. 2023 Malta Ranking 4   Chris Peplow 1-5
Winner 35. 2023 Ranking Event 1   Aaron Busuttil 5-3
Winner 36. 2023 Six Reds Snooker for Parkinson's   Manuel Mallia 5-4
Winner 37. 2024 Masters Snooker Champion   Philip Ciantar Undiscovered

References

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  1. ^ "Alex Borg".
  2. ^ "Q School Event Three Winners". World Snooker. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
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