Satisfying
and Spellbinding!
Acknowledging success and excellent
endeavor is only natural especially
when the achievement is related to a
special occasion where the build-up
and preparation have been demanding
and weary.
Winning for 25-year-old Shaun Murphy
was most significant where after near
misses earlier this season in Pot Black,
the Royal London Watches Grand Prix,
The Northern Ireland Trophy and the
Maplin UK championship, the Wiston Warrior
finally got his hands on some silverware.
Another milestone for Murphy is that
he joins Stephen Hendry in becoming
the second player to win back-to-back
tournaments in Malta. "Very very
chuffed, to get my name up there with
someone like his in the record stakes
is very pleasing and hopefully it won't
be the first record of his that I either
break or equal”.
For the record Hendry’s back-to-back
were the Rothmans Grand Prix and the
European Open both staged in 2001 with
Murphy winning the Malta Cup in 2007
and this year.
Satisfaction in a big event like the
recently held Malta Cup is far from
being a modest proud moment enjoyed
only by the tournament winner and his
cluster of family, friends and fans.
The fulfilment from such a fascinating
occasion is experienced by a broad spectrum
of protagonists at different level of
the organisation set-up and others whose
association with the event may vary
from that of an arena ticket usher to
that of the players’ hotel accommodation.
One major element to the event’s
aftermath fulfilment ambience is the
international exposure attained through
the priceless broadcast by Eurosport,
the Number One PETV channel system.
42 hours of total air-time spread over
eight days of which 36.75 hours were
LIVE transmission. These were transmitted
in 59 countries, in 20 languages, to
over 108 million homes across Europe,
North Africa and the Middle East.
The Malta Cup has proved to be a unique
experience which goes beyond the sport
concept of the event itself. A milestone
in the sport-tourism sector which truly
enough was endorsed by the support of
a sponsorship pool which included the
Malta Tourism Authority, Air Malta Hilton
Malta, Allevents Malta, which forms
part of the UK based Fraser Eagle Group
and GO Mobile. Such a potential opportunity
ought to be seriously analysed, eventually
with the drawing up of a marketing programme
to carry out an aggressive drive to
encourage more foreign presence at the
event, not only from the United Kingdom,
but from countries like Germany, Holland,
Sweden, Denmark and even northern Italy
where interest in snooker, thanks to
Eurosport strategy, is increasing as
identified by the channel’s constant
growing ratings. Such an initiative
is bound to have an ample spill-off
effect for the benefit of the tourism
industry in general.
Mr. Kevin Dean, Managing Director of
Fraser Eagle believes that “Eurosport
broadcasts have undoubtedly raised high
the name of Malta not merely as a tourist
destination but effectively it portrayed
a sense of competence and personality
so significant in the conference and
special events business. Our introduction
to snooker as Official Travel Partners
to the Malta Cup was a positive experience
and has definitely bolstered our name
in the sports arena on a wider spectrum”.
Moreover, “Fraser Eagle and Allevents
are keen to strengthen their commitment
in this event. We look forward to be
part of the winning team striving to
lift-up the prestige of the Malta Cup
to feature amongst the most sought after
snooker Tournament world-wide”,
upheld Mr Dean.
Satisfaction was also in the air amongst
the players and their managers. John
Carroll, a Director of 110 Sport Management
Ltd, a firm involved in the managing
of players and events in snooker, golf,
football, rugby, cycling, boxing, horse
racing and skiing said: “Our Company
was represented at the Malta Cup by
Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams, Marco
Fu, Ken Doherty, Stephen Maguire and
Joe Perry. We have been taking part
in Snooker Promotion events from the
beginning. The players like to travel
to Malta. They feel they are well looked
after here and the events are run to
a high standard.”
On the same waveband was Shaun Murphy
who, at the Champion’s Cocktail
reception hosted by ‘Allevents
by Fraser Eagle’ at the end of
the tournament, revealed the reason
for his success on our Mediterranean
Island over the last two seasons.
“We always get really good support
here. The Maltese are always respectful
of people who are good at what they
do and I think if we're respectful to
them they always treat us very well.
As long as we're invited we'll keep
coming back."
And so the curtain falls on yet another
successful Snooker Promotion event sanctioned
by World Snooker. Today Malta enjoys
a respected identity on the international
world of professional snooker which
one trust to further enhance next year
with the 5th edition of the Malta Cup.
By Wilfred Sultana
17th February 2008
