SPM Billiards Magazine Issue 34

from SPM Billiards Magazine Issue 34

SPM Billiards Magazine Issue 34

INTERVIEW WITH 2 X WORLD DOUBLE CHAMPIONS IN ENGLISH 8 BALL

By Boris Vidakovic

It has been several years since I have been to Malta. I heard that my friends, Clint Azzopardi & Lydan Debono, had won their second and consecutive World Doubles Championship title in the English 8-ball pool. I have decided to run from cold and rainy Belgrade to spend some sunny days in Malta and celebrate their achievement.

It would be selfish on my side not to publish what they had to say about their life story, so I decided to conduct an interview with them so I could share it with you.

Lydan, when did you start playing together?

Clint and I started playing with each other when I was 13 years old. I used to go to the same club Clint used to play at and watch him play so I could learn. From there onward, I started to practice each day, so I could start playing on the same team that Clint plays on. What was your first success as a double?

After one year, we started to play together and won the Premier League for the first time in my career.

Have you continued playing together after that?

We are still playing with each other to this day. We won every team trophy together in Malta, and we also won the National Champion, both of us. Currently, I am the National Champion.

Congratulations to both of you; that is an amazing result, knowing how strong the competition is in Malta! But our best moment came in 2018 when we were crowned the New World Doubles Champions for the first time. Along the way, we’ve beaten some great teams, which included Zhang Kunpeng, one of the best Chinese 8-Ball Players & Liam Dunster’s team in the Quarter Final.

It was an amazing feeling for us to be crowned with that title.

How does it feel that you “did it in a row” when several years are between your first double title and your new title?

After two years, we had to defend our title, but because of COVID-19, we couldn’t go to Australia. So we had to wait another two years. In 2022 we went to France to start our title defense which we already knew was going to be hard to retain.

We started off very well by beating a great Morocco team and Catalunia’s team 3-0 respectively.

In the last 16, we were facing a very strong companion’s Malta team, Clayton Castlaldi and Maverick Zammit. We defeated them 4-3. It was a close match which we could have lost.

Quarter-final, in our opinion, was our most difficult match. It was against two English professionals, Jimmy Carney & Ian Ali. We started the match horribly and went 3-0 down. From there onwards, we started to play some good pool, and we managed to turn it around & win 4-3.

In Semi-Final, we played against the Welsh duo, and we were too good on the day as we beat them 4-0 with three breaks and a clearance.

How did you feel when you qualified for the finals again? Have any teams defended their title so far?

After that game, we started to realize that we could make the impossible possible and defend the title, which was never done before.

In the final, we played against a Maltese duo again, and we started the game by losing the first frame. The second frame took about 43 minutes to finish as it was tactical, but in the end, we managed to win that tight match. In the 3 & the 4th matches, we broke and cleared, so that meant we were one match away from history.

They had a great chance in the last match, but they couldn’t capitalize on our dry break. So we cleared the remaining balls on the table to be declared the World Doubles Champions once again.

It was a proud moment for us both as to defend the title in France is something we could only dream of, but we, as a team, are really strong.

WOW, great achievement; as I said before, it is very hard to become a Maltese Champion since competition in Malta is so strong. You had to play twice with the Maltese team. Big shout out to the Maltese pool!

Have you had any support from the local community, government, etc.?

I would like to take this opportunity to mention our sponsors: Kencar, Lourdes Pharmacy, Mattress Collection, GP Borg, Bro’s Barber, Nick’s Snackbar, Benzing Mobile shop & Victons Radiators.

Last but not least, we would like to say a big “thank you” to our supporters and to, Clint’s wife, Mandy Azzopardi, and my girlfriend, Daniela Borg, for their continuous support. Nicely said, behind every successful man is a caring woman. Since you have such beautiful support, what are your plans for the future?

Hopefully, we can defend the title again in 2 years’ time. We are looking forward to the European Championships, which are going to be held here in Malta next November.

Wouldn’t it look like magic if you won it again? Except for love for pool, hard work, dedication, and support of your beloved, what are your “secret weapons”?

Clint and I both use John Parris Cues with an 8.5mm tip. We also both use TAOM Chalk as we think it’s the best. *****

Here are some words from 2 x World Double Champions in English pool that we spoke during our dinner. Clint and Lydan have written their names in the “Book of Pool Champions,” and we expect to hear about their new achievements soon. Now, let us focus on these delicious lampuki, famous fish in Malta. We don’t want them to get cold!

SPM Billiards Magazine Issue 34

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