Qormi’s Alex Borg Becomes First Maltese World No. 1 in Any Sport

Alex Borg enters the record books: How a quiet Qormi boy rewrote Maltese sporting history

By Luke Vella

The bells of St George’s basilica were still echoing across Qormi’s narrow alleys when news broke that Alex Borg had done it. At 32, the soft-spoken cueist who grew up practising on a second-hand table wedged between his grandmother’s walnut dresser and the family’s Christmas crib has become the first Maltese athlete ever to top a world-ranking list recognised by a global federation. After a gruelling 18-month campaign that took him from Sheffield’s crucible of snooker to Manila’s cavernous arenas, Borg officially displaced England’s Jamie Clarke as world number one in the World Pool-Billiard Association’s Nine-Ball rankings on Monday night, sending the islands into a midsummer frenzy usually reserved for Eurovision finals.

For a nation whose sporting folklore has long revolved around football derbies and weekend horse trots, Borg’s ascent feels almost surreal. “I still buy my pastizzi from the same kiosk near the old bus terminus,” he laughed via Zoom from his hotel in New York, where he had just pocketed the US Open Nine-Ball Championship to secure the decisive ranking points. “My nanna keeps the trophy next to the statue of St Publius. She says the saint helped with the tricky three-cushion shot against the Korean kid in the quarters.”

Malta has produced continental champions in water polo and age-group tennis prodigies, yet a world No. 1 in an individual sport has remained stubbornly elusive. When Borg clinched the final rack 9-7 against Filipino legend Carlo Biado, Maltese social media exploded with memes superimposing his face on the Knights of St John. Prime Minister Robert Abela hailed the achievement as “proof that the Maltese fighting spirit can conquer any green baize,” while the Malta Tourism Authority immediately launched a cheeky campaign inviting travellers to “break on a sun-kissed island that breaks world records.”

In Qormi, the reaction was more intimate. The parish priest, Fr Joe Borg (no relation), rang the basilica bells at 11 p.m. – technically after curfew – prompting half the town to spill onto Triq il-Kbira in their pyjamas, waving red-and-white flags used just weeks earlier during the village festa. “Alex used to serve Mass here as an altar boy,” Fr Joe told Hot Malta. “He was always precise, even when lighting candles. I guess that steady hand helped him pot balls.”

The economic ripple was instant. The Malta Billiards & Snooker Association reported a 300 % spike in junior enquiries, while three pool-hall owners in Gżira and St Julian’s announced free coaching sessions for under-16s “inspired by Alex.” A crowdfunding campaign to send local prodigies to next year’s junior world championships hit its €25,000 target in 48 hours. Even traditionalists who dismiss cue sports as “pub games” have softened; the Times of Malta’s usually crusty sports editorial declared it “a watershed moment comparable to the 1987 Freedom Day regatta.”

Borg’s own journey mirrors Malta’s recent coming-of-age. Born in 1991, he grew up amid the island’s transition from dial-up internet to EU membership, absorbing influences from Italian satellite channels and American action films. His father, a band-clarinet player, saved for months to buy him a half-size cue imported from Sicily. “I practised to the soundtrack of village marches,” Alex recalled. “Every break-off shot had a brass-band rhythm in my head.”

Behind the record lies a community scaffold. The Qormi Youth Centre stayed open late so Alex could practise after homework. Local bakeries donated ftira for tournament trips. When Malta’s only professional-standard table warped in 2016, residents staged a marathon tombola that raised €4,300 for a new slate. “This isn’t just my ranking,” Alex insisted. “It belongs to every auntie who stuffed euros into a plastic jar shaped like a dolphin.”

The government has already promised a civic reception in the Palace Square, but Alex hopes the legacy will be more durable: a national academy combining sports science with Malta’s unique brand of neighbourly grit. As fireworks lit up Qormi’s skyline on Monday, one banner summed up the mood: “From limestone streets to the top of the world – grazzi, Alex.” In a summer already blessed by Eurovision success and record tourism numbers, Malta has found its newest hero, chalk-stained and smiling, forever etched into the record books and the national heart.