Veteran Maltese snooker player Tony Drago was beaten in the semi-finals of the Senior Snooker Championships at UK venue The Crucible this weekend.

One of our better-known exports, Drago is a Maltese former professional snooker and pool player.

Drago finished in the semi-finals after beating Vitor Puopolo 3-0 and an emotional win with tournament favourite Mark Davis 4-3 shortly after learning that his best friend of 35 years had just passed away.

However, Drago was out-matched by Jimmy White in the semi-finals who went on to win the championship.

“I have been competing with Jimmy White for 20 years and we know each other’s game inside out,” Drago told talk.mt in an interview.

“I have to admit that I was tired both because of the Mark Davis game and also quite emotional due to my friend dying.”

Known as The Tornado for his speed around the table, during his snooker career Drago won two professional titles: the 1993 Strachan Challenge Event 3 and the 1996 Guangzhou Masters.

He later switched his focus to the pool and won the 2003 World Pool Masters beating Hsia Hui-kai 8–6 and the 2008 Predator International 10-ball Championship beating Francisco Bustamante 13–10.