Weekend Classics January 2026 Open
18 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held from 16 Jan 2026 to 18 Jan 2026 in St. Julian's, Malta. 4 titled players from 6 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 2009, and top seed was Matthew Portelli (🇲🇹 MLT, CM, 2195).
Matthew Portelli (🇲🇹 MLT, CM, 2195) won with 5.0/5, ahead of Luca Magini (4.0) and Jake Darmanin (3.5). Portelli won solo starting round 3.
The biggest upset came in round 4: Benjamin Calleja Falzon (1493) beat Kaan Emre Oral (1743), a +250-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsCM Matthew Portelli led from R3; +1.0-point edge over the runner-up.
CM Matthew Portelli never relinquished the lead after R3; final gap +1.0 over the runner-up.
CM Matthew Portelli 5 wins (R1–R5)Luca Magini 3 wins (R3–R5)
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1CMMatthew Portelli | * | — | 1 | 1 |
| 2Luca Magini | — | * | — | — |
| 3CMJake Darmanin | 0 | — | * | — |
| 4Gerhard Spiesberger | 0 | — | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portelli, MatthewCM | 2195 | MLT | +17N | +4B | +6N | +3B | +5N | 5.0 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 13.00 | 2745 | +40.0 |
| 2 | Magini, Luca | 2115 | ITA | +9N | −6B | +14N | +4B | +7N | 4.0 | 10.5 | 11.5 | 9.00 | 2037 | -4.4 |
| 3 | Darmanin, JakeCM | 2008 | MLT | +15N | +8B | =13N | −1N | +6B | 3.5 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 7.00 | 2139 | +19.6 |
| 4 | Zerafa, PatrickFM | 2006 | MLT | +10B | −1N | +11B | −2N | +16B | 3.0 | 14.0 | 15.0 | 6.00 | 1898 | -7.2 |
| 5 | Spiesberger, Gerhard | 1977 | AUT | +16N | =13B | =8N | +9B | −1B | 3.0 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 5.75 | 1999 | +6.6 |
| 6 | Fruehauf, Norbert | 1940 | AUT | +18B | +2N | −1B | =7N | −3N | 2.5 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 5.25 | 1920 | -3.0 |
| 7 | Refalo, John | 1711 | MLT | −8N | +14B | +10N | =6B | −2B | 2.5 | 11.5 | 12.5 | 4.75 | 1820 | +13.2 |
| 8 | Rosin, Federico | 2125 | ITA | +7B | −3N | =5B | −12N | +18N | 2.5 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 4.00 | 1817 | -31.2 |
| 9 | Borda, Matthias | 1660 | MLT | −2B | +18N | +16B | −5N | =11B | 2.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 2.25 | 1695 | -0.8 |
| 10 | Gunathilaka, Ovintha | 1495 | SRI | −4N | +17B | −7B | +15N | =12B | 2.5 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 3.25 | 1752 | +64.4 |
| 11 | Reyansh, Keshav | 1597 | MLT | −13N | +15B | −4N | +14B | =9N | 2.5 | 8.5 | 9.5 | 3.25 | 1720 | +16.0 |
| 12 | Fong, Kenny | 1904 | AUS | −14N | F | +15B | +8B | =10N | 2.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 4.75 | 2007 | +9.6 |
| 13 | Zerafa, RobertCM | 2079 | MLT | +11B | =5N | =3B | F | F | 2.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 5.75 | 2013 | -3.2 |
| 14 | Borg, Nikol | 0 | MLT | +12B | −7N | −2B | −11N | −15B | 1.0 | 11.5 | 12.5 | 2.50 | 1540 | 0.0 |
| 15 | Callus, Matthew | 1570 | MLT | −3B | −11N | −12N | −10B | +14N | 1.0 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 1.00 | 935 | -52.4 |
| 16 | Calleja Falzon, Benjamin | 1493 | MLT | −5B | F | −9N | +17B | −4N | 1.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 1.00 | 1605 | +14.8 |
| 17 | Oral, Kaan Emre | 1743 | TUR | −1B | −10N | +18B | −16N | F | 1.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 0.00 | 901 | -34.4 |
| 18 | Agbesola, Emmanuel | 0 | MLT | −6N | −9B | −17N | F | −8B | 0.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 0.00 | 1067 | 0.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Gunathilaka, OvinthaSRI+64.42.5 pts · #6
- 2Portelli, MatthewCMMLT+40.05.0 pts · #1
- 3Darmanin, JakeCMMLT+19.63.5 pts · #2
- 1Callus, MatthewMLT-52.41.0 pts · #16
- 2Oral, Kaan EmreTUR-34.41.0 pts · #17
- 3Rosin, FedericoITA-31.22.5 pts · #13
- R4+250 Elo gap
- R2+248 Elo gap
- R4+221 Elo gap