7th March, Manama, Bahrain: Top seed, Shaker Al Hassan won his first-ever World Bowling Tour title after he narrowly defeated challenger, John Szczerbinski of United States, 231-229 in the championship match of the PBA-WBT #8 12th Kongdom of Bahrain International Open.

Shaker, who advanced into the stepladder finals as top seed, started off splendidly with four strikes-in-a-row to open up a gap of 23 pins over third-seed Szczerbinski, who managed only a double in the third and fourth frames.

The Emirati left-hander knocked down another double in the seventh and eight frames and looked set to cruise to a comfortable victory. But Szczerbinski rolled four strikes from frame eighth and a 9-pin count in the 12th to end with 229 hoping to put pressure on his opponent.

Shaker spared a crucial 3-10 split in the ninth frame and needed only to mark his last frame to clinch victory. His shot looked good but went high. Fortunately it left a single pin which he subsequently spared to take the win on a narrowest of margin with 231.

"When I started off with four strikes, I was alot more relaxed," said the 43-year-old Shaker, whose last title was the Thailand Open in 2013.

"When you're palying against such a good bowler, you cannot afford to make any mistake and that was exactly what I said to myself. So I put in all my concentration into making good shots."

Szczerbinski, who had earlier sailed past second seed, Chris Loschetter of Avon, Ohio, 197-166 in the semi-finals, settled for US$12,500 as first runner-up while the champion pocketed the top prize of US$25,000. Loschetter earned US$8,000 as second runner-up.

"Shaker bowled well throughout the earlier two rounds and he fully deserved this victory," said the 26-year-old from North Tonawanda, N.Y., who won the 2013 World Championship Doubles gold with Chris Barnes.

"This is my first-ever outing in this part of the world and I'm enjoying every bit of it. The host has been great and the organization of the tournament fantastic. I'm actually dedicating this to my aunt Melanie, who has just been diagnosed with cancer."

In the earlier Round 5 finals, Shaker topped the field with a total of 1321, just 5 pins ahead of Loschetter on 1316, who shot 248 in his final game to snatch second position. Szczerbinski, who was leading before the final game, managed only 179 to clinch the third stepladder spot with 1300.

Defending champion, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland missed the cut by 49 pins to finish fourth with 1251 to take home US$6,000 while newly-crowned H.H. Emir Cup champion, Chris Barnes rounded out the top 5 with 1249.

The next World Bowling Tour stop will be in Kuwait commencing on March 10. The top 16 Asian men qualified for the opening leg of this year's ABF Tour - Bahrain which will held at the same bowling centre tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

7th March, Manama, Bahrain: American PBA pro, Chris Loschetter of Avon, Ohio snatched top spot of the PBA-WBT #8 Kingdom of Bahrain International Open Round 4 finals ahead of two Asians, Sithiphol Kunaksorn of Thailand and Shaker Al Hassan of UAE.

Defending champion, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland got off the mark with a superb 257 to lead Mike Fagan of USA by 33 pins. The lanky Finn could not pull away when he posted ony 202 as Michael Mak of Hong Kong closed in 15 pins adrift in second.

Koivuniemi followed it up with 211, 228 and 202 to hand on to the lead which Chris Barnes and Mike Fagan trading second psotion up to the fifth game.

Loschetter stormed home with 237 and 269 in his two final games to snatch pole position with 1335 to advance into the next round. Sithiphol also fired a big game of 268 to clinch second spot with 1317.

Sole lefty, Shaker also ended strongly with 227 and 244 to take up third position with 1306. Fagan settled for fourth position with 1299 while pace-setter Koivuniemi ended with a poor 172 to finish fifth with 1272.

The sixth and final position was again hotly contested amongst Barnes, Bill O'Neill of USA and Michael Mak. O'Neill needed to strike out in the tenth frame to overhaul Barnes but encountered a stubborn pin 10 in the 11th frame to settle for 252 and 1263 total.

Mak also needed to end with a 234 or higher final game but just could not strike in the ninth and tenth frames. Barnes was forced to strike out from frame nine which he neatly did to secure the sixth spot with 199 and 1268.

O'Neill missed the cut by 5 pins. Seeded qualifiers, Jason Belmonte of Australia and Wicky Yeung failed to progress into the next round.

The top 6 finishers will join the top 6 seeded qualifiers for the last and final Round 5 finals before deciding on the top 3 to advance to the stepladder finals later today.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

6th March, Manama, Bahrain: American PBA professionals ruled Round 3 finals of the PBA-WBT #8 12th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open with Mike Fagan taking a commanding lead to advance into the next round.

Two-handed Osku Palermaa of Finland blitzed the lanes at Ozone Bowling Center with a sizzling 279 to lead Fagan by 27 pins followed by newly-crowned H.H. Emir Cup winner, Chris Barnes of USA and Mohammed Sultan of Bahrain.

Palermaa stumbled to a 195 in the second game but had to share the lead with Fagan, 20 pins ahead of a third Amercian Tom Daugherty moving up into third spot. Palermaa lost the lead after another low 177 as Fagan took over the running.

Fagan went on to end the round with 233, 247 and 241 to lead the top 6 into next round finals. 2011 Kuwait Open champion, Chris Loschetter of USA, who had a strong run in the fourth and fifth games, settled for second position with 1326.

Debutant, Brad Angelo stormed home with 246 and 234 in his last two games to snatch third spot with 1308 giving United States a top 3 finish. Mohammed Sultan did his country very proud by taking up fourth with 1281.

The fight for the last two spots was keenly contested between Barnes and Michael Mak of Hong Kong. Barnes, who had just 9 pins cushion over Mak, struck out to end with 212 while Mak ended with 215.

Fortunately for both, Palermaa had a chance to take one of the last two spots away from them but suffered a 167 to end in eighth position with 1223. Daugherty's 213 in his final game came too late losing out by 12 pins to finish seventh with 1226.

In the earlier Round 2 finals, Craig Nidiffer topped the field with 1401 followed by Daugherty in second with 1253 to give United States a one-two finish.

Mak took third spot with 1234 and Hameed Taqi, Mohammed Sultan and Barnes secured their places in the next round with 1220, 1212 and 1210 respectively. A third Bahraini, Mohammed Janahi missed the cut by a 49 pins to finish seventh position.

The top 6 finishers in Round 3 finals will join the six seeded qualifiers positioned 7 to 12 for another 6 games in Round 4 Finals. The field will be cut to top 6 and again will be joined by the top 6 seeded qualifiers positioned 1 to 6 for Round 5 finals.

The top 3 at the end of ROnd 5 finals will proceed to the stepladder grand finals. The champion will walk away with the top prize of US$25,000 with the first and second runner-ups earning US$12,500 and US$8,000 respectively.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

5th March, Manama, Bahrain: PBA World Championship winner, Dominic Barrett of England posted a higher 6-game series in his second block the final squad of the PBA-WBT #8 12th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open to make the top bracket.

The Brit started off splendidly with 259 in his opening game but was pegged by two-handed Finn, Osku Palermaa, who nearly rolled the tournament's first perfect game with 299. Both had built up a huge gap over their nearest rival by 109 pins.

Barrett kept a good pace with 218, 231 and 225 in his next three games and needed only 202 or more to clinch the fifth and final top bracket spot. The leader came home with 206 to end the second block with 1352.

His 12-game total of 2666 beat two-time USBC Masters champion, Aussie Jason Belmonte, who was fifth before the final squad, by 4 pins to earn three byes and into Round 5 finals.

Palermaa, who trailed Barrett all the way, suffered a poor 165 at lanes 11-12 to end the block with 1322 for a total of 2586 the second bracket by 13 pins for two byes.

The rest of the field in Squad F were no where near to make the cut. The closest was Adel Al Barqi of Saudi Arabia but he finished third with 2454.

The top 4 positions remained unchanged with Paul Moor of England in pole with 2758 followed by John Szczerbinski of USA in second with 2714 and Yousif Falah of Bahrain third with 2697. PBA pro, Tommy Jones of USA and Barrett completed the top 5.

Sami Noor of Bahrain earned the top Bahraini outside the top 5 for ROund 5 finals. Belmonte headed the second bracket in seventh position with 2662, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia headed the third bracket in 13th position with 2594.

Tom Daugherty of USA headed the third bracket with 2573 while the cut remained with Ahmed Fareed of Bahrain with 2506.

Mohammed Sultan and Hameed Taqi took 28th and 29th positions reserved for the top 2 Bahrainis outside the top 27 qualifying positions and the 30th and last spot went to top women, Sandra Andersson of Sweden.

Qualifiers position 19 to 30 (12 bowlers) will contest Round 2 finals tomorrow at 10.00am local time. The top 6 finishers will join qualifiers positioned 13 to 18 for Round 3 finals at 3.00pm.

The top 6 finishers will join qualifiers positioned 7 to 12 for March 7 Round 4 finals at 9.00am. The top 6 will then join the top 6 seeded qualifiers for Round 5 finals at 2.00pm. The top 3 will then advance to the stepladder grand finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

5th March, Manama, Bahrain: Overnight leader, Paul Moor of England sealed pole position of the overall qualifying standings at the PBA-WBT #8 12th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open after a commanding performance in the second block.

Moor, who led Squad E and the overall standings with an average of 227.50, continued with blistering pace to extend his lead from 17 pins to 47 pins with an impressive 237 opening game.

The southpaw widened his gap to 58 pins after the second game followed by American, Brad Angelo moving up to second as Bill O'Neill of USA, who was second to Moor last night, slipped down to third.

Moor went on to end the second block with a superb 1393 and a 12-game total of 2758. Two-time USBC Masters champion, Jason Belmonte, who almost rolled the tournament's first perfect game in the fifth, stormed home to snatch second spot with 2662.

The two-handed Aussie also registered the highest 6-game series with 1466 in his second block. O'Neill clinched third position with 2647 on a lower second block of 1299.

Thailand's Sithiphol Kunaksorn was the best Asian outside the top 3 when he took fourth spot with 2619 while American PBA pro, Chris Loschetter leapfrog to fifth position with 2593 after poor first block.

Moor sits comfortably in pole position in the overall standings with a massive 229.83 average before the last squad of the day is completed. Squad D leader, John Szczerbinski of USA claimed second spot with 226.17.

Top Bahraini, Yousif Falah, American PBA pro Tommy Jones and Belmonte completed the top 5 with 224,75, 224.67 and 221.83 respectively.

Sami Noor is the highest Bahraini outside the top 5 to join qualifiers in the top bracket. SHaker Al Hassan headed the second bracket with 221.17 and Tom Daugherty of USA held the 12th and last spot of this bracket with 214.42.

The current cut at 27th position went to Ahmed Fareed of Bahrain with 208.83 average just below newly-crownd H.H. Emir's Cup champion, Chris Barnes of USA in a lowly 26th position.

AS no Bahraini are in the last squad, Mohammed Sultan and Hameed Taqi are currently the two top Bahrainis to make the cut in 28th and 29th unless those in Squad F qualified. Position 30 went to Sandra Andersson of Sweden.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

5th March, Manama, Bahrain: American PBA professionals continued to dominate Squad D of the PBA-WBT #8 Kingdom of Bahrain International Open at the end of their second block of qualifying rounds by taking the top 3 spots.

John Szczerbinski, who led the first block by 26 pins over fellow-American, Craig Nidiffer, extended his lead slightly to 32 pins after he got off the block with 234 as a third American, Tommy Jones moved up to second and Nidiffer slipping down to third.

Szczerbinski posted 219 and 267 in his next two games to open up a huge gap of 95 pins with Jones continuing to trail in second and Nidiffer slipping further away from the duo.

Despite a lowly 199 in the fourth game, Szczerbinski recovered with 258 and 227 to end the block with 1404 6-games series for a total of 2714. Jones shot the highest series with 1425 to take second spot with 2696, 18 pins adrift.

Tom Daugherty, who led in the first block before his disasterous 130 in the final game, ended on the same pair of lanes but this time round knocked down a superb 267 to snatch third spot with 2573.

Sami Noor put in a superb performance to become the top Asian finishing a creditable fourth with 2555 while Nidiffer rounded out the top 5 in the squad with 2526.

Szczerbinski's fine run in his second block hauled himself up from tenth in the overall standings to second with an average of 226.17 behind Paul Moor of England who has 226.50 average.

Although Moor has yet to complete his second block, the American welcomed the fact that he has made the top bracket to earn three byes into Round 5 finals as one of the top 5 qualifiers.

Top Bahraini, Yousif Falah slipped down to third with an average of 224.75 while Jones, who was 18th overnight, leapfrog into fourth position with 224.67. Bill O'Neill, who has yet to complete his second block in Squad E tied with Jones to complete the top 5.

Shaker Al Hassan of UAE slipped down to seventh position to head the second bracket with 221.17 and Michael Mak of Hong Kong occupied the 12th and final spot of this bracket with 217.83.

Sami Noor, who improved to finish fourth in this squad put him in 19th position and could well earn the sixth spot reserved for the top Bahraini outside the top 5 qualifying positions to join Yousif in Round 5 finals.

The current cut went up to an average of 208.17 being held by Eric Tseng of Hong Kong. Positions 28 and 29 are reserved for the top 2 Bahrainis who do not qualify while 30th position is reserved for the top local women.

Two more squads will follow later today which will complete the qualifying rounds and determine the final qualifying standings.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

4th March, Manama, Bahrain: 2013 PBA World Championship winner, Dominic Barrett of England topped the final Squad F of the PBA-WBT #8 12th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open drawing him nearer to the top bracket.

Barrett, who had earlier stumbled to a 1238 series in Squad E, was forced to re-enter for the final squad but was left with no slot left in the squad which was fully taken. Thanks to a withdrawal from a fellow bowler, he was able to give it a go.

2012 Bahrain Open champion, Osku Palermaa, who like Barrett registered a poor block of 1219 in the earlier Squad E. But the two-handed Finn had a better start with 258 in his opening game to lead Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE by 24 pins.

Despite a 193 in the second game, Palermaa held the lead but his gap was reduced to just 7 pins by Hussain. Khaled Al Dubyyan of Kuwait closed on the leading duo in third.

A big 256 game in the third from Barrett moved him up into the lead while the Finn was unable to recover managing only 201, 33 pins separating the leading duo.

Barrett went on to end his second attempt with 210, 226 and 193 to top the squad with 1314. Palermaa settled for second with an improved 1264 over his first attempt.

Adel Al Barqi of Saudi Arabia and Jassim Darwish of Kuwait shared third spot with 1244 while a second Kuwaiti, Basel Al Anzi rounded out the top 5 with 1223.

Barrett's effort put him seventh in the overall standings based on his 219.00 average. The top 5 positions remained unchallenged with his countrymen, Paul Moor leading with 227.50 average from the earlier Squad E.

Yousif Falah of Bahrain, Bill O'Neill of USA, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE and Brad Angelo of USA occupied second to fifth positions of the top bracket. The sixth position is reserved for the top Bahraini outside the top 5.

Wicky Yeung of Hong Kong held the 12th and final spot of the second bracket with an average of 216.50. Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia headed the third bracket with 216.17 and Tommy Jones of USA held the 18th and final spot of the third bracket with 211.83.

The current cut sent to Jassim Darwish of Kuwait with 207.33. Positions 28 and 29 are reserved for Bahraini qualifiers outside the top 27 while psotion 30 is reserved for the top women qualifier.

Competition will resume with the second block of 6 games for all the three squads which will determine the final qualifiying standings. Round 2 and 3 finals will be staged on March 6 and Round 4 and 5 finals on March 7.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

4th March, Manama, Bahrain: After a poor round in Squad C yesterday, Paul Moor of England re-entered for his second attmept at the PBA-WBT #8 Kingdom of Bahrain International Open and paid off handsomely when topping Squad E and cutting into the top bracket.

Moor, who had only posted 2255 in Squad C, got off to a promising start with 249 in his opening game to lead Mohamed Al Marzooqi of UAE in second by 4 pins and Michael Mak in third a further 3 pins away.

Although the English southpaw rolled 214 in his second game, American PBA pro, Bill O'Neill bettered his 223 opening game with 242 to take over the running as Moor trailed in second by 2 pins.

2012 USBC Masters champion, Mike Fagan of Ft. Worth, Texas leapfrog over the leading duo with 246 following his first two games of 203 and 258 to take over the lead at the halfway mark but was unable to keep it after a lowly 181 in the fourth.

2013 PBA-WBT Saudi Open first runner-up and Asian Indoor Games two gold medalist, Michael Mak of Hong Kong became the new leader after the fourth only to hand to O'Neill after the fifth game.

Moor recovered with a big game of 252 in the final game to snatch top spot with 1365 as O'Neill settled for second position with 1348. Brad Angelo of USA also stormed home with 267 to clinch third spot with 1319.

Three-time Bahrain Open champion (2003, 2004, 2006), Tim Mack of USA and Michael Mak rounded out the top 5, all surpassing the 1300-mark.

Moor's superb run put him top of the overall qualifying standings based on his average of 227.50 pushing down overnight leader and top Bahraini, Yousif Falah into second position. O'Neill also cracked into the top bracket in third with 224.67 average.

Shaker Al Hassan of UAE slipped down two places to fourth while Angelo's effort in this squad also moved him into the top bracket with an average of 219.83.

Mack, who was fourth in the same squad, headed the second bracket in seventh position with 218.83 average. Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia held the 12th and last spot of the second bracket with 216.17.

Sithiphol Kunaksorn of Thailand headed the third bracket with 215.83 leaving Mohammed Janahi of Bahrain occupying 18th and last spot of this bracket with 210.25. Current cut stood at 206.58 average held by Hareb Al Mansoori of UAE.

The final Squad F will be contested later this evening. All players in the three squads will complete their second block tomorrow which will determine the qualifiers of the four brackets.

Photos Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

4th March, Sitra, Bahrain: American PBA professionals ruled Squad D of the PBA-WBT #8 12th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open qualifying rounds by occupying the top 3 spots with John Szczerbinski taking pole position.

Debutant, Carig Nidiffer of the United States set the pace with a stunning 278 in his opening game of the first block to lead local Bahraini, Ali Darwish by 43 pins as only a handful players posting 200 and above.

Despite a 209 in the second game, Nidiffer held the lead as a second American, Tom Daugherty moved up into second with 214 and 238 in his first two games followed by another Bahraini, Mohammed Al Shahwoosh taking up third spot.

At the halfway mark, Daugherty's more consistent pace paid off when he became the new leader after another strong game of 247 with Shahwoosh improving to second while Nidiffer slipped back to third.

Daugherty held the lead for the next two games with 173 and 236 followed by third American, John Szczerbinski of North Tonawanda, N.Y. joining the leader in second and Javier Tan of Singapore third.

Disaster struck Daugherty when he went to a pair of extremely tricky lanes and suffered a big blow with just 130 to drop off the top 5 completely. Szczerbinski topped the field with 1310 followed by the recovering Nidiffer in second with 1284.

2013 PBA-WBT Saudi Open champion, Tommy Jones of USA stormed home to snatch third spot with 1271 giving USA the top 3 spots while Shahwoosh settled for fourth position with 1242.

Muhammad Jaris Goh of Singapore rounded out the top 5 with 1240 leaving early pace-setter, Daugherty in sixth position with 1238.

Szczerbinski's effort in the squad move him into the top bracket in fourth on an average of 218.33 pushing down Wicky Yeung of Hong Kong into fifth. Yousif Falah of Bahrain, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE and Mika Koivuniemi of Finland remained in the top 3.

Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia, who made the top 5, slipped down to seventh position. The current cut at 27th position averaged 204.50.

Squad E will commence after the lane maintenance which includes several Amercian PBA stars and several re-entries. The last squad of the day will be Squad F. All three squads wil end with tomorrow's second block.

Photos Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

3rd March, Manama, Bahrain: Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia cracked into the top bracket of the qualifying standings of the PBA-WBT #8 12th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open after finishing second in the second block of Squad C.

Overnight Squad C and overall leader, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE did not have a good start in his opening game of the second block but remained firmly in the lead and 118 pins ahead of Lalisang.

But Shaker recovered with 243 in the second game to open up a gap of 168 pins over the Indonesian while a second Emirati, Hareb Al Mansoori and Hameed Taqi of Bahrain fought out the minor places.

Although Shaker's lead was reduced to 96 pins after the fourth game in which he suffered a poor 160, he did bounce back with 256 but ended on another poor game of 170 to finish the block with 2654.

Lalisang reduced the gap to 60 pins after he fired a big game of 278 in the last game to end with the highest 6-game series of 1324 and for a total of 2594 in second position.

Hareb took third spot of the squad with 2479 while overnight third-placed Hameed slipped one position down to fourth with 2449. A third Emirati, Hussain Al Suwaidi rounded out the top 5 with 2420.

In the overall standings, top Bahraini national bowler, Yousif Falah regained top spot with 2697 after Shaker's poor run in the second block resulting in a total of 2654. Squad B leader, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland claimed third spot with 2625.

Wicky Yeung of Hong Kong occupied fourth spot with 2598 while Lalisang clinched fifth position of the top bracket with 2594. The sixth position is reserved for the top Bahraini outside the top bracket.

First block Squad B leader, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand got pushed down to head the second bracket with 2572. The 12th and last spot of the second bracket went to Ahmed Fareed of Bahrain on 2506.

Eric Tseng of Hong Kong headed the third bracket with 2498 with his team-mate, Michael Mak occupying the last and 18th position on 2468. The fourth bracket is led by Joel Tan of Singapore with 2456.

Bader Al Shaikh of Saudi Arabia is the cut at 27th position with 2411. Three more squads - D, E and F will be staged over the next two days with 6 games in each block. All scores combined will determine the qualifiers.

Photos Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

3rd March, Manama, Bahrain: Defending champion, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland topped Squad B at the end of the second block qualifying round at the PBA-WBT #8 12th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open to move into the top bracket.

Koivuniemi, who was fourth in the first block yesterday with 1265, notched up a much improved 1360 in the second block for a total of 2625 to top the squad. The Finn had battled for the lead with Wicky Yeung of Hong Kong throughout the block but ended stronger.

Yeung, who was second overnight, retained second in the squad with 2598, 27 pins adrift Koivuniemi. Block 1 leader, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand knocked down a lower 1240 series to slip down to third on 2572.

Keith Saw of Singapore also bowled a lower second block series to end up fourth int he squad with 2570 while Yasser Abu Alreesh of Saudi Arabia rounded out the top 5 with 2518 on a strong second block of 1319.

Newly-crowned H.H. Emir Cup champion, Chris Barnes improved slightly his first block but his total of 2515 only put him in sixth position.

Koivuniemi, who was eighth in the overall qualifying standings, moved into the top bracket based on an average of 218.75. Squad C and first block overall leader, Shaker Al Hassan remained in the lead with an average of 237.83.

Top Bahraini, Yousif Falah is second with 224.75 followed by the Finn in third and Yeung in fourth with 216.50. Yannaphon completed the top 5 of the top bracket with 214.33 average leaving position 6 reserved for the top Bahraini outside the top 5.

Keith headed the second bracket in seventh with 214.17 while Ahmed Fareed of Bahrain occupied the last spot of the second bracket in 12th position with 208.83.

Eric Tseng of Hong Kong headed the third bracket with 208.17 and Joel Tan of Singapore occupied the last spot of the third bracket in 18th position with 204.67.

Ahmed Jabber of Bahrain headed the fourth and final qualifying bracket in 19th position with 204.50 and the cut at 27th position is held by Bader Al Shaikh of Saudi Arabia with an average of 209.92.

Squad C will complete their second block later today and the remaining three squads, which will consist of new entries and re-entries, will be contested on March 4 and 5. The final qualifying standings will then be finalised.

Photos Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

2nd March, Manama, Bahrain: Shaker Al Hassan of United Arab Emirates shot the highest 6-game series of 1427 of the day to lead the opening block of the second squad at the PBA-WBT #8 12th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open.

Ex-national, Hameed Taqi started well with a splendid 267 to lead Shaker by 40 pins and Jassim Darwish of Kuwait in a distant third. The Bahraini followed it up with 207 but hung on to the lead by 10 pins ahead of the Emirati.

Shaker put in a stronger pace to take over the running with 227, 236 and 248 in his first three games pushing down Hameed into second while Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia closed in onto the leading due in third.

Another superb game of 235 from Shaker in the fourth allowed the left-handed Emirati to stretch his lead over Hameed to 73 pins after the latter failed to keep pace.

Shaker sail through with 255 and 226 in his last two games to end the block with 1427. Lalisang stormed home with 248 in his final game to snatch second spot with 1270, 157 pins behind Shaker.

Early pace-setter, Hameed Taqi ended with 190 to settle for third spot on a total of 1230. HHareb Al Mansoori of UAE and Jassim Darwish of Kuwait rounded out the top 5 with 1221 and 1214 respectively.

Shaker's 1427 averaging 237.83 put him first in the overall qualifying standings. Overnight leader, Yousif Falah of Bahrain slipped down to second on an average of 224.75. Squad B leader, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand is placed third with 222.00 average.

Keith Saw of Singapore and Wicky Yeung of Hong Kong competed the top 5 qualifiers with the sixth position reserved for the top Bahraini outside the top bracket and earning three byes into Round 5 finals.

Lalisang headed the second bracket with 211.67 average while the cut in 12th position was held by Bader Al-Deyab of Qatar on 207.58 average and earning two byes into Round 4 finals.

Bader Al Shaikh of Saudi Arabia headed the third bracket on an average of 206.33 with Ahmed Jabber of Bahrain in 18th position earning just one bye into Round 3 finals.

Shaker Daraj of Bahrain headed the fourth bracket qualifiers with 204.50 average and Jassim Darwish of Kuwait was the cut at 27th position with 202.33 average.

Positions 28 and 29th are reserved for the top 2 Bahraini qualifiers outside the above brackets and position 30th is reserved for the top Bahraini women qualifier.

Squad B will resume at 4.00 pm local time and Squad C at 6.00 pm. Three additional squads, D, E and f will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday which will then finalise the qualifiers for the four rounds of finals commencing February March 6 to 7.

Photos Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

2nd March, Manama, Bahrain: 2013 ABF Tour TOC winner, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand made a promising start at the PBA-WBT #8 12th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open after topping Squad B in the first block of qualifying rounds underway on Sunday.

Sithiphol Kunaksorn set the opening pace with a superb 237, 3 pins ahead of newly-crowned H.H. Emir Cup champion, Chris Barnes of USA in second and 2013 MILO All Stars champion, Keith Saw of Singapore third a further 3 pins away.

Barnes, the two-time PBA Bowler of the Year, shot into the lead after the American followed it up with another fine 236 as the Thai slipped down to trail by 38 pins with Rickle Kam of Hong Kong moving up to third.

The PBA pro held the lead up to the halfway mark albeit only 7 pins as a second Thai, Yannaphon Larpapharat closed in onto the American in second and Kam holding on third spot.

Keith rolled a strong game of 247 in the fourth after he had amassed a respectable 635 in his first 3-game series to take over the running as Yannaphon continued to occupy second position and Barnes slipping away quickly.

Another 256 in the fifth games from the Singapore youngster allowed him to stay in the lead and widen his gap from 11 to 22 pins going into the sixth and final game.

Yannaphon ended stronger with 216 to snatch the lead with 1332 while Keith suffered a set back with 179 to settle for second with 1317. A second Hong Kong national, Wicky Yeung stormed home with 247 and 267 in his last two games to leapfrog into third spot with 1310.

PBA pro, Mika Koivuniemi, who had a poor start, recovered to end his first block in fourth position with 1265 while Barnes rounded out the top 5 with 1250.

Four squads have been contested over the past four days for local bowlers and with the latest Squad B combined, top Bahraini national kegler, Yousif Falah topped the qualifying standings with 2697 or an average of 224.75.

Yannaphon took second spot with 222.00 average and Keith third with 219.50 average. Yeung, Koivuniemi and Mohammed Janahi completed the top 6 with 218.33, 210.83 and 210.25 average respectively.

Squad A has been cancelled with Squad B and C being contested over two blocks of 6 games each. There will three additional squads - D, E and F from March 4 to 5 and the combined scores from all the squads will finalise the standings.

The top 6 qualifiers (top bracket) will earn three byes into Round 5 finals. Qualifiers positioned 7 to 12 (second bracket) will earn two byes into Round 4 finals and qualifiers positioned 13 to 18 (third bracket) will earn one bye into Round 3 finals.

Qualifiers positioned 19 to 27 plus the top 2 Bahrainis not in the top 27 and a top Bahraini women will contest the Round 2 finals. The top 6 after the finals will advance to join the 6 quaifiers from the third bracket for Round 3 finals.

Again the top 6 finishers of Round 3 finals will be joined by the 6 qualifiers from the second bracket for Round 4 finals. The top 6 finishers here will finally be joined by the 6 qualifiers from the top bracket for Round 5 finals.

The top 3 finishers in Round 5 finals will proceed to the TV Shootout finals to determine the champion. The top prize for the champion is US$25,000 and if he is a PBA member, he will be awarded an international PBA title.

The 12th Kingdom of Bahrain Internationa Open is the eighth stop of the 2014 PBA-World Bowling Tour and will earn tour ranking points toward qualification to the Grand Finals.

Photos Terence Yaw in Bahrain.