26th February, Dubai: Emirati national bowler, Shaker Al Hassan started off the 2011 season with a big home win after he defeated top seed, Patrick Healey Jnr. of United States in the title match of the 2nd Dubai International Open on Saturday.

Shaker Al Hassan, who was seeded second, took the first match, 213-177 to force top seed, Patrick Healey Jnr. into the sudden-death decider. Healey continued to struggle while the Emirati left-hander rolled a double and striking out in his final frame for a final 211-178 victory over the American.

The champion had earned the right to challenge for the title after he ousted No. 3 seed and winner of the first stepladder match, Rebecka Larsen of Sweden, 217-209 in the second match.

"When I saw that Patrick was struggling in the first match, I knew I had a good chance of winning the second match and the title," said the 42-year-old Shaker.

"In the match against Rebecka, it was important to build up a good margin as she has an 8-pin handicap. For sure I'm happy to win here and this is a good start for this year. I bowled well throughout this round and it's a big achievement for me to reach this far and to win the title."

Larsen advanced to face Shaker with victory over No. 4 seed fellow-compatriot, Peter Ljung and No. 5 seed, Sayed Ibrahim Al Hashemi, 238-228-210 in a closely fought first match.

Shaker won the top prize of AED 60,000 (approx. US$16,000) while Healey settled for AED 30,000 (approx. US$8,000). Larsen took home another AED 15,000 (approx. US$4,000) to add to the AED 6,000 she picked for finishing second in the women's division.

Healey had topped the Round 4 finals with a total of 3866, 24 pins ahead of Shaker in second with 3842 followed by Larsen third with 3817. Ljung and Sayed finished fourth and fifth with a same score of 3738.

Round 2 leader, Dominic Barrett of England missed the cut after he finished sixth with 3659. Healey also shot the tournament's eighth perfect game while Ljung shot the ninth 300 during this round.

The main sponsor was Grand Capital LLC with SuperPrice Car Rental, National Quarries and United as co-sponsors. The tournament is endorsed by the Dubai Sports Council and is santioned by Emirates Bowling Federation, Asian Bowling Federation and World Tenpin Bowling Association.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

25th February, Dubai: First perfect gamer, Sayed Ibrahim Al Hashemi of UAE took a slender lead over Swede, Rebecka Larsen by just 4 pins at the end of the Round 3 Finals of the 2nd Dubai International Open on Friday evening.

Youth Under-23 finals second runner-up, Mahmood Al Attar of UAE scorched the lanes at Dubai International Bowling Centre with a sizzling 270 opening game to take an early lead in the field of 20 finalists.

But the lead quickly changed hands with Bahrain's Yousef Falah and UAE's Sayed Ibrahim Al Hashemi sharing the lead after the second game followed by the surprise, Hareb Al Mansoori a close second.

Hareb went on to the front in the thrid game but at the halfway mark, Sayed bounced back to take over the running, 25 pins ahead of Sweden's Peter Ljung in second as Hareb and Yousef dropped their pace.

Sayed's consistent lines of 224, 237, 225 and 226 paid off for the 37-year-old Emerati after the national bowler ended the Round 3 in the lead with 1880. Rebecka Larsen of Sweden finished strongly in the second half to take up second with 1876 thanks to an 8 pin handicap she got for competing against the men.

Ex-UAE national coach, Patrick Healey Jnr. of USA also finished strongly for third spot with a total of 1864 while two Emiratis, Shaker Al Hassan and early leader, Mahmood Al Attar rounded the top 5.

Round 2 leader, Dominic Barrett, who could not repeat the form he displayed earlier, squeezed into the next round finishing in tenth position with 1802.

Missing the cut by just 2 pins was Yousef Falah who slipped down to 11th position on a total of 1800 while defending champion, Osku Palermaa of Finland took 12th spot with 1792. Round 2 second-placed Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE also failed to progress finishing 16th.

The top 10, who advanced into tomorrow's Round 4 finals, will bowl their final 8 games with pins carried forward from this round. The top 5 at the end of Round 4 will qualify for the stepladder finals with the first match for third, fourth and fifth-placed finishers over one game.

The winner of this match will meet No. 2 seed for the second match. This winner will then earn the right to challenge the top seed in a twice to beat format and the top prize of AED 60,000 (approx. US$60,000).

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

25th February, Dubai: 2010 EBT winner, Dominic Barrett of England was in seventh heaven when he shot the tournament's seventh perfect game en-route to topping the Open division Round 2 finals of the 2nd Dubai International Open on Friday.

Dominic Barrett, who had made numerous attempts to get into the top 8 durng his qualifying rounds, had to settle for less and having to contest the Round 2 finals to make any advancement.

The Englishman did not have the best of starts either getting off the mark with just 237 and 233 in his first two games as UAE's Shaker Al Hassan and Kuwait's Khaled Al Dubyyan were tussling for the early lead.

But Barrett found his usual rhythm after rolling 260 to move into fourth while Khaled remained in pole. Suddenly the house was silenced when Barrett stepped up for his 12th and final frame after registering eleven consecutive strikes.

A solid pocket gave Barrett a perfect 300 and the tournament's seventh, to take over the running at the halfway mark. The new leader then had consistent lines of 240, 258, 209 and 269 to end the round in the lead with 2006.

"I was struggling a bit to get into my usual rhythm and wasn't able to make good shots," confessed the 23-year-old from Sussex. "But from the third game onwards, I was more relaxed and had a better feel to my game."

"It's nice to start off the finals on a right footing. I was still experimenting with several of my bowling balls and finding an ideal line to bowl which will be useful for the next round," added Barrett.

Three-time Asia Ranked No. 1, Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE found his spark when he finished second with 1968 and an impressive 246 average of the 8-games finals. Women's finals first runner-up, Rebecka Larsen of Sweden took third spot with 1914.

"My form dipped a lot toward the end of last year during the Asian Games in Guangzhou and at the Asian Championship in Abu Dhabi in January this year," said the 29-year-old Hussain. "I came home to take a long rest before starting to practice again.

"This paid off and I was able to feel fresher now. Even during the week-long qualifying rounds, I made sure I had enough rest and not over bowl. I'm confident of doing well in this tournament and hopefully I can make Round 4."

Making the cut in 12th position was Adel Lootah of UAE with a score of 1782 while another Emirati, Ali Ahmad Al Saffer was disappointed for missing the cut by 28 to finish in 13th position.

The top 12 will be joined by the 8 seeded qualifiers for Round 3 finals over another 8 games at 8.00pm. The top 10 at the end of the round will advance into tomorrow's Round 4 finals with pins carried forward from this round.

The top 5 at the end of Round 4 will qualify for the stepladder finals with the first match for third, fourth and fifth-placed finishers over one game. The winner of this match will meet No. 2 seed for the second match.

The winner will earn the right to challenge the top seed in a twice to beat format and the top prize of AED 60,000 (approx. US$60,000).

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

24th February, Dubai: Ibrahim Abdulla of UAE bagged his maiden international title after the No. 5 seed defeated top seed, Joline Persson Planefors of Sweden to win the Youth 23 & under Masters crown on Thursday.

Ibrahim Abdulla, 19 had earlier finished fifth in the 6-game finals roll-off with 1250 pinfalls to qualify for the stepladder finals and 198 pins behind leader and newly-crowned Women's Masters champion, Joline Persson Planfors of Sweden.

Ibrahim defeated No. 4 seed, Rebecka Larsen of Sweden and Jassem Darwish of Kuwait, 225-203-207 in the first stepladder match to meed No. 2 seed and top qualifier, Mahmood Al Attar in the second match.

The debutant had a lucky break when Mahmood failed to mark his two final frames after a slender lead and Ibrahim struck home to win 193-165 in the all-Emirati tie.

In the title match, Ibrahim forced top seed, Joline Persson Planefors into a sudden-death decider by taking the first game, 199-178 after the Swede had a split in the final frame.

The title deciding second game was a much closely fought encounter as both were locked together with only 3 pins separating the pair. Again, Ibrahim got a lucky break when Joline had a split in the ninth frame while Ibrahim struck in the ninth and tenth to seal the game and the match, 199-173.

The champion won the top prize AED 25,000 (approx. US$6,800) while Joline added AED 13,000 (approx. US$3,500) to the AED 8,000 she won in the Women's Masters finals. Mahmood took home AED 7,500 (approx. US$2,000) for finishing third.

Larsen, who dropped one spot from third to fourth, won AED 6,000 and Jassem Darwish won AED 5,000 for finishing fifth after the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

24th February, Dubai: Defending champion, Osku Palermaa of Finland stamped his mark with another sizzling performance to take pole position on the final day of qualifying at the 2nd Dubai International Open on Thursday.

Palermaa, who trailed leader, Mohammad Khalifa Al Qubaisi of UAE and Patrick Healey Jnr of USA in third, bettered his third best series of 732 with 769 at the 4.00pm squad to take his 9-game tally of 2358 for the lead.

Mohammad Khalifa, who held the lead for two days, droped one rung down to second, 15 pins adrift on a total of 2343 while ex-PBA pro, Patrick Healey Jnr. of USA shared third with Hassan Al Zaabi on 2332.

Several Emiratis impressed and assured their places in the top 8. Hassan Al Zaabi moved up from eighth position to tie third with Healey Jnr. while Hareb Al Mansoori hauled himself up from tenth to sixth with 2309.

Early leader and perfect gamer, Sayed Al Hashemi of UAE occupied fifth spot with 2315. Emirati youth, Mahmood Al Attar and Filipino, Hashim Guinomla made up the top 8 in seventh and eighth positions.

The cut at 26th position is currently being occupied by Ali Ahmad Al Saffer of UAE with a total of 2168 and positions 27th and 28th reserved for local qualifiers are taken up by Holaiman Al Hamli and Fuaad Al Mas.

Qualifying will end late this evening and qualifiers from positions 9 to 28 will contest the Round 2 finals over 8 games tomorrow at 2.00pm. The top 12 plus the seeded 1 to 8 qualifiers will contest the Round 3 finals at 8.00pm.

The top 10 at the end of Round 3 will advance to Round 4 finals for a final 8 games series with pins carried forward from Round 3. The top 5 finishers will then proceed to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

23rd February, Dubai: 2009 H.H. Emir Cup champion and ex-PBA pro, Patrick Healey Jnr of USA, moved into second spot of the qualifying standings at the 2nd Dubai International Open after two identical 759 series.

Patrick Healey Jnr, whose contract as the national coach of Emirates Bowling Federation has just expired, took the opportunity to compete in the tournament before heading back home. His first two series of 759 and 814 meant that the American only needed another 700 or more to make the cut.

The ex-PBA pro lived up to his billing as Mr Consistent when he rolled an identical 759 at the 7.00pm squad to move into second spot with a 9-game aggregate of 2332 pushing down defending champion, Osku Palermaa of Finland into third.

"I've never seen such high scores in the tournament that I've competed and it is tough for the bowlers by any standard," said Healey. "But I'm glad that I was able to get the carry and some lucky breaks."

Asian Championship two silver medalist and a tough competitor, Mohammad Khalifa Al Qubaisi of UAE remained firmly in the lead with 2343, 21 pins ahead of Healey. Naif Oqab of UAE is sitting on the edge of the top 8 with 2264.

Meanwhile, Ron Hurt from South Carolina, USA shot the tournament's fifth perfect game at the same 7.00pm squad but ended with only 687 after finding the lane breaking down too quickly.

Bahrain's Yousif Falah shot the tournament's fourth 300 but also failed to better his three best 3-game series and slipped one rung down to 24th position. The current cut in 26th position is held by Asian Championship Masters gold medalist, Khaled Al Dubyyan of Kuwait with 2150.

Fuaad Al Mas and Mohad Al Jahazi occupied the two positions reserved for local qualifiers in 27th and 28th positions.

Qualifying will end tomorrow, February 24th and the Youth 23 & under division finals will be staged at 3.00pm.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

23rd February, Dubai: Swedes Joline Persson Planefors and Rebecka Larsen dominated the Women's finals of the 2nd Dubai International Open after the duo finished one-two ahead of Filipina, Liza Clutario in third.

Nadia Al Awadhi got off to a great start with a scintilating opening game of 267 to lead Rebecka Larsen of Sweden by 31 pins followed by Joline Persson Planefors of Sweden and Filipina, Liza Clutario sharing third spot.

The Bahraini kept up a blistering pace in her next two games but the gap to her nearest rival was soon reduced to just 14 pins as Planefors began to home in on to Nadia.

A sizzling 257 in the fourth game from the Planefors took the Swede into the lead with her fellow-countrywomen, Larsen moving up into second while Nadia dropped her pace to slip down to third.

A 215 from Planefors saw her lead narrowed from 31 to 11 pins after Larsen rolled a superb 235 with the final game to decide the champion. But Planefors prevailed to fire another strong game of 268 to end the finals with 1420 and the title.

"This is my first win in an open championship and I'm extremely happy," said the 20-year-old Swede from Guthernburg. The champion's best-ever outing was finishing fifth in the 2010 World Youth singles and winning the Singles at the 2008 European Youth Championship.

Larsen gave Sweden a one-two finish by taking up second spot with 1376 while 2010 Philippine Open champion, Liza Clutario edged pace-setter, Nadia for third spot with 1316.

Nadia missed the podium after slipping down to fourth while local Filipina, Uella Marcial made up the top 5 with 1248. Planefors won AED 8,000 (approx. US$2,180) for her victory with Larsen and Clutario settling for AED 6,000 (US$1,635) and AED 4,500 (US$1,225) respectively.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

22nd February, Dubai: Osku Palermaa of Finland looked poised for the title defence with a second place effort in the qualifying standings of the 2nd Dubai International Open behind new leader, Mohammad Khalifa Al Qubaisi of UAE on Tuesday.

Palermaa, who defeated two lefties, Naif Oqab of UAE and Remy Ong of Singapore last year to win the title, posted 753, 732 and a high-series award winning 836 for a total of 2321 in his three attempts.

The Finn, who only managed a seventh place finish in the season opening Brunswick Ballmaster Open in Helsinki in January, will be hoping to turn around with a successful defence of the title here.

Asian Championship two silver medalist, Mohammad Khalifa Al Qubaisi of UAE, who was sixth yesterday, fired a superb 814 series to take over the running with 2343 from team-mate, Sayed Al Hashemi, who slipped down to third on 2311.

Mahmood Al Attar and last year's first runner-up, Naif Oqab of UAE finished fourth and fifth with 2283 and 2264 ahead of Bahrain's Mohammad Sultan sixth with 2258.

Two more Emiratis, Hareb Al Mansoori and Hassan Al Zaabi rounded up the top 8, who would advance into Round 3 finals automatically.

Meanwhile, Sweden's Kim Bolleby shot the tournament's third perfect game during his youth qualifying rounds to take up third position with 2114 in the Youth 23 & under division behind Mahmood Al Attar and another Swede, Joline Persson Plainfors in first and second.

In the women's division, Rebecka Larsen of Sweden took over the lead from England's Samantha Hannan with a superb 9-game aggregate of 2099 followed by Nadia Aqeel of Bahrain in second with 1993.

Filipina, Liza Clutario finished third with 1899 ahead of Samantha, who slipped down to fourth with 1873 followed by Uella Marcial of the Philippine completing the top 5 with 1870.

The top 10 women will contest the 6-game finals tomorrow afternoon as the qualifying continues for the final day on Thursday, February 24. The Youth 23 & under finals will be staged on Thursday.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

20th February, Dubai: National bowler, Mahmood Al Attar shone in the qualifying rounds of the 2nd Dubai International Open after taking up second in the Open division and topping the Youth 23 & under division.

The 21-year-old Mahmood rolled three 3-game series of 769, 726 and 788 for a total of 2283 to finished second to leader and team-mate, Sayed Al Hashemi. Mahmood also topped the Youth 23 & under division with 2184.

Sayed had rolled the first perfect game yesterday to take over the lead with 2311 from another Emirati, Mohammad Khalifa Al Qubaisi while another national bowler, Naif Oqab shot the tournament's second 300 to take up third position with 2264.

Bahrain's Mohammad Sultan split UAE's domination by taking up fourth spot with a superb effort of 2258 as Hareb Mansoori, Mohd Khalifa, Hassan Al Zaabi and Hussain Al Suwaidi rounded up the top 8.

Asian Championship two bronze medalist, Yousif Falah was the other Bahraini to make the cut in 11th position with 2160 behind two Emiratis, Holaiman Al Hamli and early leader, Saeed Obaid.

Current cut stood at 2016 held by UAE's Khamis Al Hossaini in 26th position while Ibrahim Al Zaabi and Abdulhalim Al Mulla occupied the two positions reserved for local bowlers.

Kuwaiti and Thai bowlers have begun their qualifying rounds and will surely make an impact in the standings in the remaining four days.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

19th February, Dubai: Sayed Al Hashemi of UAE rolled a perfect game en-route to taking over the lead of the qualifying table at the 2nd Dubai International Open with Naif Oqab scoring the second 300.

Sayed Al Hashemi, who trailed national team-mate Mohammad Khalifa Al Qubaisi by 3 pins, rolled the tournament's first 300 at the third game of his qualifying round to take over the lead in the qualifying table.

The 37-year-old national bowler downed 246 and 214 before the 300 to improve his lowest 3-game series to 760 and a 9-game aggregate of 2311. Youth Mahmood Al Attar also improved with a high series of 788 to take up secomd spot with 2283.

Naif Oqab shot the tournament's second 300 during the first game of his qualifying round to finish third. The southpaw's three series were 730, 774 and 760.

Bahrain's Mohammad Sultan impressed with 754, 747 and 757 to take up fourth spot with 2258 as overnight leader, Mohammad Khalifa Al Qubaisi slipped down to fifth on 2224. Three Emiratis, Hareb Al Mansoori, Hassan Al Zaabi and Holaiman Al Hamli made up the top 8 who would advance into Round 3 finals from sixth to eighth positions with 2221, 2203 and 2166.

At the edge of the cut was Masood Saberi of Bahrain with a total of 1999 in 28th position while positions 29 to 30 are reserved for local bowlers.

Qualifying will intensify as more and more overseas participants begin their qualifying rounds which will end February 24. The women's finals will be held on February 23 and the Youth 23 & under on February 24.

Positions 9 to 26 plus 2 local qualifiers will contest the Open division Round 2 finals on February 25 in the morning. Positions 1 to 8 plus the top 12 finishers from Round 2 will contest the Round 3 finals in the afternoon.

The top 10 finishers from Round 2 will play another 8 games to determine the top 5 advancing into the stepladder finals on February 26.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

18th February, Dubai: Emirati bowlers continued to dominate after one week of qualifying rounds at the 2nd Dubai International Open as Sayed Ibrahim Al Hashemi notched up an improved 3-game series to take up second spot on Friday.

Asian Championship team silver medalist, Sayed Al Hashemi of UAE, who was on the edge of the top 8 overnight, improved his earlier 3-game series with a sizzling 790 to give himself a 9-game aggregate of 2221.

Sayed shot 265, 247 and 278 to earn the high series award of the day but crucially confirming his spot in the Round 3 finals. The 37-year-old's best performance was finishing third runnerup in the 2010 Qatar Open.

Hareb Al Mansoori also improved his score but remained third although tieing with Sayed. Mahmood Al Attar moved up from sixth to fourth with 2220 to complete UAE's domination in the standings.

Mohammad Sultan of Bahrain finished a superb fifth with 2183 ahead of three Emiratis, Holaiman Al Hamli, Saeed Obaid Hamarain and Hassan Al Zaabi rounding up the top 8 with 2166, 2163 and 2151.

Three-time Asia ranked No. 1, Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE dropped out of the top 8 after slipping down to ninth with 2147 while the current cut was 2009 held by Mohd Al Jahazi of UAE in 26th position. Positions 27and 28 are reserved for local qualifiers.

Qualifying continues through to February 23 for the Women division, February 24 for the Youth (Under-23) division and February 25 for the Open division. Finals will be held from February 23 onwards.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

17th February, Dubai: Early leader, Saeed Obaid of UAE bounced back to take up second spot of the Open division qualifying table at the 2nd Dubai International Open as team-mate and overall leader, Mohammad Khalifa Al Qubaisi remained in the lead.

Saeed Obaid, who topped the standings in the first few days of the championship, had slipped down to sixth after Mohammad Khalifa Al Qubaisi took over the lead yesterday. But Saeed improved on his lowest 3-game series of 645 by 20 pins to haul himself back to second with 2163.

Hareb Al Mansoori, Hussain Al Suwaidi, Holaiman Al Hamli and Mahmood Al Attar continued to give local Emiratis the domination by occupying third to sixth positions with 2162, 2147, 2127 and 2122 respectively.

Adel Lootah and Sayed Al Hashemi of UAE made up the top 8 who would advance directly into Round 3 finals. Current cut is 1939 occupied by Mohd Al Jahazi of UAE.

Qualifying continues through to February 23 for the Women division, February 24 for the Youth (Under-23) division and February 25 for the Open division. Finals will be held from February 23 onwards.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

16th February, Dubai: Asian Championship two silver medalist, Mohammad Khalifa Al Qubaisi of UAE took over the lead of the Open division qualifying table at the 2nd Dubai International Open on Wednesday.

Mohammad Khalifa, who had trailed overnight leader and fellow-countrymen, Saeed Obaid by 36 pins, improved with 768 series to become the new leader with a 9-game aggregate of 2224. Since coming out of retirement from active competition, Mohammad Khalifa can prove a handful for his younger peers.

Hreb Al Mansoori of UAE shot the highest 3-game series thus far with 813 to move him up from sixth to second spot with 2162. Three-time Asian Ranked No. 1, Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE finished third with 2147.

Overnight leader, Saeed Obaid slipped down to fourth with 2143 while Asian Championship team silver medalists, Sayed Al Hashemi and Mahmood Al Attar took fifth and sixth positions with 2100 and 2073.

Hassan Al Zaabi of UAE finished seventh with 2069 while the last qualifier who could earn a bye in Round 2 finals for the third round was Hashim Guinomla of the Philippines with 2064.

Overseas participants from neighbouring Bahrain have already taken to the lanes for their qualifying rounds but more from England, Finland, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Qatar, Sweden and Thailand are expected this weekend.

Qualifying continues through to February 23 for the Women division, February 24 for the Youth (Under-23) division and February 25 for the Open division. Finals will be held from February 23 onwards.

The 2nd Dubai International Open is a qualifying round for the first leg and the inaugural ABF Tour UAE 2011 in which the top 16 Asian men will be vying for honours on February 27.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

15th February, Dubai: Emirati national bowler, Saeed Obaid registered an impressive 2143 over three 3-game series during his qualifying rounds of the 2nd Dubai International Open to take an early lead in the Open division.

Dropped from the senior team from several major tournaments due to injuries, Saeed Obaid shot 645 in his first 3-game series and then 698 in his second. Saeed showed his old spark when he brought home an incredible 800 in his third series for an aggregate total of 2143.

Asian Championships two silver medalists, Mohd Khalifa Al Qubaisi trailed Saeed in second position by 36 pins after he registered a 9-game aggregate of 2107.

Filipino, Hashim Guinomla also impressed with a 2064 effort to take up third spot in the standings while Rashid Lootah and Hassan Al Zaabi, both of UAE rounded up the top 5 with 2041 and 2030 respectively.

The secnd edition of the Dubai International Open features a total prize fund of top prize AED 60,000 (approx. US$82,000) with the top prize of AED 60,000 (approx. US$16,000) going to the champion.

Qualifying continues through to February 23 for the Women division, February 24 for the Youth (Under-23) division and February 25 for the Open division. Finals will be held from February 23 onwards.

Photos by Terence Yaw