27th February, Doha: Second-seed, Tannya Roumimper became the third Asian women to win a World Tour title after the Indonesian sailed past fourth-seed, Khaled Al-Dossari of Qatar, 516-430 in the Step 4 title match of the PBA-WBT H.H. Emir Cup 2015.

Roumimper got off to a great start reeling in seven consecutive strikes to open up a huge gap over her challenger, Khaled as he struggled to put together connecting strikes. After a spare in the eighth frame, the Indonesia struck out to end the first of two games, 287 plus an 8-pin handicap.

The Qatari opened in his tenth frame to finish 103 pins behind on 184. Roumimper had another superb start in the second game with a turkey but opened in the fourth. By the time Khaled started to string together five strikes-in-a-row, the Indonesia was well on her way to bag her biggest-ever title.

The champion ended with 229 for a two-game total of 516 to earn the top prize of US$25,000 while Khaled put in a brave show to end with 246 for a total of 430 and settling for US$14,000.

"I had struggled the whole week on fresh lane and I didn't get a good start in the first game against Naif (Oqab) in the semi-finals," said the 24-year-old 2014 Asian Games Team bronze medalist, Roumimper.

"But in the second game, it was much better and I made the right move to end with a good game to beat Naif. In the title match, I had a great start with seven strikes and felt completely comfortable with a huge lead.

"So in the second game, I just made sure I stay focus and make good shots. I didn't need to change my ball. All I did was made a few moves."

Roumimper reached the finals after she narrowly defeated third-seed, Naif Oqab of UAE, 437-428 in the second Step 3 semi-final match while Khaled ousted top-seed, Danielle McEwan of USA, 441-405 in the first semi. McEwan and Oqab picked up US$6,000 each for finishing third and fourth position.

In the earlier Step 2 finals, McEwan topped the field with 1368 pin falls, 6 pins ahead of Roumimper in second with 1362. Oqab took third spot with 1333 while Khaled had to double in the tenth frame of the final game to edge Osku Palermma of Finland by 4 pins to advance in fourth with 1306.

Step 1 finals winner, Wes Mallot of Pflugerville, TX ended in sixth position with 1276, 30 pins off the cut. The top 16 Asians qualified for the ABF Tour Qatar 2015 which will be held tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

26th February, Doha: American PBA pro and debutant, Wes Mallot of Pflugerville, TX topped Step 1 Finals of the PBA-WBT #8 H.H. Emir Cup 2015 to advance to the next round ahead of two Colombians, Andres Gomez and Manuel Otalora in second and third.

Desperado squad qualifier, Tim Mack of USA got off to a cracking start with 269 in his opening game to lead two-handed, Osku Palermaa of Finland in second, 13 pins adrift with Wes Mallot in third a further 19 pins away.

Mallot rolled a superb 258 in the second game to move into the lead as Palermaa continued to trail in second. The American suffered a setback after managing only 185 in his third game while Manuel Otalora of Colombia took over the running at the halfway mark.

The Finn was the most consistent with 221 in the fourth following his 235 in the third to take over the lead as Mallot recovered with 256 to place himself in second, 12 pins behind.

A poor 158 from Palermma gave Mallot the opportunity to regain the lead after a 234 in the fifth game while a second Colombian, Andres Gomez moved up into third after a splendid 256.

Despite managing only 187 in the sixth and final game, Mallot was able to hold on to the lead with 1357. Gomez added another strong 244 to finish second with 1324 ahead of his compatriot, Otalora in third with 1318.

Tom Hess of Urbandale, Iowa tied with the highest women finisher, Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia in fifth position with 1309. PBA Tournament of Champion winner, Jason Belmonte of Australia was sixth with 1306.

Palermaa slipped down to seventh with 1305 ahead of two surviving left-handers, Naif Oqab of UAE and Khaled Al-Dossari of Qatar in eighth and ninth positions with 1280 and 1277 respectively.

Missy Parkin of USA and a second women in the field, survived the cut in tenth position with 1252 while Yousef Al-Jaber of Qatar missed the cut by 13 pins in 11th position with 1239.

Brad Angelo of Lockport N.Y., who was tenth before the final games suffered a lowly 168 to also miss the cut in 12th position. Also failing to make the cut were Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y. and Bill O'Neill of Langhorne, P.A.

The top 10 will be joined by the top 6 seeded qualifiers for Step 2 Finals tomorrow for another 6 games from scratch. The top 4 will advance to the Step 3 and Step 4 shootout finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

25th February, Doha: Fifteen-time PBA champion and overnight leader, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland topped the final Squad B in the second block to finish third at the PBA-WBT #8 H.H. Emir Cup 2015 qualifying standings.

The two-time WBT finals winner had a poor start but bounced back to regain the lead of Squad B and finish his 12-games round with 2651. Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill., crawled his way up from 15th overnight to finish second to Koivuniemi with 2610.

Rash also picked up the US$325 Day 4 high-series award with 1380. Martin Larsen of Sweden finished third in the squad with 2600 while Osku Palermaa of Finland and Brad Angelo of Lockport, N.Y. completed the top 5 with 2585 and 2577 respectively.

Day 1 high-series award winner, Yousif Falah led the field with 2755 followed by Day 2 high-series award winner, Danielle McEwan of USA in second with 2704 and Koivuniemi in third.

Squad C leader, Cherie Tan of Singapore took fourth spot with 2627 ahead of Rash in fifth position and Larsen making the bye for Step 2 finals in sixth.

2014 Asian Championships Masters gold medalist, New Hui Fen missed the bye by just 2 pins to head Step 1 qualifiers positioned 7 to 24. The cut at 24th position went to Tom Hess of Urbandale, Iowa with 2451 (average 204.50).

PBA pros missing the cut were Marshall Kent of Yakima, WA., Tom Daugherty of Tampa, FL., Jason Sterner of Covington, GA., and 2011 Emir Cup champion and two-time Qatar Open winner, Dominic Barrett of England.

Also missing out were two-time PBA-WBT winner, Thomas Larsen of Denmark, Mike Fagan of Fort Worth, Texas and 2012 Emir Cup first runner-up, Stuart Williams of England.

Positions 25 and 26 went to the two Qatari youths, Bader Al-Deyab and Mohammed Al-Merekhi while Yousef Al-Jaber and Khaled Al-Dossari took positions 27 and 28 reserved for Qataris.

Yaqoub Al-Shatti of Kuwait topped the desperado squad with 289 followed by Marshall Kent in second with 245. Americans Tom Sorce and Tim Mack made the finals in third and fourth with 242 and 237.

Thirty qualifiers will contest Stepl 1 finals over 6 games tomorrow at 4.00pm local time. The top 10 finishers will be joined by the six seeded qualifiers for another 6 games in Step 2 finals on February 26.

The top 4 will advance to Step 3 finals whereby the top seed will meet the fourth seed and the second seed will meet the third seed over two-game total pinfall matches. The winner will meet in Step 4 championship match over two-game total pinfall to determine the champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

25th February, Doha: 2014 PBA-WBT Daejeon Open women champion, Cherie Tan of Singapore led her compatriot, New Hui Fen to finish 1-2 in Squad C after the second block of the PBA-WBT #8 H.H. Emir Cup qualifying rounds.

Tan, who trailed Missy Parkin of USA by 51 pins in the first block, overhauled the American to take the squad with 2627. Hui Fen also overtook Parkin to finish second with 2598 while the overnight leader slipped to third with 2556.

The leader posted 1278 with handicap in the second block and Hui Fen returned the highest 6-games series of 1304 for second position. Parkin managed only 1152 to end in third.

Khaled Al-Dossari of Qatar, Mohannad Ebrahim of Kuwait and Thomas Larsen of Denmark rounded out the top 6 with 2449, 2448 and 2437 respectively.

Overall leader, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland remained firmly in the lead on an average of 234.50 followed by Day 1 high-series winner, Yousif Falah of Bahrain in second with an average of 229.58.

Day 2 high-series winner, Danielle McEwan of USA averaged 225.33 for third position ahead of Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y., fourth averaging 223 and Bill O'Neill of Langhome, P.A. and Martin Larsen of Sweden tieing fifth with 222.67 average.

Andres Gomez of Colombia averaged 222.17 to make the bye for Step 2 finals in seventh position while the two Singaporeans occupied ninth and tenth.

The cut in 24th position went to Mohammed Al Saud of Saudi Arabia with an average of 205.17 while Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill., is 25th.

The third and final Squad B will bowl their second block of 6 games at 4.00pm to complete the qualifying rounds. A one-game desperado squad will be held immediately after the last squad.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

24th February, Doha: 2014 Brunswick Ballmaster Open champion, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland averaged 234.5 to take the first block of Squad B with 1407 and led the overall qualifying standings at the 2015 PBA-WBT #8 H.H. Emir Cup on Tuesday evening.

Koivuniemi started off with a strong 237 in his opening game before blazing the lanes with a stunning 288 in the second game to lead fellow PBA pro, Brad Angelo of Lockport, N.Y. by 42 pins. The Finn held the lead through to the end of the block with 1407 to take the squad.

PBA pro, Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y., who trailed Koivuniemi by 33 pins before the final game, ended poorly to settle for second with 1338, 69 pins adrift. Martin Larsen of Sweden and Bill O'Neille of Langhome, P.A. tied third with 1336, a further two pins away.

Andres Gomez of Colombia rounded out the top 5 with 1333 ahead of a second Finn, Osku Palermaa in sixth with 1325. Angelo, who trailed Koivuniemi in the early stages, felled to seventh with 1287.

Koivunimei also edged earlier Squad C leader, Missy Parkin of USA by 3 pins to clinch the Day 3 high series award of US$325.

The Finn is the new overall leader based on average with another 6 games in the second block to go. Overnight leader and Day 1 high series award winner, Yousif Falah of Bahrain is second on an average of 229.58.

Parkin finished third on an average of 226 while Ciminelli, O'Neill and Larsen completed the top 6 and possibly earning a bye into Step 2 finals. Gomez headed the second bracket on an average of 222.17.

The current cut at 24th position went to Rakan Al Ameeri of Kuwait with an average of 206.67 while missing the cut in 33rd position went to his compatriot, Yaqoub Al Shatti with 206.33 average.

Positions 25 and 26 are reserved for the top 2 Qatari youths qualifiers and positions 27 and 28 are reserved for the top 2 Qatari adult qualifiers. Positions 29 to 32 are for the top 4 qualifiers from the one-game desperado squad.

Squad C and B will complete their second block of another 6 games. The final total after 12 games will determine the qualifiers for Step 1 and Step 2 finals which will be contested on February 25 and 26.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

24th February, Doha: Women showed their class with Missy Parkin of USA and Singapore's Cherie Tan, New Hui Fen taking the top 3 spots of the first block in Squad C at the 2015 PBA-WBT #8 H.H. Emir Cup.

Parkin, who won the Doubles gold at the 2014 PABCON Championships, averaged an impressive 226 for a total of 1404, thanks to an 8-pin handicap she received competing with the men. The American downed 223, 224, 204, 256, 225 and 224 to win the squad.

2015 PBA-WBT #12 Daejeon Open Women champion, Cherie Tan and her team-mate, New Hui Fen improved their average from their first attempt to finish with 1349 and 1294 respectively for second and third behind Parkin.

Kuwaiti, Mohannad Ebrahim and Qatar's Khaled Al-Dossari rounded out the top 5 with 1290 and 1262 respectively.

Several PBA pros had a disappointing first block and failing to make their presence felt. Osku Palermaa of Finland finished 11th with 1212, two-time PBA-WBT winner, Thomas Larsen of Denmark 14th with 1197 and 2011 winner, Dominic Barrett of England in 15th with 1193.

Martin Larsen of Sweden managed only 16th position with 1180 while newly-crowned PBA Tournament of Champions winner, Jason Belmonte of Australia had a disastrous start down in 21st position with 1129.

Squad B will take to the lanes at 4.00pm local time for their first block of 6 games. Squad C and Squad B will complete their second block tomorrow to determine the qualifiers after combining with scores from Squad A.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

23rd February, Doha: 2014 ABF Tour UAE champion, Yousif Falah of Bahrain got off to a great start by topping the opening Squad A of the PBA-WTB #8 H.H. Emir Cup 2015 underway at Qatar Bowling Centre after the second block of 6 games.

Yousif, who led the first block yesterday with a big margin of 133 pins on a 6-games total of 1478, managed only 1277 in the second block to end the squad with 2755. The Bahraini also picked up the Day 1 high-series award of US$325 for his effort.

Debutant and top female finisher, Danielle McEwan of Team USA managed to reduce the gap to 51 pins after she posted 1359 for a 12-game total of 2704. The American also picked up the Day2 high-series award of US$325.

World Bowling Tour finals champion, Kelly Kulick of USA, who was seventh in the first block, hauled herself up to third with a fine effort of 1288 for a total of 2553.

Salem Al Hajras of Kuwait and Qatari youth, Ghanim H Aboujassoum rounded out the top 5 with 2549 and 2519 respectively.

2015 PBA-WBT #2 Daejeon Open Women's champion, Cherie Tan of Singapore impressed by finishing eighth with 2473 behind two Qataris, Hazeem A Al-Muraikhi and 2015 Arab Cup Masters silver medalist, Yousef Al Jaber in sixth and seventh positions.

Her compatriot and 2015 Asian Championships Masters gold medalist, New Hui Fen managed only 15th position with 2396. 2014 PABCON Championships team and doubles gold medalist, Missy Parkin of USA took 13th position with 2429.

Bowlers in this squad can re-enter an additional squad (B or C) which will be played over two blocks of 6 games in the next two days. Qualifiers positioned 7 to 24 from the combined overall standings plus 2 Qatari youth, 2 Qatari qualifiers outside the top 24 and 4 from the 1-game desperado squad will advance to the Step 1 finals.

The top 16 finishers plus qualifiers positioned 1 to 6 will advance to Step 2 finals for another 6 games. The top 4 at the end of the Step 2 finals will advance to Step 3 finals.

Player seeded 1 will face player seeded 4 and player seeded 2 will face player seeded 3 over a 2-games total pinfall matches. The winner of Step 3 finals will square off in the Step 4 title match over 2-games total pinfall and a top prize of US$25,000 while the losers will be ranked third and fourth.

The top 16 Asian finishers will also qualify for the opening leg of the 2015 ABF Tour - Qatar leg which will be held on February 28, 2015.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.