26th June, Macau: 2012 ABF Tour Macau champion, Rickle Kam of Hong Kong captured his first-ever international title with a perfect game in the Men's Open Masters finals of the 2016 Macau China International Open while Novie Phang of Indonesia claimed the women's crown.

Top seed, Kam got off with a double strike in the title match as his challenger, Daisuke Yoshida of Japan started off with a spare and a strike. While Kam continued to roll strike after strike, the Japanese matched stride for stride in the next five frames.

Whilst Kam added another strike in the eight frame, Daisuke left a solid pin 7 to trail Kam by 31 pins. Although Daisuke struck in the ninth frame, Kam struck again in the same frame to put the match beyond the Japanese.

As the crowd ushered Kam on for a perfect victory, the Hong Kong national duly obliged with three more strikes to knock down the tournament's sixth 300 to win the title, 300-249.

The third-seed and runner-up had earlier dispatched second-seed, Jimmy Cheung of Hong Kong and winner of the first stepladder match, Lee Dong Eun of Korea, 227-205-186 to face the top seed.

Dong Eun took the first match defeating fourth-seed and compatriot, Lee Won Seok and sixth-seed, Badin Lerdpiriyasakulkit of Thailand, 203-179-199 to advance to the next match.

The champion, who picked up the top prize of MOP$70,000 (approx. US$9,000), topped the Round 2 finals with 1926. Cheung gave Hong Kong a one-two finish with 1904 and Daisuke took third spot with 1902. Won Seok, Dong Eun and Badin made the stepladder in fourth to sixth positions.

Second perfect gamer, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand and fifth perfect gamer, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong, who were in the top six before the final game, both missed the cut in seventh and eighth positions.

Meanwhile, defending champion and fourth-seed, Lee Young Seung of Korea breezed past compatriot, Jang Ryeon Gyeong and sixth-seed, Milki Ng, 268-181-205 in the first match to advance to the second match.

Second-seed and a third Korean, Jang Ha Eun ended Lee's run after she defeated third-seed, Sharon Limansantoso of Indonesia and Lee, 226-211-180 in the second match for a crack at the title.

Jang took the first match against top seed, Novie Phang of Indonesia, 192-170 to force the tie to a second decider. But the Indonesia bounced back to outclass the Korean, 224-166 to win the women's crown.

The champion, who pocketed MOP$40,000 (approx. US$5,000) for the victory, claimed top spot in the earlier Round 2 finals with 1807, 37 pins ahead of Janf Ha Eun in second with 1770.

Limansantoso finished third with 1764 followed by Lee, Ryeon Gyeong and Ng in fourth to sixth positions. The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women finishers in the Round 2 finals qualified for the ABF Tour Macau 2016 which will be held at the same bowling center tomorrow. The tour will also be telecast LIVE from 3.00 to 6.00 pm local time.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

25th June, Macau: Hwang Sung Hyun and Kim Su Bin of Korean National Sports University put in another dominating display by sweeping the Men's and Women's Graded Masters titles of the 2016 Macau China International Open for another year.

In 2015, the Koreans swept the men's top six positions and the women's top seven positions. But this year, Chinese Taipei's Lin Ying Chieh denied them third place and Macau's Un Im Cheng denied the Korean women the top seven position by finishing sixth.

Lee Dong Eun, who had earlier contested eight games in the Men's Open Masters Round 1 finals to finish third, started off with a stunning 290 to lead Hwang by 22 pins. But Hwang overtook the lead and kept it for the next three games.

His compatriot, Pak Nam Young, who had trailed Hwang for three games, took over the lead briefly after the sixth game but the Taiwanese shot into the lead after the seventh game as Hwang and Pak traded second spot.

Hwang bounced back to end the final with 1817 and clinched victory. A third Korean, Park Ji Hoon stormed home with 266 to snatch second spot with 1813 while Lin settled for third with

1812 after a lowly 205 in his last game. Pak stumbled to a 155 to slip down to sixth with 1753 behind two more Koreans, Lee Ga Ram and Yang Jong Won occupying fourth and fifth positions.

In the women's division, the lead had changed numerous times throughout the finals amongst the Korean women. Kim Hyun A took the opening game, 12 pins ahead of Jang Ryeon Gyeong and then handed the lead to Kim Su Bin after the second game.

Hyun A and another Korean, Jang Ha Eun traded the lead for the next three games before Su Bin firmed up her top spot with a superb 253. The leader ended with 192 to win the women's crown with 1722. Ha Eun took second position with 1716.

Ryeon Gyeong settled for third position with 1635 while Hyun A and Park Ga Ryul finished fourth and fifth positions with Un Im Cheng taking up sixth position.

The Men's Graded champion won MOP$20,000 with the first runner-up picking up MOP$10,000 and second runner-up MOP$5,000. The women's champion took home MOP$8,000 with the first runner-up and second runner-up earning MOP$4,000 and MOP$3,000 respectively.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

25th June, Macau: Kim Hyun A of Korean National Sports University won the Women's Open Masters Round 1 of the 2016 Macau China International Open ahead of 2014 champion, Sharon Limansantoso of Indonesia and Veronica De Souza of Macau third.

ABF Tour Macau 2012 champion, Tang Joh Six of Malaysia set a blistering pace with 236 to lead top qualifier, Jang Ha Eun by 8 pins in second. Kim added a superb 246 in her second game to extend her lead to 32 pins ahead of Jang.

A poor 166 in Tang's third game saw the Malaysian quickly slipped down the field as Kim surged into the lead after a solid 243. Defending champion, Lee Young Seung took over second spot while Jang slipped further down to third.

There was no stopping the Korean student as she downed 232 and 226 in her next two games. 2014 champion, Limansantoso posted a big game in the fourth to move up to second as several Koreans fought out the minor places.

Kim and Limansantoso remained first and second for the next two additional games with the gap between the duo going up to as much as 85 pins. Despite ending the round with 168, Kim topped the field with 1734.

The Indonesian settled for second with 1704 after reducing the gap to 30 pins. Last year's ABF Tour Macau champion, Veronica De Souza claimed third spot with 1675 while Jang and 2011 ABF Tour Macau champion, Julia Lam completed the top five with 1672 and 1660.

A keen tussle for the last three finalists making the cut for next round had developed before the final game. Chinese Taipei's Chang Yu Hsuan finished strongest to clinch 16th position with 1558. Joan Cheng of Hong Kong hung on to 17th position with 1551.

Wang Ya Tin of Chinese Taipei thought she had lost her place after managing only 190 but survived to make the cut in 18th position with 1536. Chan Shuk Han of Hong Kong, who was in 17th position before the last game, shot 185 to drop down to 21st.

Foo Cheok Leng of Macau and Joey Yip of Hong Kong rolled big games but missed the cut in 19th and 20th positions by two and three pins respectively.

Seven out of seven Korean finalists made the next round while three finalists from Hong Kong and three Chinese Taipei finalists also made the cut. Two each from Indonesia and Macau and sole Malaysian made up the top 18 to advance to Round 2.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

25th June, Macau: National bowlers, Michael Mak and Tony Wong gave Hong Kong a one-two finish in the Men's Open Masters Round 1 finals of the 2016 Macau China International Open at Bowling Centre at Avenida da Nave Desportiva, COTAI.

Mak, the 2011 Macau Open second runner-up and last year's ABF Tour Macau winner, got off the block with a splendid 279 in his opening game to tie with team-mate, Joshua Chow and a third Hong Kong national bowler, Eric Tseng in third, 14 pins adrift.

Mak added another 279 in his second game to cement his lead leaving Chow 55 pins behind and two-time Macau Open champion and third perfect gamer, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand keeping company in third.

The leader continued his blistering pace with 235 and 268 to extend his margin to 77 pins as second perfect gamer, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia leapfrog Chow and Yannaphon into second spot. Despite a 212 in the fifth game, Mak kept his lead and Lalisang narrowed the gap to 41.

Mak bounced back with 234 in the sixth game before rounding off with 255 and 226 to win the round with 1988. Last three big games from Tony Wong for a total of 1897 gave Hong Kong a one-two finish while Korea's Lee Dong Eun also stormed home to clinch third spot with 1890.

Daisuke Yoshida of Japan and best Thai finisher, Kim Bolleby completed the top five with 1866 and 1864 respectively. Lalisang, who had trailed Mak for four games, rolled a poor game in the eighth to slipped to ninth.

Reigning QubicaAMF World Cup champion, Wu Siu Hong rolled the tournament's sixth 300 in the third game but soon found himself lamenting just above the cut in 24th position after the sixth game and then in 26th before the final game.

A big game of 278 moved him up to 20th as the cut in 24th position went to Eric Tseng of Hong Kong with 1737. Lee Ho Hyeon of Korea missed the by 26 pins in 25th position.

Eight out of nine Hong Kong finalists made the next round while all four Japanese and all four Thais also made the cut. Five Koreans, one each from Indonesia, Macau and Chinese Taipei made up the top 24 to advance to Round 2.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

24th June, Macau: Park Ga Ryul and Jang Ha Eun of Korean National Sports University continued to lead the Women's Open Masters standings as the 2016 Macau China International Open qualifying round moved into its final day.

Jang had topped the table with 1385 yesterday but had to give up the lead after her compatriot, Park improved her lower three-game series from 656 to 721 taking her six-game tally to 1449. Indonesia's Novie Phang and Sharon Limansantoso remained in third and fourth with 1351 and 1307 respectively.

The Koreans were well represented too with four additional qualifiers taking up sixth to ninth positions leaving only fifth position for Chinese Taipei's Wang Ya Ting with 1297.

Hong Kong's ex-international, Joey Yip headed the mixed pool with 1249 as the cut at 13th position went to another Hong Kong bowler, Chloe Lee on 1156. There were no changes in the local pool with Julia Lam, Filomena Choi and Veronica De Souza maintaining the top three positions.

The top seven local qualifiers, top nine overseas qualifiers, top 13 qualifiers from the mixed pool together with the defending champion will make up 30 finalists for Women's Open Round 1 finals.

Meanwhile, the bar has been raised slightly for the Men's Open division hoping to make the cut for the finals. The cut in 18th position in the mixed pool was 1383 as of the last squad yesterday. As the scramble for places heats up, the cut will most likely surpass the 1400-mark.

Last year's cut was 1422 and with as much as seven bowlers having 700 and above series making further attempts, the mark is set to go up. Third perfect gamer, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand remained the leader with 1568.

Second perfect gamer, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia and Michael Mak of Hong Kong also retained second and third spots with 1525 and 1519. Fourth perfect gamer, Lee Won Seok of Korea improved to take up fifth with 1515, one pin behind compatriot, Baek Jong Yun in fourth.

Lee Dong Eun of Korea headed the mixed pool with 1452 while the cut at 18th position was held by Firdaus Idris of Malaysia with 1385.

Lee Tak Man of Macau remained the top local qualifier with 1506. The top ten local qualifiers, top 11 overseas qualifiers, top 18 qualifiers from the mixed pool together with the defending champion will make up 40 finalists for Men's Open Round 1 finals. Qualifying ends late this evening.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

24th June, Macau: Hong Kong youths dominated the Youth Masters finals of the 2016 Macau China International Open after Alex Yu and Ivan Tse finished one-two while Vong Van Ip of Macau won the Senior Masters title.

Otto Leung, who recently won the first leg of the 52nd QubicaAMF World Cup Regional Selection in Hong Kong, got off to a cracking start with 258 to share the lead with Lam Iek Long of Macau, 20 pins ahead of Malaysia's Christopher Tiong in second.

Leung added another superb game of 236 to retain the lead as Alex Yu moved into second position after rolling a stunning 264 following his 215 opening game as Lam dropped away after suffering a poor 180 in the second game.

Mohammad Hafiz Zainuddin of Malaysia shot the tournament's fifth 300 in the third game to leapfrog into the lead pushing down Leung into second and 54 pins behind. The Malaysian youngster downed 218 and 225 in his next two games to continue to lead the field of 24 finalists.

And despite a strong game of 247 in the sixth game, Yu's pace was also strong on 255, 234 and 278 to take over the running.

Mohammad Hafiz trailed 28 pins away in second and Tiong gradually moving up to third. The 14-year-old Yu stole the limelight coming home with 225 and 222 to capture his first international youth title with 1917. His compatriot, Ivan Tse stormed home with 261, 234, 234 and 243 in the second half to snatch second spot with 1823 and gave Hong Kong a one-two finish.

Mohammad Hafiz ran out of steam ending with two sub-200 games of 190 and 179 to settle for third position with 1821 while early pace-setter, Leung missed the podium to take up fourth position.

Yu, who was third last year and 2015 East Asian Championships All-Events gold medalist, picked up MOP$3,000 and a trophy as champion while Tse and Mohammad Hafiz earned MOP$1,500 and MOP$1,000 respectively as first and second runner-up.

Meanwhile, veteran Vong Van Ip of Macau won the Senior Masters crown for the second consecutive time after he amassed a total of 1821 pinfalls plus 12 pin handicap each game. Terdporn Manophaiboon of Thailand finished second with 1721, also with a 12 pin handicap each game.

Ng Kwok Hing of Hong Kong settled for third position with a total of 1614 without handicap while Raymond Leung and Sio Hon Meng rounded out the top five with 1581 and 1573.

The champion was also awarded a prize of MOP$3,000 with the first and second runner-up earning MOP$1,500 and MOP$1,000 respectively.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

23rd June, Macau: Two-time ABF Tour winner and top national bowler, Lee Tak Man of Macau improved his six-game total to leapfrog into the lead of the Men's Open Masters local pool at the 2016 Macau China International Open.

Lee, who had trailed team-mate, Zoe Dias Ma by 169 pins, notched up two sizzling three-game series of 784 and 722 en-route to taking over the lead with 1506. The leader, who had never finished in the podium of the Macau Open, is poised to break that jinx this time round.

Dias Ma slipped behind Lee with 1474 while Choi Io Fai and Jose Manuel Machon remained in the top four seeded national team positions with 1266 and 1228.

Third perfect gamer and two-time Macau China Open champion, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand remained firmly in the lead of the overseas pool with his stunning 1568 total. Second perfect gamer and 2015 Asian Championships Masters gold medalist, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia also looked set to remain in second with 1525.

Two-time PBA-World Bowling Tour runner-up, Michael Mak of Hong Kong maintained third spot with 1519 ahead of best Korean, Baek Jong Yun in fourth with 1516.

2016 East Asian Pacific Championships Team silver medalist, Jimmy Cheung of Hong Kong completed the top five with 1512. Current cut at 11th position in the overseas pool went to Korea's Lee Dong Eun with 1452 as Joshua Chow of Hong Kong headed the mixed pool with 1447. Cut at 18th position went to Mohd Syafiq Sajeli of Malaysia with 1359.

Meanwhile, Park Ga Ryul of Korea National Sports University took over the lead with 1384. Overnight leader, Sharon Limansantoso of Indonesia slipped down to fourth on 1333 after compatriot, Novie Pang led briefly with 1351.

Early pace-setter, Jang Ha Eun of KNSU slipped further down to third while Chinese Taipei's Wang Ya Ting rounded out the top five with 1297. Cut for the overseas pool is held by Kim Mi Ae of KNSU on 1264.

Joey Yip of Hong Kong headed the mixed pool with 1249 and the cut in 13th position went to Vicky Yeung of Hong Kong with 1106.

The 40 Men's Open qualifiers and 30 Women's Open qualifiers will bowl Round 1 finals over eight games. The field will be cut to top 24 men and top 18 women to contest another eight games in Round 2 finals. Top six from each division will proceed to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

22nd June, Macau: Two-time champion, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand rolled the tournament's third perfect game to take over the lead of the Men's Open Masters qualifying table at the 2016 Macau China International Open on Wednesday.

Tsutsumi Yuki of Japan had shot the tournament's first 300 to register the first 800 series but his other three-game series of 656 put him mid-table in the overseas pool with 1460. 2015 Asian Championships Masters gold medalist, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia rolled the second 300 to take over the lead with 1525.

Yannaphon shot the third 300 to give himself a sizzling 791 series but was not good enough to topple the Indonesian. But then the Thai almost had his second 300 but managed 299 for a superb 777 series to take over top spot with 1568.

Hong Kong's top kegler, Michael Mak, who led briefly this morning, slipped down to third despite becoming the first qualifier to surpass the 1500-mark with 1519.

His compatriot, Jimmy Chueng almost had a perfect game but was content with 298 to lie in fourth position with 1504.

Early leader, Lee Jae Jung of Korea National Sports University completed the top five with 1496. Two-time ABF Tour winner, Lee Tak Man took over the lead of the local pool after improving his total to 1506.

Overnight leader, Zoe Dias Ma settled for second with 1474 as Chou Io Fai and Jose Manuel Machon completed the top four seeded national team members. Lei Hok Hin rounded out the top five with 1391. Lee Won Seok of KNSU posted the fourth 300 to lead the Men's Graded division.

Jang Ha Eun of KNSU regained top spot in the women's division with 1333 after 2014 champion, Sharon Limansantoso of Indonesia had taken over the lead erlier today with 1307. Park Ga Ryul improved to take up third position with 1295.

Jang Ryeon Gyeong and Kim Hyun A rounded out the top five with 1280 and 1266 respectively. There were no changes atop the local pool with Julia Lam maintaining her lead with 1239.

Filomena Choi and Veronica De Souza trailed in second and third positions with 1173 and

1138 respectively. The cut in ninth position in the overseas pool was held by Kim Su Bin of KNSU with 1175 while Zoe Tam of Hong Kong headed the mixed pool with 1168. Qualifying will continue through to June 24 and the Round 1 and Round 2 Masters finals will be contested on June 25 and 26.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

21st June, Macau: National bowlers, Zoe Dias Ma and Julia Lam will be eyeing for their first home victory after topping the Men's and Women's Open Masters qualifying standings of the 2016 Macau China International Open underway at Bowling Centre at Avenida da Nave Desportiva, COTAI.

Zoe, who finished third runner-up last year, registered two sets of 3-game series of 748 and 726 for a total of 1474 to lead the qualifying table. The national bowler also finished first runner-up of the 2015 ABF Tour Macau leg.

Two-time ABF Tour winner, Lee Tak Man, whose best finish was third runner-up in the 2013 Macau China Open, trailed Zoe in second in the table with 1355. Choi Io Fai and Jose Manuel Machon completed the four seeded national team qualifiers with 1266 and 1151.

Lei Hok Hin led the local pool in fifth position with 1356. Korean National Sports University bowlers dominated the overseas pool by occupying the top four spots. Lee Jae Jung led with 1437, three pins ahead of Baek Jong Yun in second.

Lee Won Seok and Pak Nam Yeong finished third and fourth with 1410 and 1288 respectively.

The top ten from the National Team and local pool, top 11 from the pool and top 18 from the mixed pool together with the defending champion will contest the eight-game Round 1 Masters finals on June 25. The top 24 will advance to Round 2 finals for another eight games on June 26. The top six at the end of the Round 2 will proceed to the stepladder finals.

Meanwhile, last year's fourth runner-up and winner of the 2011 ABF Tour Macau, Julia Lam led Macau's challenge in the women's division after topping the local pool with 1239. Filomena Choi trailed in second with 1140 and last year's ABF Tour Macau champion, Veronica De Souza finished third with 1137.

Wong Son Ian, Foo Cheok Leng, Hui Tong and Kerdto Kanda occupied fourth to seventh positions of the local pool.

Jang Ha Eun of Korea National Sports University topped the overseas pool with 1267, 18 pins ahead of Hong Kong's Joey Yip in second with 1249. Jang's team-mate, Kim Hyun A occupied third spot with 1244.

The top seven from the National Team and local pool, top 9 from the pool and top 13 from the mixed pool together with the defending champion will contest the eight-games Round 1 Masters finals on June 25.

The field will be cut to top 24 men and top 18 women to contest another eight games in Round 2 finals. Top six from each division will proceed to the stepladder finals. Bowlers from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Chinese Taipei will go through their qualifying rounds till June 24. The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women from the Open Masters finals will qualify for the ABF Tour Macau 2016 to be staged on June 27.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.