8th October, Arlington, Texas: The top three men and top three women who will advance to the PBA Tour-WTBA World Bowling Tour Finals are all but set with just one event remaining on the 2012 schedule.

With the recent conclusions of the PBA Tour-World Bowling Tour Thailand Tournament and the Columbia 300 Vienna Open, the World Bowling Tour rankings picture has become clearer heading into the season-ending finals, which will take place November 10 in Las Vegas, United States.

On the men's side, PBA pro Mika Koivuniemi of Finland has earned the top seed for the three-player stepladder finals with 408 points, while a pair of Americans, Mike Fagan (342 points) and Chris Barnes (328 points), are second and third, respectively.

Barnes sits 54 points ahead of the United States' Sean Rash with just one event to go. With a maximum of 50 points available to the winner of the AMF Australian Masters this month, Rash cannot move into the top three.

Barnes put himself in position to lock up a spot in the finals by finishing second in Thailand and defeating Rash in the championship match of the Vienna Open.

The women's rankings are dominated by the United States with Missy Parkin leading the way with 329 points. Kelly Kulick is second with 319, while Liz Johnson is third with 295.

One player outside of the top three could mathematically move up, however, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard will not compete in the season's final event, which solidifies the top three.

The World Bowling Tour is made up of various events around the world and players earn points based on how they finish in each event. The top three men and top three women are invited to compete in the World Bowling Tour Finals presented by the Professional Bowlers Association.

The World Bowling Tour Finals will feature a total prize fund of $70,000. The top three men and top three women will bowl a stepladder finals format in their respective divisions. The prize money for each division is the same, with the winner taking $20,000, second place earning $10,000 and third place winning $5,000.

The World Tenpin Bowling Association, which is made up of 115 bowling federations, governs the sport throughout the world. For more information on WTBA and the World Bowling Tour, visit www.worldtenpinbowling.com.

Photos courtesy of Hero Noda and by Terence Yaw.

28th February, Arlington, Texas: A big shift in the women's rankings and a shrinking lead for Finland's Mika Koivuniemi highlight the WTBA World Bowling Tour rankings after the recently concluded United States Open.

A tightly packed field at the top of the women's rankings finds Kelly Kulick of the United States now in the lead with 207 points. Koivuniemi still leads the men's rankings with 312 points, but Mike Fagan of the United States is close behind.

After a second-place finish among the women at the U.S. Open, Kulick used the 40 points she earned in the event to move into the lead. American Missy Parkin picked up the maximum ranking points of 50 at the U.S. Open and is second with 195 points.

Liz Johnson of the United States finished third among women at the U.S. Open and has moved into fourth on the points list with 190. Previous leader Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of the United States did not compete in the event and dropped to fifth with 186 points.

In the men's rankings, Koivuniemi only picked up four points at the U.S. Open, while Fagan earned 40 points for his second-place finish. Fagan, who has finished eighth or better in the seven previous World Bowling Tour events, is now second overall with 277 points, just 35 points back of first.

American Chris Barnes occupies the third position with 218 points, while Australian two-hander Jason Belmonte is fourth with 176 points.

Pete Weber, who earned US$60,000 for his record-breaking victory at the U.S. Open, picked up 50 points at the event and now sits in 12th place with 97 total points. It was Weber's fifth U.S. Open title.

The World Bowling Tour is made up of various events around the world and players earn points based on how they finish in each event. The top three men and top three women will be invited to compete in the World Bowling Tour Finals presented by the Professional Bowlers Association at the end of 2012.

The World Bowling Tour Finals will feature a total prize fund of US$70,000. The top three men and top three women will bowl a stepladder finals format in their respective divisions. The prize money for each division is the same, with the winner taking US$20,000, second place earning US$10,000 and third place winning US$5,000.

The next event on the World Bowling Tour 2012 schedule is the 9th Kuwait International Open in Kuwait City from March 15-19.

The World Tenpin Bowling Association, which is made up of 115 bowling federations, governs the sport throughout the world. For more information on WTBA and the World Bowling Tour, visit www.worldtenpinbowling.com.

Photos courtesy of Hero Noda and by Terence Yaw.

15th February, Arlington, Texas: After the first four events of the 2012 season, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of the United States and Mika Koivuniemi of Finland lead the World Tenpin Bowling Association World Bowling Tour rankings.

Dorin-Ballard leads a trio of American women at the top of the rankings with 186 points, while Koivuniemi leads the men's rankings with 308 points.

The World Bowling Tour points system is based on a continuous two-year cycle, so points earned in 2011 are added to points earned in 2012 to determine the points list.

Dorin-Ballard did not compete in the United States Bowling Congress Masters in Las Vegas, but picked up 35 points in the WTBA International Open in Las Vegas and six points in the International Bowling Championship 2012 supported by DHC in Japan.

Kelly Kulick of the United States competed in all three event and moved into second place with 167 points, while American Liz Johnson took the top women's ranking points at the WTBA International Open to move into third with 155 points.

In the men's rankings, Koivuniemi failed to earn any points at the USBC Masters but rebounded to take 35 points in the WTBA International Open and 40 points in the International Bowling Championship.

Mike Fagan of the United States is second with 237 points, while Chris Barnes of the United States is third with 195 points. However, Barnes and American Walter Ray Williams Jr. advanced to the top-three finals (along with Johnson) of the WTBA International Open next month and one of those two players will add 10 points to their total for winning.

The recently concluded International Bowling Championship featured the largest prize fund in the short history of the World Bowling Tour, with combined prizes of approximately US$390,000 for both men and women.

Tommy Jones of the United States won the men’s division, while Cherie Tan of Singapore took the women's title. Both players earned about US$77,500 for their victories.

The World Bowling Tour is made up of various events around the world and players earn points based on how they finish in each event. The top three men and top three women will be invited to compete in the World Bowling Tour Finals presented by the Professional Bowlers Association at the end of 2012.

The World Bowling Tour Finals will feature a total prize fund of US$70,000. The top three men and top three women will bowl a stepladder finals format in their respective divisions. The prize money for each division is the same, with the winner taking US$20,000, second place earning US$10,000 and third place winning US$5,000.

The next event on the World Bowling Tour schedule is the United States Open in North Brunswick, N.J., from February 20-26.

The World Tenpin Bowling Association, which is made up of 115 bowling federations, governs the sport throughout the world. For more information on WTBA and the World Bowling Tour, visit www.worldtenpinbowling.com.

Photos courtesy of Hero Noda.

2nd February, Las Vegas: The Professional Bowlers Association and the World Tenpin Bowling Association announced on Wednesday, an historic agreement that will result in the first true global professional bowling tour in which American professional stars to compete for titles around the world.

The alliance between the PBA and the WTBA, the international governing body for tenpin bowling in the eyes of the International Olympic Committee, will allow international and domestic PBA members who compete in World Bowling Tour events to earn PBA Tour titles in WBT events and to bowl in PBA Tour events in the United States.

"This agreement fulfills a dream for all lifelong bowling fans," said PBA Commissioner Tom Clark. "We created the PBA World Series of Bowling in 2009 to give bowlers from around the world an opportunity to come together in a unique competitive environment.

"Our goal was to take the next step in expanding competition around the world. To see it happen is the most significant step our sport has ever taken in creating world-wide awareness and recognition for bowling's best players, regardless of where they live."

WTBA President Kevin Dornberger said that the alliance is just the beginning. "We are greatly indebted to the international bowling federations and tournament hosts who have given us the opportunity to create the World Bowling Tour," said Dornberger. "We sincerely believe this alliance will lead to even bigger things."

PBA CEO Geoff Reiss said the expanded relationship between the PBA and WTBA has the potential to lead to greater marketing and sponsorship opportunities.

"The PBA is ecstatic over the overwhelming acceptance and support we have received from the World Tenpin Bowling Association’s leadership in making this relationship happen," Reiss said. "For the sport of bowling, we have literally opened an entire new world of possibilities."

The agreement was finalized during a meeting in Las Vegas between PBA leadership and WTBA's Executive Board; Kevin Dornberger, FIQ and WTBA President and CEO; Pekka Korpi, 1st Vice-President, Finland; Mike Seymour, 2nd Vice-President, WTBA and the Australia Tenpin Bowling Federation; Addie Ophelders, ETBF President, Netherlands; Jose Guandique, PABCON President, El Salvador; Kim Jensen, ETBF Vice President, Denmark; Vivien Lau, FIQ Secretary-General and ABF Past President, Hong Kong; Veronica Rajii, 1st VP of PABCON, Chile and Christer Jonsson, WTBA Secretary-General, Sweden.

The 2012 World Bowling Tour began in January with the Brunswick Ballmaster Open in Helsinki, Finland, which was won by Bill O'Neill of Southampton, Pa. The PBA-WBT agreement includes three tournaments in the United States (the Alka-Seltzer Plus Liquid Gels United States Bowling Congress Masters, won by Mike Fagan of Dallas in Las Vegas on Sunday; a new WTBA International Open currently underway in Las Vegas, and the U.S. Open Feb. 20-26 in North Brunswick, N.J.).

Other events will include stops in Japan, Kuwait, France, the Bahamas, Thailand, Korea, Austria and Australia. Players who bowl in the WBT events will earn points toward the second annual World Bowling Tour Finals presented by the PBA, which will be held during the 2012 PBA World Series of Bowling on a date to be announced.

WBT points are compiled over a cumulative span of two years. The top three men and three top women in WBT points will bowl for US$20,000 first prizes in November during the fourth PBA World Series of Bowling. The finals will be televised by ESPN.

Beginning with the U.S. Open, all international and domestic PBA members who win WBT-PBA titles will be eligible to bowl in the end-of-season PBA Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas. PBA members will receive credit for official PBA Tour earnings from WBT events, but will only earn PBA Tour competition points in the USBC Masters and U.S. Open.

A new PBA international membership is available for non-domestic players. For information, call the PBA Membership Services at 206-654-6025.

While several WBT events allow women to compete in their own category, women will be eligible for PBA Tour titles only if they compete as equals against their male counterparts. Two events on the WBT schedule are for women only and will not be part of the PBA agreement.

The World Tenpin Bowling Association, which is made up of 115 bowling federations, governs the sport throughout the world. For more information on WTBA and the World Bowling Tour, visit www.worldtenpinbowling.com.

18th January, Arlington, Texas: Finland's Mika Koivuniemi and Sweden's Sandra Andersson lead the WTBA World Bowling Tour points list of the 2012 schedule after the opening event in Helsinki, Finland.

Andersson has moved into the women's lead for the first time with 151 points, while Koivuniemi leads the men's rankings with 233 points. The World Bowling Tour points system is based on a continuous two-year cycle, so points earned in 2011 are added to points earned in 2012 to determine the points list.

At the 42nd Brunswick Ballmaster Open in Helsinki, Finland, the opening event of the 2012 season, Andersson picked up 40 points for a second-place finish among the women's field. USA's Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, who did not compete in Finland, is in second with 145 points.

Sweden's Nina Flack remained in the top three by earning 15 points to bring her total to 135, while Finland's Krista Pöllänen, who won the women's rankings at the Ballmaster for the second straight year, moved her up to fourth-place total to 130 points.

On the men's side, Koivuniemi picked up 35 points to increase his lead on the men's field. Sean Rash of the United States added six points to his total in Finland to bring his total to 148 for second place.

PBA champion, Mike Fagan of USA is third with 140 points after finishing second at the Ballmaster and adding 40 points.

The World Bowling Tour is made up of various events around the world and players earn points based on how they finish in each event. The current points system is based on a continuous two-year cycle, so points earned in 2011 are added to points earned in 2012 to determine the points list.

The top three men and top three women will be invited to compete in the World Bowling Tour Finals presented by the Professional Bowlers Association at the end of 2012.

The World Bowling Tour Finals will feature a total prize fund of US$70,000. The top three men and top three women will bowl a stepladder finals format in their respective divisions. The prize money for each division is the same, with the winner taking US$20,000, second place earning US$10,000 and third place winning US$5,000.

The tour continues with the USBC Masters 2012 from January 24 to 29 and is immediately followed by the inaugural WTBA International Open from January 28 to February 5.

The World Tenpin Bowling Association, which is made up of 115 bowling federations, governs the sport throughout the world. For more information on WTBA and the World Bowling Tour, visit www.worldtenpinbowling.com.

Photos by Terence Yaw.