9th March, Manama: Tournament debutant and two-time EBT Bowler of the Year, Osku Palermaa won the 10th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open title on his debut, beating compatriot, Perttu Jussila in an all-Finn finals at Ozone Entertainment Center.

Palermaa, who topped the earlier Round 5 to advance into the stepladder finals as top seed, was forced into a second deciding match after he was outclassed by second seed, Perttu Jussila, 263-207 in the first match.

But the two-handed PBA winner of the 2010-11 GEICO Shark Championship and the 2011-12 PBA World Championship showed no mercy in the deciding match when he romped home a convincing 289-255 victory over his fellow-countrymen.

"I had a very good area of play during the Round 5 finals and I knew I had a good chance to take the title," said the 28-year-old Finn who lives in Gothenburg, Sweden and was the first international player and two-handed bowler to win the PBA World Championship.

"I made a stupid mistake in the first frame of the first match and although I made a comeback with five strikes in a row, Jussila was just too far away with his striking power. But I got settled down better in the second match and I'm glad to take the title in my first visit to Bahrain."

The Finn won the top prize of BD 7,500 (approx. US$19,500) while Jussila, who edged No. 3 seed, Patrick Healey Jnr of USA, 191-190 in the first match, settled for BD 3,500 (approx. US$9,300).

Healey, who finished third took home BD 2,000 (approx. US$5,300). Healey also edged compatriot and Round 4 leader, Lonnie Walizcek by 11 pins in Round 5 to make the stepladder finals.

Round 3 leader, Mahmood Al Attar of UAE finished fifth ahead of top qualifier and perfect gamer, Dominic Barrett of England in sixth position. Yousif Falah was Bahrain's best bowler in seventh.

The top 16 Asian from Rounds 3 to 5 made the cut for the opening leg of the 2012 ABF Tour Bahrain tomorrow at the same center.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

9th March, Manama: American PBA Lonnie Walizcek took Round 4 finals of the 10th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open to advance into the final Round 5 ahead of fellow contryman, Patrick Healey Jnr in second and Emirati Mahmood Al Attar third.

Defending champion and the No. 7 seeded qualifier, Stuart Williams took an early lead with a superb opening game of 257 but was overtaken by Round 3 leader, Mahmood Al Attar of UAE after the second game.

The Brit bounced back brilliantly with another strong third game of 255 to regain the lead with Amercian and winner of two PBA titles, Lonnie Walizcek moving up into second spot with a high game of 268 while Mahmood slipped down to third.

Williams held the lead for another game despite rolling only 215 while Mahmood recovered to trail the Brit by 19 pins after the fourth.

Walizcek ended the round with two towering games of 246 and 235 to take the round and advanced into the final Round 5 in pole position with 1386. Healey claimed second with 1356 to give USA a one-two finish.

Mahmood finished third with 1344 ahead of Williams in fifth with 1335. Australia's Andrew Frawley took fifth spot with 1315 while Perttu Jussila stormed home with 246 to claim the final and sixth position for the next round.

Round 2 leader, Peter Ljung of Sweden missed the cut by finishing seventh position with 1298. Three Bahrainis, Mohammed Sultan, Fawaz Abdulla and Ahmed Al Noaimi all failed to advance.

Round 5 finals will be staged later today for a final six games and the top 3 will proceed to the stepladder grand finals to determine the champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

8th March, Manama: Mahmood Al Attar of UAE topped Round 3 finals of the 10th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open to advance into the next round ahead of Kuwait's Jassem Darwish and Bahrain's Mohammed Sultan in second and third.

Dubai Open Youth Under-23 champion, Jassem Darwish of Kuwait, who had squeezed into this round in the earlier Round 2 finals in fifth, set a blistering pace in his two opening games with 244 and 247 to lead Bahrain's Mohammed Sultan by 19 pins.

Another decent 215 saw the Kuwaiti youngster opened up a gap of 63 pins over UAE's Mahmood Al Attar in second as Mohammed Sultan slipped down to third.

But it was the Mahmood's sizzling fourth game of 288 that moved the Emirati to the front of the field, 10 pins ahead of Jassem while the Bahraini hung on to third.

Jassem responded with 265 in the fifth game to regain the lead despite Mahmood scoring 238 but Jassem was unable to hold on to the lead after managing 190 in his sixth and final game while Mahmood rolled 216.

The Emirati advanced into Round 4 finals with 1385, 9 pins ahead of Jassem, who totaled 1376. Mohammed Sultan settled for third with 1308 ahead of a second Bahraini, Fawaz Abdulla in fourth spot with 1269.

Round 2 leader Peter Ljung, who had a slow start in the early stages, recovered to end the finals in fifth with 1243 while Perttu Jussila stormed home with 246 to snatch the final Round 4 finals spot with 1229.

Kuwait's Salem Al Hajras missed the cut by 29 pins to finish seventh followed by the only Bahraini youth in the finals, Ahmed Al Goud in eighth position with 1189.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

8th March, Manama: Sweden's Peter Ljung cruised into the next round of the 10th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open after topping Round 2 finals with a comfortable margin of 101 pins over Bahrain's Fawaz Abdulla.

Except for a slow start in Peter Ljung's opening game of 175, the left-handed Swede on on fire as he scorched the lanes with 262, 258, 255, 231 and 235 to end the Round 2 finals with a near record-breaking 1416.

Bahrain's Fawaz Abdulla stormed home with the highest game of the round with 287 in the sixth and final game to snatch second spot with 1315. Early pace-setter, Abdulrahman Al Jaidah took third spot with 1243.

Mohammed Sultan finished fourth with 1240 ahead of Kuwaiti youth, Jassem Darwish in fifth position with 1206 while the only lady bowler in the finals, Nadia Aqeel of Bahrain survived to make the cut in sixth position with 1159.

Mahdi Assad of Bahrain missed the cut in seventh position with 1138, just 21 pins adrift. The top 6 advanced into Round 3 finals joined by qualifiers from the third top 6 bracket, positions 13 - 18 for another 6 games.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

7th March, Manama: American Patrick Healey Jnr. and Kuwaiti Basel Al Anzi made the second top 6 bracket of the overall qualifying standings at the 10th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open after ending Squad E in first and second positions.

Patrick Healey Jnr. of USA snatched pole position in Squad E with an 8-game series of 1775 from front-runner, Basel Al Anzi of Kuwait by 1 pin in the 16th and final game of the second block.

Healey's effort gave the American a 16-game total of 3346 to jump up to ninth in the second top 6 bracket of the overall standings to earn an automatic entry into Round 4 finals. Basel was the only other qualifier from Squad E to join Healey with 3345.

Squad A leader and perfect gamer, Dominic Barrett and Squad D leader, Paul Moor gave England a one-two finish in the top 6 bracket with 3588 and 3523. Finn Osku Plaermaa and Emirati Hussain Al Suwaidi took third and fourth spots with 3515 and 3483.

Bahrain's Yousif Falah survived the cut to take fifth position with 3417 while Mohammed Janahi earned the top Bahrain spot in sixth to advance into Round 5 finals.

2010 champion, Stuart Williams led the second top 6 bracket qualifiers with 3399 ahead of Andrew Frawley of Australia in second with 3391. Healey and Basel took fourth and fifth placings while Lonnie Walizcek of USA and Ahmed Al Noaimi of Bahrain completed the second 6.

Bahrain's Masoud Saberi headed the third top 6 bracket with 3288 ahead of Finn Perttu Jussila in second with 3246. Hameed Taqi, who was third in the final squad, finished third with 3243.

Salem Al Hajras of Kuwait, Mahmood Al Attar of UAE and Baraini youth, Ahmed Al Goud joined the three for Round 3 finals with 3240, 3239 and 3230 respectively. Qualifiers from positions 19 to 27 together with the top 2 Bahrainis and the top Bahraini lady will contest the 6-game Round 2 finals.

The top 6 finishers from Round 2 will join the third top 6 bracket qualifiers for another 6 games in Round 3 finals all to be contested tomorrow starting at 10.00am local time.

The top 6 finishers from Round 3 will join the second top 6 bracket qualifiers for the 6-game Round 4 finals on Friday, March 9. The top 6 finishers from Round 3 will join the top 6 bracket qualifiers for a final 6-games Round 5 finals.

The top 3 will then proceed to the stepladder finals with the first match between the second seed and the third seed. The winner will challenge the top seed on a beat-twice to decide the champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

7th March, Manama: Squad D leader, Paul Moor of England, Osku Palermaa of Finland and Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE broke into the top 6 bracket of the overall qualifying standings at the 10th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open after their second block.

Overnight squad leader, Paul Moor downed a slightly higher 8-game series of 1776 to take the squad with a 16-game aggregate of 3523. Osku Palermaa rolled the highest 8-game series of 1869 to finish second with 3515.

Three-time Asia ranked No. 1, Hussain Al Suwaidi posted a superb 1825 series to take up third spot in the suqad with 3483. All three finished second to fourth positions in the overall standings with Dominic Barrett in pole position with 3588.

2010 champion, Stuart Williams of England, who was fourth in this squad, missed the top 6 bracket by taking up seventh position with 3399 behind a spot reserved for the top Bahraini qualifier but led the second top 6 bracket into Round 4 finals.

The last spot in the top 6 bracket went to Yousif Falah of Bahrain with 3417. Andrew Frawley of Australia, who was second overnight in this squad, finished eighth overall with 3391 to join Williams in the second top 6 bracket.

Bahrain's Mohammed Janahi, America's Lonnie Walizcek of USA and two additional Bahrainis Ahmed Al Noaimi and Masoud Saberi made up the remaining second top 6 bracket qualifiers in ninth to 12th positions.

With Squad E remaining, overnight leader Jamal Al Sahoti of Qatar, Mohammed Sultan of Bahrain, Jassem Darwish of Kuwaiti and Mahmood Al Attar of UAE appeared to be the likely players who could challenge only for places in the second top 6 bracket.

Round 2 Finals will be staged tomorrow at 10.00am local time. The top 6 finishers will advance into Round 3 Finals joined by the third top 6 bracket qualifiers which is scheduled for 2.00pm.

The top 6 in Round 4 Finals will join the top 6 seeded qualifiers for Round 5 Finals all of which will be contested on March 9.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

6th March, Manama: Qatar's Jamal Al Sahoti snatched pole position in the final Squad E first block qualifying round of the 10th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open from leader, Mohammed Sultan of Bahrain in the last game.

Ex-national, Hameed Taqi of Bahrain set a cracking pace of 236 in his opening game to take a 3 pin lead over fellow-countrymen, Isa Al Awadi in second and Qatar's Jamal Al Sahoti third.

Hameed's lead was brief as Arab Games Team gold medalist, Mohammed Sultan shot into the lead with a scintillating 268 in the second game and opening up a gap of 32 pins over Jamal.

Hameed bounced back after a poor 188 in his second game with 225 in the third to regain the lead but his inconsistency pave way to Kuwait's Salem Al Hajras after the latter went into the lead.

Jamal's consistent scoreline saw the Qatari taking over for the next two games followed by Mohammed Sultan hot in his heels in second. A strong 256 from Mohammed allowed the Bahraini to move in front of Jamal going into the final game.

But Jamal finished with 203 to snatch the pole position with 1644 while Mohammed managed only 166 to settle for second spot with 1624. Dubai Open Youth champion, Jassem Darwish's second attempt gave him a third place finish with 1619.

Mahmood Al Attar of UAE took fourth spot with 1618 and Basel Al Anzi's second attempt put the Kuwaiti in fifth spot with 1608.

With only Squad A having completed the two blocks, Dominic Barrett of England, Bahrain's Yousif Falah and Mohammed Janahi occupying the top 3 spots. Ahmed Al Noaimi and Masoud Saberi made up the top 5. Squads B and C were cancelled.

Squad D and E will complete their two blocks tomorrow which will detarmine the top 6 plus top local Bahraini automatically advancing into Found 5 finals and other positions determining qualifiers into Round 2, 3 and 4 Finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

6th March, Manama: A second Brit, Paul Moor topped Squad D after the first block of qualifying round of the 10th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open 2012 followed by Aussie Andrew Frawley in second and a third Brit, Stuart Williams third.

Paul Moor of England got off to a great start with 228 in his opening game to lead Lonnie Waliczek of USA by 24 pins but Moor's lead only lasted one game when the American took over the running with a big game of 247.

The left-handed Brit regained the lead with 204 and 225 in the third and fourth games with Andrew Frawley closing in fast in second, just 1 pin adrift followed by Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE third.

Moor lost his lead again after Frawley fired two back-to-back high games of 238 and 243 to take over the lead and opened up a gap of 75 pins as Moor slipped back to second. A poor game by the Aussie allowed Moor to narrow the gap to just 12 pins going into the eighth and final game.

The Brit ended the block stronger with 232 to take pole position with 1747 as Frawley settled for second, just 3 pins away on 1744. Defending champion, Stuart Williams stormed home to snatch third spot with 1695.

Hussain finished fourth with 1658 while two-handed Finn Osku Palermaa also stormed home to take up fifth position with 1646. Early leader, Waliczek faded away to finish sixth with 1644.

Squad D will resume with their second block of 8 games tomorrow morning and the last and final Squad E will take to the lanes for their first block of 8 games.

Dominic Barrett of England, who shot the tournament's first 300 in the first block, topped the qualifying standings after two blocks with 3588 ahead of Bahrain's Yousif Falah in second with 3417 and a second Bahraini, Mohammed Al Janahi third with 3366.

Photos Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

5th March, Manama: Dominic Barrett of England led Block 1 and 2 of Squad A of the 10th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open 2012 underway at the new Ozone Entertainment Center ahead of local favourite, Yousif Falah.

Barrett, who failed to defend his title at last week's H.H. Emir's Cup desipite being top seed, rolled the tournament's first 300 in game four of the opening block of 8 games yesterday to lead the squad with 1890.

Arab Games Masters silver medalist, Mohammed Janahi trailed in second with 1733, 157 pins adrift while Yousif Falah finished third with 1722. Bahraini youth, Ahmed Al Goud and Finn Perttu Jussila rounded the top 5.

Although Barrett ended his qualifying round with a lower 8-game second block of 1698, he remained firmly in the lead with a 16-game tally of 3588. Yousif Falah improved one notch up to second with 3417.

Mohammed Janahi of Bahrain slipped down to third with 3366 while compatriots Ahmed Al Noaimi and Masoud Saberi completed the top 5 with 3293 and 3288 respectively. Finn Perttu Jussila also dropped one place to sixth with 3246.

There will be two more squads - C and D qualifying rounds over two blocks of 8 games each for the next two days. Qualifiers in positions 1 to 5 plus the top Bahraini will automatically advance to Round 5 finals. Positions 7 - 12 will automatically advance to Round 4 Finals.

Positions 13 - 18 will automatcially advance to Round 3 Finals while positions 19 - 27, plus two top Bahrainis and top female qualifier will contest the Round 2 Finals on March 8. The top 6 will advance to Round 3.

The top 3 at the end of Round 5 finals will proceed to the stepladder grand finals to determine the champion, who will earn BD 7,500 (approx. US$19,950) with the first runner-up taking home BD 3,500 (approx. US$9,300) and second runner-up BD 2,000 (approx. US$5,300).

Photos Terence Yaw in Bahrain.