10th December, Doha: 2013 PBA World Championships winner and top seed, Dominic Barrett of England came from behind to beat challenger, Mattias Olsson of Sweden, 515-467 over the two-game championship match to win the 13th Qatar Bowling Open title for the second time.

Both title contenders started off with a spare in the first frame and went strikes for strikes up to the fifth frame. Barrett appeared to in total control with another double while Olsson spared his sixth.

Despite closing out the first game with 257, the Swedish left-hander struck out to take the first game 269-257 for a 12 pin lead.

Olson started poorly with a big 5-split as Barrett went into the second game almost identical to his first, sparing the first and rolling six consecutive strikes. Although Olsson recovered to roll four-bagger himself, failing to spre his sixth frame more or less decided the outcome.

Barrett made sure of his victory with another double in the ninth and tenth frame to end with 258 and a 515 match total while his challenger ended with a split for 198 and a 467 total.

"I knew the match against Thomas (Larsen) wasn't going to be easy as he has been bowling well in Abu Dhabi and here, said the IBMA November Bowler of the Month, Barrett. "He came back strongly in the second game but I made sure I had a clean game.

"The title match was even tougher and although I trailed Mattias (Olsson) by 12 pins, again I made sure I don't make bad shots. He's only using the left part of the lane so that helped.

The champion ousted Larsen, 459-413 in the Step 3 semi-finals to advance into Step 4 while Olsson dispatched debutant, Cameron Weier of USA, 413-392 to earn a crack at the title.

Barrett is richer by Euro 30,000 (approx. US$41,150) with the second victory. His first was in 2011. Olsson settled for Euro 14,000 as first runner-up while Weier and Larsen picked up Euro 5,000 and Euro 2,500 respectively.

The Qatar Bowling Federation Honorary President, Mr Salman, WTBA & FIQ President, Mr Kevin Dornberger, current QBF President, Mr Salam and Mr Kim Jensen, EBT Tournament DIrector gave away the prizes.

In the earlier six games Step 2 finals, Barrett topped the field with 1418 followed by Weier with 1391. Olsson finished third with 1375 while Larsen earned the fourth Step 3 finals spot in fourth with 1369.

PBA pro, Mike Fagan missed the cut by 19 pins finishing fifth ahead of Osku Palermaa of Finland, Tommy Jones and Marshall Kent of USA completing the top 8.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

10th December, Doha: Abu Dhabi World Tour firt runner-up and defending champion, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland is eyeing to successfully defend the title after winning the Step 1 Finals of the 13th Qatar Bowling Open on Tuesday morning.

Former World Bowler of the Year, Tim Mack of USA still found some fire in him when he set a blistering pace with 279 in the opening game to lead fellow American Matt Gasn and James Gruffman of Sweden sharing second spot, 22 pins adrift.

The American continued to lead the field of 33 finalists with another strong game of 224 in the second but found his lead narrowed to just 7 pins from a third Amercian, Bill O'Neill closing in.

As Mack slipped down midway through the finals, defending champion Mika Koivuniemi of Finland snatched the lead with O'Neill still in second, albeit just 1 pin seprating the pair.

Amercian PBA pro, Mike Fagan did lead momentarily after the fourth game, the Finn regained it after the fifth and went on to end the finals with 223, 257 and 223 to win Step 1 finals with 1407.

O'Neill settled for second with 1393 followed by another Amercian debutant, Cameron Weier and desperado squad qualifier, Marek Talpa of Czech Republic sharing third spot with 1392.

2012 World Youth Masters gold medalist, Daniel Fransson of Sweden rounded out the top 5 with an impressive 1370 total. Early front-runners, Mack and Fagen managed ony sixth and seventh positions.

A good day for the Brits with Dominc Barrett in eighth, Richard Teece, who rolled the tournament's second perfect game and his career 18th and Paul Moor made the cut for the next step in ninth and 15th respectively.

Yousef Al-Jaber survived the cut to become the sole Qatari in the finals when he finished 18th position with 1230 while Hong Kong's Michael Mak missed the cut by 12 pins in 19th position.

The top 18 will be joined by the 10 seeded qualifiers from the overall standings will bowl another 6 games in Step 2 Finals later today.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

9th December, Doha: Ex-Kuwaiti coach, Andrew Frawley of Australia cracked into the top bracket of the qualifying standings in the final squad of the 13th Qatar Bowling Open for third position late Monday night.

Frawley, who owns a 12-lane centre near Sydney since leaving his coaching job in Kuwait, blitzed the lanes with a stunning 269 in his opening game but dropped off slightly with a lowly 182 in the second.

The Aussie bounced back with 238, 249, 258 and 247 for a total of 1443 moving up from 36th position into a superb third in the overall qualifying table. His effort forced Martin Paulsson of Sweden into 11th.

Jesper Svensson ended the qualifying in pole position, which he took earlier in Squad 15 with 1490 followed by debutant, Marshall Kent of USA in second with 1457 and Frawley third.

Mattias Olsson of Sweden, who won Day 5 high series award, dropped to fourth with 1416 while Abu Dhabi World Tour champion, Thomas Larsen of Denmark took fifth position with 1411.

Two additional Swedes, Mattias Wetterberg and Martin Larsen occupied Sixth and seventh positions with 1410 and 1409 while Osku Palermaa of Finland, Yousif Falah of Bahrain and Sami Lampo of Finland completed the top 10.

Abu Dhabi World Tour first runner-up, Mika Koivunimei of Finland, James Gruffman of Sweden and Isabelle Hultin made the cut in Squad 16 and 17 leaving Ahmed A-Deyab of Qatar in the final cut in 34th position with 1324.

In the late desperado squad, Ida Andersson of Sweden topped the one-game roll-off with 251 to add to her 8 pin handicap for 259. John Guldbaek of Denmark and Marek Talpa of Czech Republic made the cut in second and third with 256 and 251 respectively.

PBA pro, Tom Hess of USA was unlucky to miss out finishing fourth with 247. Randi B Christensen of Denmark also missed the cut in 38th position from the overall standings.

Qualifiers from positions 11 to 34 with the top 2 qualifiers from Day 1 (Dec 4), Day 2 (Dec 5) and Day 3 (Dec 6) plus the top 3 from the desperado squad will bowl six games in Step 1 finals at 10.00am local time on December 10.

The top 18 finishers will be joined by the top 10 seeded qualifers for another 6 games in Step 2 finals. The top 4 will advance into the Step 3 semi-finals and the winner will face off in the Step 4 finals, all over a two-game total.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

9th December, Doha: 2013 Brunswick Ballmasters Open champion, Jesper Svensson took over top spot in the qualifying standings of the 13th Qatar Bowling Open to lead four other compatriots occupying half of the top 10 positions.

Svensson set a cracking pace with a sizzling 278 opening game before dropping sightly with 213 and 234 but still held the lead by 14 pins over fellow countrymen, Robert Andersson in second.

The leader up his pace again with 237 before another splendid game of 277 in the fifth game to stretch his lead to 63 pins. The Swede rounded out the sixth and final game with 251 to take over the lead with 1490.

Andersson settled for second with 1377 but crucially missed the top 10 by just 3 pins to finish 11th overall. Tim Mack of USA, who was the third qualifier to surpass the 1300-mark, took third spot in the squad with 1360 and qualifying in 15th position.

Overnight leader and winner of the Day 4 high series Award, Marshall Kent of USA slipped one spot down to second overall with 1457 with Mattias Olsson of Sweden third with 1416. Abu Dhabi Bowling Tour champion, Thomas Larsen of Denmark slipped down to fourth with 1411.

Day 5 high series winner, Mattias Wetterberg of Sweden took fifth spot with 1410 ahead a fourth Swede, Martin Larsen in sixth position with 1409. Osku Palermaa of Finland finished seventh with 1400 completing the seven qualifiers who surpass the 1400-mark.

Bahrain's Yousif Falah, the best Asian qualifier, took eighth position with 1392 as Day 2 high series award winner, Sami Lampo finished ninth with 1390. A fifth Swede, Martin Paulsson completed the top 10 with 1380.

Andersson headed the second bracket with 1377 as the cut at 34th position after 15 squads was increased to 1311 held by Andrew Frawley of Australia. Shaker Al Hassan of UAE hovered one spot above the Aussie in 33rd position with 1317.

No American PBA pro has made the top bracket yet. Mike Fagan was the best in 16th position with 1357 followed by Tommy Jones in 19th with 1346 and Bill O'Neill in 22nd with 1339.

Also not in the cut were Abu Dhabi World Tour first runner-up, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland in a lowly 40th position, Josh Blanchard of USA in 54th position and Tom Hess of USA down in 56th position.

Qualifiers position 11 to 34 with two highest qualifiers from Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 plus the top three qualifiers from the desperado squad making up 33 finalists to contest Step 1 finals over 6 games tomorrow.

The top 18 plus the top 10 seeded qualifiers from the standings will contest Step 2 finals over another 6 games to determine the top 4 advancing to the Step 4 semi-finals and Step 5 finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

8th December, Doha: Newly-crowned Abu Dhabi World Bowling Tour champion, Thomas Larsen of Denmark continued his fine form to break into the top bracket of the qualifying table of the 13th Qatar Bowling Open on Sunday.

Larsen, who defeated four-time PBA Bowler of the Year, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland to earned his biggest career victory last week, totaled 1411 to take up third in the table. Mattias Olsson of Sweden won the squad with 1416 to finish second.

Osku Plaermaa of Finland won Squad 10 with 1400 to take up sixth in the table behind a second Swede, Martin Larsen in fifth, who topped Squad 11. A third Swede, Mattias Wetterberg took Squad 12 with 1410 to finish fourth.

Marshall Kent of USA remained in the lead after he won Day 4 high series award of Euro 200 with 1457. The top Asian thus far was Bahrain's Yousif Falah in seventh position with 1392.

Day 3 high series award winner, Sami Lampo of Finland slipped down to eighth position with 1390 while Martin Paulsson of Sweden totaled 1380 for ninth and Squad 6 winner, Cameron Weier of USA completing the top 10 with 1376.

The top 10 qualifiers will earn a bye into Step 2 finals. Abu Dhabi World Bowling Tour second runner-up, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong headed the second bracket with 1373.

American PBA pro, Mike Fagan won Squad 13 with 1357 but was only good enough for 13th position in the table ahead of his compatriot, Tommy Jones in 15th with 1346. Other PBA pros, Bill O'Neill, who finished second in the same squad took 18th position with 1339.

The cut after 13 squads went to Abu Dhabi World Bowling Tour first runner-up, Mika Koivuniemi tieing with Bahrain's Mohammed Sultan in 33rd position with 1303.

Qualifying will end tomorrow with Squad 17 and a one-game desperado squad will be held to include three additional qualifiers for Step 1 Finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

7th December, Doha: Debutant, Marshall Kent of the United States took over pole position of the qualifying rounds after topping Squad 9 of the 13th Qatar Bowling Open underway at Qatar Bowling Centre on Saturday.

Kent, who won gold in the Singles and Team of the 2012 World Youth Championships, posted a splendid six-game series of 1457 in Squad 9 today to move into the top of the qualifying standings.

The American, who also finished as first runner-up in the 2012 QubicaAMF World Cup in Poland, earned himself a bye into Step 2 finals as pole sitter. Mattias Olsson of Sweden, who finish second with 1416 in the same squad took second spot.

Newly-crowned Abu Dhabi World Bowling Tour champion, Thomas Larsen of Denmark continued his fine form after just one attempt to finish third with 1411 while Squad 10 leader, Osku Palermaa of Finland moved into fourth with 1400.

Yousif Falah of Bahrain rounded out the top 5 with 1392 ahead of overnight leader and Day 2 high series winner of Euro 200, Sami Lampo of Finland in sixth position with 1390.

Squad 4 winner, Sameron Weier of the United States finished seventh with 1376 while Abu Dhabi World Bowling Tour second runner-up, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong and PBA World Championships winner, Dominc Barrett of England completed the top 10 for Step 2 finals.

Current cut at 34th position went to Qatari youth, Jassem Al-Deyab with a six game total of 1264. Michael Tsang of Hong Kong rolled the tournament's first perfect game in his third game of Squad 9 but managed only 46th position.

Qualifiers positioned 11 to 34 plus the top 2 qualifiers each from Day 1, 2 and 3 and the top three from the desperado squad will make the cut for the Step 1 finals on December 10.

The field will be cut to 12 to include the top 10 seeded qualifiers will contest the Step 2 finals for another 6 games to determine the top 4 advancing to Step 3 finals. Two matches (2 games total) for top seed vs fourth seed and second seed vs third seed will be held.

The winners will advance to Step 4 finals over two games total to determine the champion and the first runner-up. The losers of the Step 3 finals will be ranked according to their seeding.

The champion will pocket Euro 30,000 (approx. US$40,900) with the first runner-up taking home Euro 14,500 and the third and fourth runner-up Euro 4,500 each.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.