9th March, Manama, Bahrain: Ahmed Al Awadhi became the first-ever Bahraini to win the PBA-WBT 14th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open champion title after defeating challenger, Osku Palermaa of Finland, 240-220 in the second deciding match.

After sparing his first frame, Ahmed reeled off six consecutive strikes and looked certain to wrap up the tie in just one game. But the top seed failed to spare his eighth frame. Palermaa also spared his first frame but could not match his opponent and missed a single pin in the fourth frame as well.

Ahmed spared his ninth frame and needed to mark his tenth and last frame to seal the victory but suffered an 8-pin split to end with 223 and a 7-pin handicap for 230. The Finn doubled his next two frames, spared his seventh frame and needed to strike out to force the tie into a second decider.

The 2012 Bahrain Open champion disappointed the large Bahraini supporters by doing exactly that to take the game with 234. In the second game, Ahmed was again in top form reeling in five consecutive strikes to open up a gap of 40 pins as Palermaa encountered a split in the third frame.

He did manage to reduce the gap with a turkey thereafter while Ahmed stumbled to another 8-pin split in the sixth frame. Spurred on by his local supporters, Ahmed doubled in the seventh and eight frames and marked the rest to end with 233 plus 7 pin for 240. His challenger was unable to respond conceding defeat with 220.

"I knew it would be a tough match against Osku (Palermaa), but I just kept telling myself to stay focus and not get carried away," said the 16-year-old Ahmed, who was the top qualifier and topseed for the stepladder finals.

"I made two bad shots and I could have taken the title in the first game but one of that bad shot was in the last frame when I left pins 8 and 10.

"In the second game, I was more relaxed and I had to thank the crowd who cheered me on. Again I made sure this time I would not make the same mistake twice. This win has not really sunk in yet but most of all, this win is for Bahrain.

"My coach, Lee Hong Pyo and Masoud Saberi has been tremendous and have given me so much valuable guidance for which I'm so grateful for. I also want to thank the federation for giving this opportunity to me to compete in this world-class tournament."

The last Bahraini to win in an international tournament hosted here was Yousif Janahi back in 1994 before it became the Kingdom of Bahrain Open.

No Bahraini has ever won it since its inception back in 2002. Ahmed had made history by becoming the first Bahraini to win the title and to earn the top prize of US$25,000. Palermaa, who picked up the first runner-up prize of US$12,500 plus another US$1,000 for rolling the first perfect game, had earlier eliminated another Bahraini hopeful and last week's H.H. Emir Cup first runner-up, Yousif Falah, 179-165 in the semi-final.

Yousif, who took home US$8,000 as second runner-up, had shot 268 in the sixth and final game of Round 5 final to leapfrog from fifth to secure his spot in the stepladder finals in third with 1452. Ahmed topped the round with 1486 also thanks to a final game of 267.

Palermaa, who was leading the field before the final game, settled for second position with 1475. Round 4 winner, Tommy Jones of USA missed the cut by 38 pins to finish fourth and pocketed US$6,000. Marshall Kent of USA came close to making the top three but ended in fifth with 1409 to earn US$5,000.

Anthony Simonsen of USA rolled the tournament's third perfect 300 in the third game of the Round 5 final to lead for one game but fizzled off in the second half.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Manama, Bahrain.

9th March, Manama, Bahrain: 2006 PBA Player of the Year, Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, SC had an easy victory in Round 4 final of the PBA-WBT 14th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open with compatriot, Patrick Allen sandwiching Finn Osku Palermaa in second.

Jones got off to a cracking start with 279 in his opening game to lead fellow-countrymen, Allen by 33 pins as Sweden's Martin Larsen and Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong was third and fourth. The 37-year-old winner of 14 PBA titles, held the lead despite rolling only 211 and 219 in his next two games.

Allen was hot on his heels reducing the gap from 33 to just 10 pins at the halfway point while Naif Oqab of UAE moved up to third, just 8 pins away with Bahraini sensation, Osama A. Rahman going from strength to strength in fourth.

The leader downed 256 in the fourth before another stunning 279 in the fifth game to pull away for a 98 pins lead over Osama and Allen slippind down to third.

Jones ended with 215 for a total of 1459 to win the round comfortably. A vicious battle had emerged amongst at least six players for the five spots available.

Perfect gamer, Osku Palermaa of Finland, who had a disasterous start with 165 in his opening game, gradually crawled his way up the field and fired a big game of 279 to leapfrog into second position with 1384.

Allen and Osama secured their places with 1371 and 1365 to finish third and fourth positions respectively leaving Naif, Wu and Larsen fighting it out for the remaining two spots. Larsen need to double in the tenth frame but failed.

Naif ended the strongest with 226 to seal fifth spot with 1348 while Wu downed 214 to clinch sixth position with 1344. Larsen missed the cut by 16 pins to finish seventh on 1328. Round 3 winner, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland crashed out in eighth.

The top 6 advanced to Round 5 final and will be joined by the top 6 seeded qualifiers for a final 6 games at 3.00pm local time. The top 3 will proceed to the stepladder finals thereafter.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Manama, Bahrain.

8th March, Manama, Bahrain: 2015 World Bowling Tour finals champion, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland won Round 3 final of the PBA-WBT 14th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open ahead of two Bahrainis, Mohamed Janahi and Osama A. Rahman in second and third.

Stuart Williams got off with 239 to lead Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong by a single pin with Round 2 winner, Tannya Roumimper in third, another pin away. Bahraini youngster, Osama A. Rahman also had a good start with 234 for fourth position.

A sizzling 278 from the WBW Hall of Famer, Koivuniemi in the second game shot the Finn into the lead as Williams trailed in second, 9 pins behind. Wu kept a close third and Qatari youth, Jassim Al Muraikhi in fourth.

The Finn extended his lead to 29 pins at the halfway mark after another big game of 265. The Brit responded with an equally good game with 245. Mohamed Janahi rolled games of 246 and 257 to leadfrog Wu and Jassim for third spot.

The leader ended the final with 211, 256 and 235 to win the round with 1469. Janahi stormed home with 279 to snatch second spot with 1438.

Whilst Williams and Jassim appear to have secured their place in the next round, there was a keen battle for the remaining two spot amongst three competitor. Ryan Lalisang was 4 pins ahead of Wu in fifth spot while Osama was 3 pins behind Wu in seventh position going into the sixth and final game. Osama spared in the first frame and struck out for a 290. Wu rolled 268 while Lalisang could only end with 227.

Osama leapfrog into third position with 1408 pushing down Williams into fourth with 1390. Wu moved up one spot to fifth with 1382 while Jassim secured sixth position with 1376. Lalisang missed the cut by 31 pins to finish seventh.

PBA pro, AJ Johnson took eighth position with 1265 and Round 2 winner, Roumimper failed to advance finishing ninth position. Finalists not proceeding to the next round earned US$1,500 each. The top 6 proceed to tomorrow's Round 4 finals joined by qualifiers positioned 7 to 12.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Manama, Bahrain.

8th March, Manama, Bahrain: 2015 H.H. Emir Cup champion, Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia clinched victory in Round 2 final of the PBA-WBT 14th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open, 3 pins ahead of Osama A. Rahman of Bahrain in second and Mika Koivuniemi of Finland third.

2015 World Bowling Tour finals champion, Mika Koivuniemi set the early pace with 224 to lead reigning AMF World Cup champion, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong by 3 pins and one pin ahead of compatriot Mike Chan in third.

The Finn continued his hot pace with 234 and 233 to stay in the lead at the halfway mark as Roumimper closed in with a big game of 260 followed by two Bahrainis, Osama and Mohamed Janahi hot on their heels.

The World Bowling Writers Hall of Famer and winner of 15 PBA titles stretched his lead to 29 pins with another superb 258 while the Indonesian remained in second and others not mounting any sort of challenge.

The pace-setter stumbled to a lowly 173 and Roumimper fired 248 to take over the lead. Osama knocked down a stunning 289 to move ahead of the Finn and trailed the new leader by 44 pins.

Although the Bahraini youth ended stronger with 242 in the final game, Roumimper held on with 201 to win the round with 1383 with 42 pins handicap. Osama, also with 42 pins handicap took second spot with 1380, just 3 pins adrift while Koivuniemi settled for third with 1371. Wu finished fourth with 1346 and Janahi fifth with 1302. There was a keen tussle for the sixth and final position between Jassim Al Muraikhi of Qatar and Tim Mack of USA.

The American needed to double in the tenth frame but left a stubborn pin 10 standing to missed the cut by 7 pins. Jassim shot 211 to make the cut with 1300. Those who did not advance earned US$1,200 each.

The top 6 advance to the next round joined by qualifiers positioned 13 to 18 for another 6 games Round 3. The field will be cut to the top 6 who would advance to Round 4 final on March 9.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Manama, Bahrain.

7th March, Manama, Bahrain: H.H. Emir Cup third runner-up, Marshall Kent of USA cracked the top bracket of the overall qualifying standings at the PBA-WBT 14th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open after topping the second block of Squad F.

Three-time Bahrain Open championn, Tim Mack of USA got off the mark with a scintillating 290 but was not good enough to take the lead. Marshall Kent, who third in the first block, got off the mark with 240 to take over the running from Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia by 11 pins.

Lalisang bounced back with 268 in the eighth game to regain the lead and opening up a gap of 41 pins as Kent managed only 216. Martin Larsen of Sweden kept pace with the leading duo, just 9 pins further away in third.

As the Indonesian suffered a lowly 189 in the ninth game, Kent took advantage to leapfrog back to the top, albeit just 4 pins ahead of Lalisang and Larsen in third, 23 pins behind.

The American pro up his tempo to fire home 257, 221 and 246 to end the second block in the lead with 1414 for a 12-game tally of 2809. Larsen ended strongly to snatch second spot with 2760 while Lalisang faded into third with 2700.

Mika Koivuniemi of Finland and AJ Johnson of USA completed the top 5 with 2659 and 2658 respectively. Kent's fine display propelled him into the top bracket in the overall qualifying standings in fourth position.

Ahmed Al Awadhi of Bahrain, Anggie Ramirez of Colombia and Danielle McEwan of USA remained in the top 3 positions. Squad E leader, Anthony Simonsen of USA was fifth while the sixth position reserved for the top Bahraini went to Yousif Falah.

Tommy Jones of USA was knocked off the top bracket to head the second bracket with 2787. Larsen made the second bracket from Squad F in tenth. Robert Andersson was the second bracket cut in 12th position with 2708.

Ahmed A. Jabbar of Bahrain headed the third bracket with 2704 and Lalisang earned one bye in the third bracket in 15th position leaving the cut at 18th position to Rickle Kam of Hong Kong.

Tim Mack was pushed out of the third bracket to head the Round 2 qualifiers in 19th position with 2674. Thomas Larsen of Denmark almost missed the cut when he posted a poor 159 in his final game but was fortunate to be the cut at 27th position with 2646.

Ahmed Al Malki of Bahrain was the top Bahraini awarded position 28 and the top Bahraini youth spot went to Omar Rashid. Joshua Chow of Hong Kong missed the cut by 5 pins finishing 31st with 2641.

The 12 Round 2 finalists will contest 6 games on March 8 and the field will be cut to top 6, who will be joined by qualifiers positioned 13 to 18 for another 6 games in Round 3. The top 6 finishers in this round will advance to next round. Qualifiers positioned 7 to 12, together with the top 6 finishers from ROund 3 will bowl 6 games in Round 4. Again the top 6 finishers will be joined by the top 6 qualifiers for another 6 games in ROund 5 with the top 3 proceeding to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Manama, Bahrain.

7th March, Manama, Bahrain: 2016 USBC Masters champion, Anthony Simonsen of USA led Squad E after the second block of 6 games qualify into the top bracket of the PBA-WBT 14th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open in fourth position.

Simonsen, who was fourth in the first block, set off to a cracking pace with 278 in his opening seventh game to take over the lead. Emirati southpaw, Naif Oqab trailed in second, 13 pins adrift as overnight leader, Mike Chan slipped down to third.

Naif moved into the lead after a stronger 259 in the eighth game leaving the American two-hander in second and 7 pins behind. Two other Hong Kong nationals, Rickle Kam and Lau Kwun Ho joined the leading duo in third and fourth respectively.

The Emirati continue to set the pace without big games but Simonsen struggled to keep pace to remain in second after the next two games.

The 19-year-old Simonsen then fired a stunning 279 to leapfrog Naif into the lead. Naif trailed by 35 pins still ahead of the two Hong Kong keeping making good progress.

Simonsen ended the block with 1409 for a 12-game tally of 2788. Naif settled for second with 2763 and reducing the gap to 25 pins. Lau and Kam did well to finish third and fourth with 2702 and 2678 respectively.

Block 1 leader, Chan totaled 2658 to round out the top 5 finishers. Simonsen's fine effort could potentially earn him three byes and into fourth position in the overall qualifying standings. Ahmed Al Awadhi of Bahrain, Anggie Ramirez of Colombia and Danielle McEwan of USA remained in the top 3.

Naif earned himself two byes to take up eighth position, 17 pins behind Patrick Allen of USA, who headed the second bracket with 2780. Lau squeezed into the same bracket in 12th position.

Kam earned one bye making into the third bracket in 15th position. Mohamed Janahi headed the fourth bracket with 2665 and the cut before the final Squad F went to Tony Balabbo of

Philippines with 2619 (or 219 over). Omar Rashid and Abdulla A. Karim are the two Bahrainis earning automatic qualification while the top women qualifying spot went to Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Manama, Bahrain.

6th March, Manama, Bahrain: 2015 Asian Championship Masters gold medalist, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia topped the final Squad F of the PBA-WBT 14th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open to become the overall leader of the day.

2015 ABF Tour Bahrain champion, Yaqoub Alshatti of Kuwait set a cracking pace with 290 in his opening game to lead Qatar's Abdulrahman Al Jaidah by 12 pins and 2015 Qatar Open champion, Cameron Weier of USA and Stuart Williams of England sharing third spot with 277.

Despite just a 217 in the second game, the Kuwaiti held the lead as Ali Al Rashidi of UAE rolled 247 and 259 to trail by just 1 pin. Weier and Williams kept pace in third and fourth positions.

Williams took over the lead at the halfway mark as the Amercian moved up to second and Ali slipping down to third. Saudi Arabia's Yasser Abo Reesh shot 279 to join the leading trio in fourth.

The Brit managed only 218 in the fourth game to slip behind Lalisang, who rolled a 267 in the third game and almost shot a perfect game with 299, took over the running. Weier and Yasser followed closely in third and fourth.

>Another superb 247 in the fifth from Lalisang allowed the Indonesian to stretch his lead from 9 to 61 pins. Marshall Kent, who had three consistent games, added 247 and 255 to move into second position as Williams stumbled to a disasterous 151 to slip out of contention.

Lalisang eased off with 219 to end the first block with 1425 in the lead. Martin Larsen stormed home with 257 and 267 to snatch second position with 1407 and Kent settled for third with 1395. Weier and Williams rounded out the top 5 with 1364 and 1333 respectively.

With Squad E and F combined, Lalisang topped the day, just 3 pins ahead of Squad E leader, Mike Chan of Hong Kong with 1422. Naif Oqab of UAE finished third on his 1409 while Larsen and Kent completed the top 5.

The players from both the squads will resume tomorrow to complete their second block of 6 games which will determine the qualifiers of the finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Manama, Bahrain.

6th March, Manama, Bahrain: Left-handers, Mike Chan of Hong Kong and Naif Oqab of UAE ruled the first block of six games to finish one-two in Squad E of the PBA-WBT 14th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open at Funland Bowling Center on Sunday.

Chan got off the block with a superb 256 to share the lead with his Hong Kong compatriot, Rickle Kam, 11 pins ahead of 2008 Bahrain champion, Remy Ong of Singapore in second and Naif third, a further one away.

The Hong Kong southpaw added another strong game of 241 to extend his lead slightly ahead of a third Hong Kong team-mate, Eric Tseng and two-handed American, Anthony Simonsen sharing second spot with a fourth Hong Kong team-mate, Wu Siu Hong in a close fourth.

Simonsen fired a sizzling 269 to take over the running at the halfway mark as Chan and Naif tied second spot, 45 pins adrift.

But Simonsen's lead did not last long after Naif shot a big game of 278 to move into the lead. Wu moved into second ahead of the American in third and Chan fourth.

The Emirati held the lead for another game despite with just 206 as his opponents also stumbled in the fifth game. Chan bounced back with 246 to snatch the lead with 1422. Naif settled for second with 1409, 13 pins adrift and Wu recovered from a poor 150 in the fifth with 264 to clinch third spot with 1383.

Simonsen and Qatar's Yousef Aljaber completed the top 5 with 1379 and 1371 respectively. Hong Kong bowlers were impressive too with Kam, Lau Kwun Ho, Tseng and James Lui finishing in the top 10.

The last squad of the tournament, Squad F will be staged after lane maintenance. The players will resume with their second block tomorrow and will determine the final qualifying standings.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Manama, Bahrain.

5th March, Manama, Bahrain: PBA Players of the Year, Tommy Jones and Patrick Allen of USA and Stuart Williams of England stole the limelight at the PBA-WBT 14th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open after the trio took the top three positions of Squad C.

Jones had a moderate start in the seventh game with 228 as 2004 PBA Player of the Year, Allen knocked down a sizzling 279 to leapfrog up to second and trailed his compatriot by 27 pins. The leader picked up his pace with 246 and 249 to stretch his lead over Allen slightly.

Jones continued his good pace with another superb 256 in the tenth to extend his lead even further to 89 pins as Allen remained in third. Three-time Bahrain Open champion, Tim Mack put in a spirited run to take up third spot, 42 pins behind Allen.

The leader found the lanes a little bit tricky as he managed only 203 and 189 in his last two games to end the second block series of 1371 and a 12-game tally of 2787. Allen ended stronger on back-to-back 230s to finish second and just 7 pins adrift on 2780.

Williams also had back-to-back 230s to snatch third spot with 2684 while Mack settled for fourth position with 2674. Bahrain's Mohamed Janahi completed the top 5 with 2665.

Jones' effort earned him a spot in the top bracket and three byes for Round 5 finals in fourth in the overall standings. Bahraini 17-year-old Ahmed Al Awadhi remained in pole position with 2970. Squad B leader, Anggie Ramirez and Danielle McEwan also remained second and third with 2921 and 2874 respectively.

Allen also also made the top bracket in fifth position while the sixth position reserved for top Bahraini went to H.H. Emir Cup first runner-up, Yousif Falah with 2787.

Osku Palermaa of Finland headed the second bracketfor two byes with 2756 leaving Tim Mack in 12th position with 2674. Mohammed Al Merekhi of Qatar headed the third bracket for one bye with 2669 while Osama A. Rahman of Bahrain took 18th position with 2655.

Joshua Chow of Hong Kong headed the fourth bracket in 19th position with 2641 and the cut at 27th position went to 2009 Bahrain Open champion, Remy Ong of Singapore with 2589 (or 189 over). Fawaz Abdulla and Madhi Assad occupied positions 28th and 29th as two automatic Bahraini qualifiers.

Nadia Aqeel took the top women spot in 30th position with 2309. Squad D has been cancelled leaving Squad E and F. The players will bowl two blocks of 6 games each over the next two days. The combined scores will determine the final qualifying standings.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Manama, Bahrain.

5th March, Manama, Bahrain: Women dominated the top two positions of Squad B after completing the second block of qualifying round of the PBA-WBT 14th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open with Anggie Ramirez of Colombia and Danielle McEwan of USA in first and second.

Overnight leader, Ramirez set the lanes at Funland Bowling Center ablazed after rolling 269 in her opening seventh game to double her lead over McEwan from 21 to 42. But McEwan reduced the deficit back to 21 pins after the eighth game.

A strong 244 from McEwan in the ninth game saw the American taking over the lead, albeit just 7 pins ahead of the Colombian. Ramirez bounced back with 259 in the tenth game to regain the lead and opening up a gap of 61 pins over her nearest oppponent.

The leader went on to end the second block with a six-games series of 1472 taking her 12-game tally to 2921, averaging an impressive 243.42. McEwan settled for second spot with 2874 from a 1457 second block series.

First perfect gamer, Osku Palermaa of Finland, who was fourth before the final game, clinched third spot with 2756. Robert Andersson of Sweden and AJ Johnson of USA rounded out the top five with 2708 and 2683 respectively.

Two Qataris, Mohammed Almerekhi and Jassim Almuraikhi finished sixth and seventh with 2669 and 2667, ahead of Martin Larsen in eighth and two Hong Kong nationals, Wu Siu Hong and Joshua Chow competing the top 10.

With four squads - W, X, Z and B having completed 12 games of qualifying, local youth Ahmed Al Awadhi still lead the pack with 2970. Ramirez, McEwan, Palermaa and H.H. Emir Cup 2016 first runner-up, Yousif Falah occupying second to fifth positions. The sixth position reserved for top Bahraini went to Mohamed Janahi with 2655.

Andersson headed the second bracket earning two byes with 2708 and Wu occupied 12th position with 2656. His compatriot, Chow headed the third bracket earning one bye with 2641 and Abdulla A. Karim took 18th position with 2596.

Ryan Lalisang headed the third bracket for Round 2 final with 2590 while the current cut at 27th position went to Mohammed Al Marzooqi of UAE with 2490 (or just 90 over). Judging by the number of re-entries in Squad E and F, this could go up as much as 200 over.

Mahdi Assad and Ahmed A. Jabbar occupied 28th and 29th positions reserved for two Bahrainis not in the top 27 standings while position 30 went to the top women qualifier,

Nadia Aqeel. Squad C will completed their second block of 6 games later this evening and will show a clearer qualifying standings when their scores are combined. Squad E and F will be staged over March 6 and 7.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Manama, Bahrain.

4th March, Manama, Bahrain: 2006 PBA Player of the Year, Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C., clinched pole position in the final game of the first block of Squad C at the PBA-WBT 14th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open on Friday evening.

Mohamed Janahi of Bahrain set the early pace with a stunning 280 to lead Singapore's Benjamin Ang by 20 pins with Sturat Williams of England in a close third, a further 6 pins away. Janahi added a decent 227 in the second game to hold on to the lead with Williams moving up to second.

The Bahraini continued a good pace with 218 and 262 to remained in the lead as ahead of compatriot, Ahmed A. Jabbar taking over second spot and the Brit slipping to third. Ahmed posted a splendid 263 to move ahead of Janahi by 41 pins after the fifth game.

Meanwhile, Tommy Jones, who had shot 269 and 267 in the second and third games, ended the strongest with 247 and another 267 to clinch pole position with 1416. Janahi took second spot with 1386 while Ahmed stumbled to a lowly 152 to slip to third with 1381.

Three-time Bahrain Open champion, Tim Mack of USA found his old spark by finishing a creditable fourth position with 1351 while ex-international, Patrick Allen of USA completed the top 5 with 1338.

Williams ended with 172 to drop down to seventh behind a third Bahraini, Osama A. Rahman in sixth spot. Jones' effort failed to topple Squad B leader, Anggie Ramirez of Colombia, who totaled 1449 with a 7 pin handicap each game.

Jones also was 9 pins short of first perfect gamer and second in Squad B, Osku Palermaa of Finland and 1 pin behind newly-crowned H.H. Emir Cup champion, Danielle McEwan of USA.

Ahmed Al Kahja became the second player to score a perfect game during the sixth and final game. The players will return to the lanes for their second block of 6 games after Squad B contest their second block.

The combined scores together with scores from Squads W, X and Z comprising of local bowlers who had their qualifying rounds two weeks ago. Squad D has been cancelled leaving two more squads, E and F to be staged on March 6 and 7.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Manama, Bahrain.

4th March, Manama, Bahrain: Debutant, Anggie Ramirez of Colombia snatches the lead in the first block of Squad B at the PBA-WBT 14th Kigndom of Bahrain International Open underway at Funland Bowling Centre on Friday.

Martin Larsen of Sweden got off to a blistering start with 289 in his opening game to lead Ramirez by 36 pins as Robert Andersson of Sweden trailed in third while Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia and Mohammed Alsaud of Saudi Arabia tied fourth position.

Larsen held the lead despite kncoking down a lowly 186 with Qatari youngster, Jassim Almuraikhi closing in onto second spot, 12 pins adrift and the Colombian slipping down to third.

Lalisang shot into the lead after almost rolling the tournament's first 300 when he posted 297. Andersson bounced back to trail the Indonesian by 25 pins in second with Jassim and Ramirez keeping pace with the leading duo.

Newly-crowned H.H. Emir Cup 2016 champion, Danielle McEwan rolled two big games of 247 and 279 to become the new leader as Osku Palermaa of Finland fired the first 300 of the tournament to leapfrog into second , 8 pisn behind the American.

The two-handed Finn added another superb game of 268 in the fifth to move into the lead while McEwan slipped to second. Ramirez recovered with a strong 266 to stay close with the leaders.

Ramirez ended the strongest with 258 to snatch pole position with 1449 plus 7 pins handicap a game. Palermaa settled for second position with 1428 while McEwan finished third with 1417, also plus 7 pins handicap per game.

Andersson took fourth spot with 1399 while Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong rounded out the top 5 with 1342. Another debutant, Anthony Simonsen of USA, Lalisang, Mohammed Almerekhi of Qatar, Jassim and Joshua Chow of Hong Kong completed the top 10.

The bowlers will resume with their second block of 6 games tomorrow. Squad C will take to the lanes after maintenance for their first block of 6 games.

The top 5 plus top Bahraini in the qualifying standings will earn three byes and automatically qualify for Round 5. Players positioned 7 to 12 will earn two byes and automatically qualify for Round 4 and players positioned 13 to 18 will earn one bye and automatically qualify for Round 3.

Players positioned 19 to 27 plus top Bahraini not in the top 27 (positioned 28), top Bahraini youth (positoned 29) and top Bahraini women (positioned 30) will contest Round 2 finals on March 8 over 6 games. The top 6 from Round 2 plus qualifiers position 13 to 18 will proceed to the next 6 games in Round 3.

The top 6 from Round 3 plus qualifiers positioned 7 to 12 will proceed to the next 6 games in Round 4 on March 9. Again the top 6 from Round 4 plus qualifiers positioned 1 to 6 will proceed to the next 6 games in Round 5.

The top 3 finishers in Round 5 will advance to the Stepladder shootout finals. The champion will walk away with the top prize of US$25,000 and a PBA title if the champion is a member of PBA. The first runner-up will earn US$12,500 and second runner-up US$8,000.

Finalists will also earn World Bowling Tour ranking points towards qualifying for the World Bowling Tour finals. The top 16 Asians will also be awarded the ABF Tour ranking points towards the ABF Tournament of Champions.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Manama, Bahrain.