30th September, Kuwait: Two-handed Swede, William Svenson surged into second in the top bracket of the qualifying standings at the 14th Kuwait International Open on Saturday with Hong Kong's Keith Mark and Ivan Tse in third and fifth.

Svenson, who was third overnight with 3460, notched up 1181 in Squad 70 to take his 15-game tally to 3548. Hong Kong's Tony Wong remained firmly in the lead and look unchallenged with 3603. His compatriots, Keith Mark and Ivan Tse also moved into the top bracket with 3523 and 3495.

Newcomer, Aidas Dniunas of Lithuania, who has had 11 squads under his belt, chalked up 1121 in Squd 69 to tkae up fourth in the top bracket with 3498. Top Colombian, Manuel Otalora squeezed in at sixth position with 3488.

Overnight leader, Abdulrahman Al Khelewi of Saudi Arabia dropped out to head the second bracket with his total of 3479, just 9 pins off. A fourth Hong Kong national, Michael Mak improved to round out the top 10 with 3478.

Early leader, Aseel Alroomi of Kuwait took up 13th position with 3444 behind second perfect gamer, Ahmad Abulresh of Saudi Arabia in 12th position with 3451. A fourth Hong Kong national, Eric Tseng headed the third bracket with 3387 while the cut in 28th position went to Sweden's Pontus Andersson with 3305.

The only women who had made the cut in 19th position is Juliana Franco of Colombia with 3369. With two more squads remaining at press time, the cut could well end up at 3320 to 3330. A one-game Desperado squad will be stage to include two additional qualifiers, taking up 31st and 32nd positions.

Positions 29 and 30 are reserved for Kuwaiti qualifiers outside the top 28. Top 8 will skip two rounds and automatically advance to Round 3 Finals. Qualifiers position 9 to 16 will skip one round and automatically advance to Round 2 Finals.

Qualifiers positioned 17 to 32 will contest the 5-game Round 1 Finals tomorrow. The top 8 finishers will be joined by qualifiers from the second bracket for another 5 games Round 2 Finals.