3rd October, Hong Kong: John Nolen became the third American PBA pro to bag an Asian Masters title when he triumphed in the Men's Open Masters finals of the 35th Hong Kong International Open while Chan Shuk Han won the Women's Open crown.

John Nolen, who led the first block of 8 games on Friday, needed only one match to defeat challenger, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand, 233-197 to claim the Men's title in his first Asian outing.

The 2009 USBC Masters champion took a three frame lead at the halfway mark of the title match as his opponent, Yannaphon had an opened frame in the third. Despite doubling in the next two frames, the Thai just could not string enough strikes to make a decent challenge.

Although Nolen had a split in the seventh frame, he managed to bounce back with a turkey from frame eight onwards to take a convincing victory.

"It's very rewarding to finally land an Asian title after having spent more than three weeks here competing in the Korea Cup, the Euro-Med Storm and now the Hong Kong Open," said the 30-year-old, who earned his first PBA Tour exemption after winning the USBC Masters this year.

"I knew I had to bowl well in order to stand a chance of picking up the win especially when my opponent has had a good run in the first two matches. It would also be nice to meet Lonnie (Waliczek) in the title match if he could beat the Thai in the second match."

Yannaphon prevented an all-Amercian final when he out No. 2 seed, Waliczek and No. 3 seed, Wu Siu Hong, 245-226-192 to earn a crack at the title. The sixth-seed also depatched two Hong Kong national bowlers, Michael Tsang and Wicky Yeung, 220-214-153 in the first stepladder match.

Nolen won HKG$50,000 (US$6,500) for his effort while the first runnerup took home HKG$22,000 (US$2,800) and second runnerup, Waliczek settled for HKG$14,000 (US$1,800). The champion earned topseed after he topped the second block finals earlier with 3531, 29 pins ahead of Waliczek on 3502.

Meanwhile, No. 1 seed Chan Shuk Han finally landed the Women's Open crown after several near misses after she also need only one match to beat challenger, Vanessa Fung, 224-178 in the all-Hong Kong championship match.

No. 3 seed, Vanessa advanced into the final match after she edged No. 2 seed, Sharon Limansantoso of Indonesia and winner of the first match Geraldine Ng of Singapore, 197-194-182 in the close second match.

Geraldine, who was seeded fifth, took out fourth-seed and ABF Tour Macau leg champion, Putty Armein of Indonesia and defending champion, Chein Hsiu Lan of Chinese Taipei, 215-167-199 to advance into the second match.

"I had so many seconds in the Hong Kong Open in the last few years and to finally win it is a great feeling," said the 36-year-old spinner, Chan. "This is my second open title and the win will give me more confidence for future tournaments.

Chan, who topped the second block finals with 3281 to move into the stepladder finals as topseed earned HKG$25,000 (US$12,000) for the victory. Vanessa and Sharon settled for HKG$12,000 (US$1,500) and HKG$7,000 (US$900) respectively.

The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women qualified for the ABF Tour Hong Kong leg which will be staged at the same bowling center, Hong Kong Bowling City on Sunday.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

2nd October, Hong Kong: American PBA pros are relishing the Asian circuit as John Nolen and Lonnie Waliczek finished first and third in the Men's Open Masters first block finals of the 35th Hong Kong International Open on Friday evening.

Lonnie Waliczek, who shot the tournament's first perfect game, set a cracking pace to lead the field of 36 finalists with a opening game of 256. He continued to lead after rolling 221, 237, 204 and 222 in the next four games until he encountered a bad pair of lanes in which he bowled a poor game of 156.

Waliczek's fifth game blunder costed him the lead when UAE's Shaker Al-Hassan took over the running followed by another American PBA pro, John Nolen challenging for the lead in a close second.

Shaker's lead was short-lived as Nolen streak into the lead with 248 in the seventh game. Nolen, who won the 2009 USBC Masters to earn his first PBA Tour exemption, ended with 236 to top the field with a total of 1791.

"It took me quite a while to get use to the very oily conditions here in Asia and when I finally knew how to attack the lanes, I just needed to roll the ball down the lanes gently and let it do the work," said the 30-year-old Nolen from Waterford, Michigan.

"There are so much talent here in Asia especially the younger ones. My first tournament was the Korea Cup at Inchon and I didn't do well but it was better in Manila where I finished fourth in the Euro-Med Storm."

Hong Kong national team member, Wicky Yeung shot back-to-back 260s to haul himself into contention and finished second, 27 pins off the American with 1764. Waliczek bounced back to snatch third spot with 1752.

Indonesia's Ryan Lalisang, who was third prior to the final game took fourth spot with 1737 while Shaker Al-Hassan and three-time Hong Kong Open champion, Wu Siu Hong rounded up the top 6 with 1714 and 1709.

In the women's open division, Singapore's Fok Ka Wai, who led from start to finish, upstaged a strong field to take top spot with 1695. Hong Kong's Vanessa Fung and Chan Shuk Han finished second and third spot with 1689 and 1624 respectively.

Defendging champion, Chien Hsiu Lan of Chinese Taipei, who trailed Fok most of the way, fizzled off to end up in eighth. Macau's youngster, Chan Weng Sam took fourth spot with 1607 followed by Tang Joh Six of Malaysia fifth with 1594.

Another Singaporean, Teo Li Ying completed the top 6 with a total of 1588. 2008 Indonesia Open champion, Sharon Limansantoso was Indonesia's best performer taking up seventh position with 1580.

The bowlers will resume with their second block of eight games on Saturday morning during which the top 6 men and the top 6 women will advance into the stapladder finals. The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women will also qualify for the sixth leg of the ABF Tour Hong Kong.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

2nd October, Hong Kong: Wang Hong Bo led Liu Yun Wei and Hsian Yi Yang for a China clean sweep of the top three positions of the Men's Graded A Masters at the 35th Hong Kong International Open while Hui Tong claimed the Women's Graded A crown.

Chinese youngster, Liu Yun Wei set the early pace to lead Hong Kong's Vincent Lim by 52 pins after the first 3-game series but two low games in the fourth and sixth allowed his compatriot, Wang Hong Bo to take over the running.

By the third series, Wang had a 23-pin margin over Liu and had the lead reduced to just 13 pins after the fourth series. The leader was simply too strong coasting home a comfortable victory with 2895.

Liu settled for second with 2854, 41 pins adrift while Hsiao Yi Yang stormed home with 206, 225 and 212 final series to snatch third spot with 2775 and giving China a clean sweep of the top 3 positions.

"I don't like to bowl in the morning and that is why I didn't have a good start," said the 36-year-old from Guangzhou, Wang after winning his first-ever international title. "Hong Kong has a lot of good bowlers and to come away with this win is nice."

William Yang Wei of China tied with Singapore's Jeremy Fang in fourth spot on identical total of 2770 while Macau's Dias Ma Zoe did well to finish sixth with 2687. Wang took home HKG$8,000 for his victory with HKG$3,500 going to Liu and HKG$1,500 to Hsiao.

Meanwhile, Macau's national youth team member, Hui Tong led from start to finish to claim her first international title. Hui, who was second runnerup in the Youth Masters finals at the Macau China Open just last month, amassed 2339 pinfalls.

The 16-year-old Santa Rosa De Lima Form 5 student also made the Masters finals of the Asian Youth Games in Singapore but came home empty handed. Thailand's newcomer, Panacha Boonma snatched second spot after a strong finish and a total of 2310.

Hong Kong's Lee Ka Wai, who trailed the leader up to the third series, settled for third position with 2223. Hui won HKG$2,500 for her effort as the Thai took home HKG1,500 and Lee HKG$600.

The Men's and Women's Open Masters finals first block of 8 games will be staged in the afternoon and will resume with the second block on Saturday morning. The top 6 men and top 6 women will advance to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

1st October, Hong Kong: Current Asia Ranked No. 1, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE firmed up his pole position in the Men's Open Masters standings as the 35th Hong Kong International Open qualifying come to an end Thursday evening.

Hussain Al-Suwaidi, who finished first runnerup twice this year at the Kuwait and Saudi Open and two first runnerup at the ABF Tour Kuwait and Thailand legs, only managed to win the Thailand Open to claim the Asian Ranking top spot.

The 28-year-old soon-to-be father, became the first bowler in the championship to record a 4-game qualifying score pass the 1,000-mark after a superb of 1017 two days ago. His score looked unbeatable as the qualifying moved into its final day.

Filipino, Biboy Rivera finished 19 pins behind Hussain with 998 followed by Kuwait's Khaled Al-Dubyyan third with 985. Another Kuwaiti, Yaqoub Al-Shatti did well to take up fourth spot with 967.

American PBA pro, Lonnie Waliczek rolled the tournament's first perfect game to take up fifth spot with 965 ahead of yet another Kuwaiti, Basil Al-Anzi sixth with 946.

In the local front, Wicky Yeung has taken over the seeded top spot pushing down his team-mate and Singapore Open Youth Masters champion, Rickle Kam with Ken Lin rounding up the top 3. PBAP-Classic Champion and three-time Hong Kong Open champion will be gunning to take the title for the fourth time.

In the women's division, ABF Tour Grand Finals champion, Tang Joh Six overtook the lead held by Colombia's Sara Vargas for two days. Joh Six amassed a scintilating 941 thanks to a final gams of 290 after she had rolled 218, 205 and 228 in her first three games.

Vargas settled for second with 909 followed by Thailand's Saowapha Kunaksorn in third with 879. PBAP-Bowlmart's Yap Seok Kim improved to fourth with 868 while Singapore's Gina Lim also moved up to fifth with 865.

2008 Asia Ranked No. 1, Chan Shuk Han also overtook the top local seeded position pushing team-mate, Milki Ng into second slot. Vanessa Fung moved up from fourth to third ahead of Sarah Cheng fourth.

The top 36 men and top 28 women will contest the first block of 8 games on Friday afternoon and the second block on Saturday morning. The top 6 men and top 6 women will advance to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

1st October, Hong Kong: Terdporn Manophaiboon of Thailand won the Senior Masters title of the 35th Hong Kong International Open for the second time after leading from start to finish at the Hong Kong Bowling City.

The 58-year-old Terdporn, who won the same title in 2007 but did not contest last year, got off to a good start with 227 but had to give up the lead temporarily when Very Pro Shop's Raymond Leung shot to the lead after the second game.

But the 2 pin lead that Leung had over Terdporn meant nothing to the Thai as he regained the lead with another superb game of 237 in the third game. From then on, Terdporn was simply too good for the field romping home a comfortable winner with 1741 over the 8-game finals with 151 pin margin.

Leung, who was trailing the leader most of the way, had dropped to third before the final game but bounced back to snatch second spot with 1590. Edmond Ng settled for third with 1582, just 8 pins behind.

Ex-national, Chang Kwok Fai had a chance to to finish in the podium but a poor seventh game of 164 costed Chang the third place and had to be content with fourth on a total of 1573. British-born Hong Kong resident, Bill Lake rounded up the top 5 with 1540.

Sixteen finalists contested the Senior Masters finals with some playing with up to 12 pins handicap and some with 6 pins handicap due to their ages.

Qualifying for the other divisions will end late this evening and the Men's and Women's Graded A Masters finals will take place on Friday morning. The Men's and Women's Open first block finals will follow at 1.30pm while the Men's and Women's Graded B Masters will be held at 7.30pm.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

30th September, Hong Kong: Mohammad Al-Zaidan of Kuwait shot a perfect game at the 35th Hong Kong International Open en-route to moving up into the overseas pool of the Men's Open Masters qualifying table on Wednesday.

Making his sixth attempt since arriving Hong Kong with the Kuwaiti national team, Mohammad Al-Zaidan took to the lanes at Hong Kong Bowling City for the 3.30pm squad but and not get off to a good start knocking down only 179.

But Mohammad set the lanes on fire as he reeled in 12 consecutive strikes to become the second bowler to score the perfect 300. PBA pro, Lonnie Waliczek of USA was the first bowler who shot the perfect game on Tuesday.

The Kuwaiti followed the perfect game with 224 and 219 to end the qualifying round with 921 which hauled him up from the mixed pool into 10th in the overseas pool and 23rd overall.

Current Asia Ranked No. 1, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE took over the lead after he became the secod bowler in the tournament to surpass the 1,000-mark with a superb 1017 effort. Filipino, Biboy Rivera took second spot with 998.

Overnight leader, Khaled Al-Dubyyan of Kuwait settled for third spot with 985 ahead of team-mate, Yaqoub Al-Shatti in fourth with 967. Waliczek was fifth with 965 followed by another Kuwaiti, Basil Al-Azni sixth with 946.

Singapore Open Youth Masters champion, Rickle Kam of Hong Kong was the top-seeded local qualifier ahead of Ken Lin and PBAP-Classic Champion, Wu Siu Hong third.

Meanwhile, Colombia's Sara Vargas, who is making her debut at the championship, surged into the lead in the Women's Open division with a superb effort of 909. Thailand's Saowapha Kunaksorn also impressed with a second place finish on 879.

Another newcomer, Doris Ho of Canada downed 856 to take up third spot ahead of 2008 Indonesia Open champion, Sharon Limansantoso and anther Thai, Benchawan Poungthong rounding up the top five.

Hong Kong national team member, Milki Ng led the local pool as the top seeded qualifier with Sarah Cheng second, 2008 Asia Ranked No. 1, Chan Shuk Han third and Vanessa Fung fourth. Ex-national, Cookie Lee topped the table with 847.

Another bowler to have surpass the 1,000-mark in the four-game qualifying round was Jassem Darwish of Kuwait, who shot 1038 to lead the Youth Masters standings ahead fo team-mate, Rakan Al-Amiri in second spot with 850.

Dominic Tsui Chun Fan led the local pool with 913 followed by Lau Kwun Ho in second with 910 and Asian Youth Games Team gold medalist, Leo Tse Chung Yin third with 906.

The last day of qualifying will end on Thursday. The top 36 men and top 28 women will contest the first block finals over 8 games on Friday and another 8 games on Saturday, October 3. The top 6 men and top 6 women will advance to the stepladder finals.

The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women will also qualify for the sixth leg of the Asian Bowling Federation Tour - Hong Kong leg which will be held on Sunday, October 4 at the same bowling center.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.