17th April, Bangkok: Top seeds, Lee Ik-Kyu of the Korean national team and Lee Na Young of Dae Jeon City took their maiden victory in the Men's and Ladies' Open Masters finals of the 37th MWA Thailand International Open on Sunday.

Lee Ik-Kyu, who made the stepladder finals as top seed from yesterday's Stage 2 finals, defeated No. 2 seed, Koo Seong-Hoi of the Korean National Sports University, 190-172 in the all-korean title match to take his first-ever international crown.

Recruited as a member of the national team only in March, the 19-year-old started off with a double strike but had a small setback when he encoutered a split in the third frame. Lee bounced back with three strikes-in-a-row from frame six to put the match beyond his opponent.

Koo, who edged another member of the Korean national team and the 2009 AMF World Cup champion, Choi Yong-Kyu in a thrilling semi-final by a single pin, failed to repeat the form he displayed earlier to end with a moderate 172 after having two open frames.

Koo settled for second place while Choi, who had ousted No. 4 seed, Tim Mack of the United States and Remy Ong of Singpaore, 232-192-147 in the second stepladder match, ended up in third place.

Ong defeated joint-fifth seed, Kritchawat Jamparkao of Thailand and the fourth Korean, Hong Hae-Sol, 232-202-226 in the first match to advance into the second match.

The champion won 300,000 Baht (approx. US$10,000) for his victory while Koo took home 150,000 Baht for second place. Choi won 80,000 Baht, Mack 40,000 Baht, Ong 25,000 Baht, Kritchawat 20,000 Baht and Hong 15,000 Baht.

Meanwhile, Lee Na Young of Dae Jeon City also won her first international title after she outclassed team-mate, Kim Ji-Hye 233-148 in another all-Korean Ladies' Open title match. Lee also started off with a double and then a turkey from frame four to romp home for a comfortable win.

Kim, who ended Thailand's hopes of a victory when she beat Yanee Saebae 221-200 in the semi-final, had two splits and two open frames to settle for second position.

The No. 5 seed Yanee took out team-mate and No. 3 seed, Benchawan Poungthong and No. 4 seed and third Dae Jeon City finalist, Yoo Yeon Jung 197-166-189 to advance to the second stepladder match.

The Ladies' champion won 100,000 Baht (approx. US$3,000) for her effort while Kim settled for 50,000 Baht and Yanee took home 25,000 Baht. Yoo, who remained in fourth won 15,000 Baht and Benchawan 10,000 Baht.

Ms Vivien Lau, Honorary Life President of Asian Bowling Federation was on hand to present the trophies to the winners. The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women qualified for the ABF Tour Thailand leg which will be held tomorrow, April 18.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

16th April, Bangkok: There was no stopping the mighty Koreans as Lee Mi-Jin and Yoo Yeon Jung finished one-two in the Ladies' A Masters finals of the 37th MWA Thailand International Open while Joung Myong Jin claimed the Men's A title.

Yoo Yeon Jung, who made the Ladies' Open Masters stepladder finals in fourth in the earlier Stage 2 finals, continued her fine form to kick off the Ladies' A finals with a cracking pace.

Yoo led most of the way and had as much as 102 pins margin when her team-mate, Lee Mi-Jin and Thailand's Natthida Sertluecha tied second spot after the seventh game. But Yoo lost her composure rolling only 176, 152 and 180 in her last three games to lose to Lee by 5 pins for the title.

Lee fired two consecutive 213 games in the ninth and tenth game to snatch the title with 1891 as Yoo was in tears when she ended in second with 1886.

Tanaprang Sathean of Thailand clinched third spot with a superb final game of 224 for a total of 1876 while Natthida, who as one stage was in contention, slipped down to fourth with 1778.

In the Men's A division, Korean men almost took the first two places but was separated by Thailand's Wannatep Chaiyasit, who finished second with 2139. Joung Myong Jin, who led for six games then handed to Wannatep for two games before regaining the lead to take the title with 2154.

Moon Young Sun totaled 2051 to claim third spot while another Korean, Shin Hyun Ho and India's Harsh V. Sarda completed the top five finishers with 1924 and 1918 respectively.

Joung won 120,000 Baht (approx. US$4,000) as champion with Wannatep settling for 50,000 Baht and Moon taking home 30,000 Baht. Lee won 40,000 Baht (approx. US$1,325) as the Ladies' champion. Yoon took home 20,000 Baht and Tanaprang 10,000 Baht for second and third positions.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

16th April, Bangkok: Korean men put in another dominating display with Lee Ik-Kyu leading three other fellow-countrymen into the Men's Open Masters Stepladder Finals of the 37th MWA Thailand International Open at the end of the Stage 2 finals.

The 19-year-old national rookie set off the Stage 2 finals with a stunning 279 opening game then followed it up with another superb 249 in the second game to open up a comfortable gap of 66 pins over team-mate, Hong Hae-Sol.

American PBA pro, Tim Mack tried to close the gap when he moved into second spot midway through the stage but to no avail as the Korean youngster continued his blistering pace and stretched his lead to 75 pins after the fourth game.

Koo Seong-Hoi of the Korean National Sports University managed to narrow the gap to 31 pins after the fifth game and almost caught up Lee.

But the youngster hung on to end the stage with 1290, just 3 pins ahead of Koo in second with 1287. 2009 AMF World Cup champion, Choi Yong-Kyu finished third with 1246 ahead of Mack in fourth with 1239.

Singapore's Remy Ong did well with 1233 to tie fifth spot with the sole Thai, Krichawat Jamparkao while the final stepladder spot went to Hong Hae-Sol with 1226.

Kim Byung-Sek, who was fourth before the final game, managed only 193 in his final game to miss the cut in eighth by 2 pins.

Ong, Kritchawat and Hong will meet in the first stepladder match over one game and the winner will advance to face third-seed, Choi and fourth-seed, Mack in the second match.

The winner of the second match will meet No. 2 seed, Koo over one game and whoever wins this match will earn a crack at the title against top seed, Lee in a one-game title match.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

16th April, Bangkok: Korean women ruled the lanes at S.F. Strike Bowl after Lee Na-Young and Kim Ji-Hye from Dae Jeon City finished first and second in the Ladies' Open Masters Stage 2 finals of the 37th MWA Thailand International Open on Saturday.

Thai national bowler, Benchawan Poungthong got off to a superb start in her opening game to lead Dae Jeon's Lee Na-Young of Korea by 4 pins. But Benchawan's lead was reduced to just one pin after the second game.

Lee took over the running after the Thai dropped her pace at the halfway mark to trail by 17 pins. The Korean was simply too good for the field as she drew away to open up a gap of 60 pins after the fourth game.

The Korean went on to end the Stage 2 finals with 1223 total followed by her team-mate, Kim Ji-Hye, who stromed home to take second spot with 1204. Benchawan settled for third place with 1197 while a third Korean, Yoo Yeon Jung of Ulsan, Korea took fourth spot with 1188.

2010 Asian Schools Masters gold medalist, Yanee Saebae of Thailand snatch the final stepladder spot with a fnal game of 219 to finish fifth with 1168.

Angkana Netvriseth of Thailand missed the cut by 30 pins in sixth with 1138 as Indonesia's Putty Armein, who was fifth before the final game, slipped down to seventh position.

Benchawan, Yoo and Yanee will meet in the first Ladie's Open stepladder match over one game and the winner will advance to face No. 2 seed, Kim. The winner of the second match will have a crack at the title against top seed, Lee in the finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

16th April, Bangkok: Hong Kong's Chan Shuk Han and Korea's Koo Seong-Hoi shone in the Ladies' Open and Men's Open Masters Stage 1 finals of the 37th MWA Thailand International Open to lead the field into the next stage on Saturday.

China's Zhang Yuhong got off to a great start with 226 as 16 women took to the lanes for their Stage 1 finals. Zhang was able to lead the field until the halfway mark when Thailand's Sariya Chongvarin took the lead briefly in th fourth game.

Hong Kong's Chan Shuk Han, who trailed Zhang in th early stages, picked up her pace to surge ahead of Zhang and Sariya and opened up a gap of 34 pins over the Chinese.

Chan's 212 and 266 in her two final games allowed the Hong Kong national bowler to top the stage with 1223. Zhang settled for second with 1201, proving that the difficult lane conditions suited the spinners more.

Indonesia's Putty Armein, who had to contest this stage after being knocked out of the top 3 qualifying bracket late last night, did herself proud to finish third with 1188.

Thailand's Benchawan Poungthong squeezed into the next stage in seventh and last spot with 1118 while Korea's Jo Hyun Jung missed the cut by 28 pins after finishing eighth.

Meanwhile in the Men's Open division, a three-way battle had developed amongst Korea's Cho Young-Seon, Hong Hae-Sol and USA's Robert Smith in the first five games but it was another Korean, Koo Seong-Hoi that stole the show.

The 23-year-old Koo ended the 6-game Stage 1 finals in pole position with 1280. Smith settled for second with 1272, just 8 pins adrift while pace-setter, Cho finished third with 1243.

Jassem Darwish of Kuwait and Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE tie 12th position on 1154 and had a one-ball roll-off to break the tie. Jassem had a strike in his first frame while Hussain managed only 7 pins.

The Kuwait will advance into the next stage together with the top 3 local and top 3 overseas men seeded qualifiers for another 6 games in Stage 2 later today. The top 7 women will be joined the the top 2 local and top 3 overseas women seeded qualifiers for Stage 2.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

15th April, Bangkok: Newly-crowned Youth Open Masters champion, Jun Gwi-Ae of Dae Jeon City led compatriots, Lee Na-Young and Kim Ji-Hye to take up the top 3 positions of the Ladies' Open Masters overseas qualifying pool of the 37th MWA Thailand International Open on Friday.

Jun Gwi-Ae became the first women to register a 700 series after the 19-year-old rolled 709 to add to her 632 and 614 to take over the lead in the Ladies' Open overseas pool with 1955.

Jun's team-mate Lee Na Young, who had slipped down to fourth after Indonesia's Putty Armein improved her tally to 1849 to take up second spot, also bettered her total from 1841 to 1870 to replace Putty in second.

A third Korean, Kim Ji-Hye downed 1863 to clinch the third spot with 1853 to book her place in the Stage 2 finals being the third qualifier in the top 3 bracket while Putty is pushed further down to fourth.

Meanwhile, the cut for the women is held by Kim Min-Sun of Korea with a total of 1724 as Hong Kong's Chan Shuk Han, Milki Ng and India's Sabeena Saleem were relegated into the reserves pool.

There will one additional slot for the women in the reserves pool as Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia will not be defending her title due to her studies in the United States.

Over in the Men's Open division, the race for a spot in the finals are also heating up. Korean national rookie, Lee Ik-Kyu improved his 9-game tally to 2019 and tied with Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE.

Both may have take part in a one-ball shootout to break the tie and determine who would earn the third spot for the bye into Stage 2 finals unless either of them make further improvements to their total before qualifying ends today.

2009 AMF World Cup, Choi Yong-Kyu and another Korean national rookie, Kim Byung-Suk occupied the top 2 spots with 2060 and 2036 respectively.

The current cut as at the 4.00pm squad is held by 2011 Dubai Open champion, Shaker Al-Hassan of UAE with 1891 but will try to improve his lowest 601 series to move out of the dropzone.

There were no changes in the local pool with Dechochai Tinjiratip, Yannaphon Larpaharat and Phumin Klanbida the top 3 who would earn byes into Stage 2 finals.

Qualifying will most likely drag into the early hours of Saturday with five bowlers to a pair of lanes stretching the normal one hour squad to two. A one-game desperado squad will also be held to select the top 4 who would join the finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

15th April, Bangkok: Korean youths swept the top 4 positions of the Youth Open Masters titles of the 37th MWA Thailand International Open as Jun Gwi-Ae of Dae Jeon City emerged as champion ahead of compatriots, Oh Kyu Sek in second, Sung Gyeong Eun third and Song Si-Ra fourth.

Sun Gyeong Eun of Paichai University, Korea set a cracking pace in his opening game with 215 plus the 9 pin handicap to lead local youth, Tanaprang Sathean in second, 7 pins adrift. His lead was handed over to compatriot Oh Kyu Sek after he managed only 177 in the second game.

But it was the more consistent scores from Jun Gwi-Ae that allowed her to take over the running when she downed 197, 210 and 233 in the first 3 games as Oh trailed in second, 6 pins behind.

There was simply no stopping the 19-year-old as she continued to set a blistering pace with 221, 237, 235, 194 and 178 ending the 8-game finals to emerge as champion with 1777 as Oh totaled 1638 to claim second place.

Sung held on to third spot with 1551 while another Korean, Song Si-Ra completed the Korean domination in fourth with 1541.

Malaysia's Chong Jun Foo prevented Korea taking the top 5 positions by finishing fifth with 1540 ahead of a fifth Korean youth, Jun Chang Hun finishing sixth position with 1512.

In the Youth Graded division, Wanchat Chomdokmai snatched the title with 1416 in his last three games of the 8-games final. Jirapat Lerdmatatinnachart finished second with 1396 followed by Boonnisa Piyaworatham third with 1368.

Atthapon Wongvanichkit, who was fighting for the lead with Boonnisa in the early stages and had led for six games, fizzled off to miss the podium with a fourth place finish on 1365 while Kantaphorn Singhabubpha rounded up the top 5 with 1362.

Kantaphorn's first six games scores in the Youth Graded Masters finals which was taken into consideration for the Youth Under-15 finals allowing the Thai youngster to claim the title with 1077 plus a 14-pin handicap.

Samrid Moungviroj amassed a 6-game total of 1053 without handicap to settle for second position while Lapasdanai Chuseang finished third with 1029.

Jun Gwe Ae won 50,000 Baht (approx. US$1,650) as the Youth Open champion with Oh and Sung taking home 20,000 and 10,000 Baht respectively. The Youth Graded champion was richer by 20,000 Baht and the Youth Under-15 champion won 10,000 Baht.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

14th April, Bangkok: 2009 Singapore Sports School U-18 champion, Dechochi Tinjiratip of Thailand stormed into the lead of the Men's Open Masters local pool at the 37th MWA Thailand International Open.

Dechochai Tinjiratip, who was fourth overnight, improved his lowest series of 605 with 661 to move into pole position in the local pool with a new 9-game tally of 2024 and dislodged compatriot, Yannaphon Larpapharat into second spot.

Another Thai youngster, Phumin Klanbida also dropped one spot into third with 2020 but will join Dechochai and Yannaphon in the Stage 2 finals as the top 3 local qualifier.

Ex-national, Krichawat Jamparkao missed the top 3 bracket after dropping down to fourth on a total of 1996 while another ex-national, Somjed Kusonpithak rounded up the top 5 with 1961.

Meanwhile, 2009 AMF World Cup champion and Guangzhou Asian Games gold medalist, Choi Yong-Kyu became the fourth bowler in the competition to register a 700 series after he shot 733 to take over top spot in the overseas pool with 2060.

Choi, who was fourth before his stunning series, posted 672 and 655 in his two other series to give him the lead and earned the bye into Stage 2 finals.

Overnight leader and national rookie, Kim Byung-Suk gave Korea a one-two finish taking up second spot with 2036 while early leader, Hussain Al-Suwaidi was content with third spot on 2019.

In the women's division, Lee Na-Young of Team Tae Jeon took the lead briefly with 1812 only to be pipped by compatriot, Lee Mi-Jin of Ulsan by 29 pins into second spot.

Lee fired 649, 596 and 596 for a 9-game aggregate of 1841 to become the new leader in the women's open overseas pool. Overnight leader, Putty Armein of Indonesia slipped down to third with 1803.

There were no changes in the women's open local pool with Angkana Netvriseth, Sariya Chongvarin and Yanee Saebae taking up the top 3 places and would advance automatically int Stage 2 finals.

Qualifying rounds have gone into five to a pair of lanes as the response to this year's tournament is overwhelming and will likely to stretch the last squad into the early hours.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

13th April, Bangkok: Korean national bowlers made an impact in the qualifying rounds of Men's Open Masters at the 37th MWA Thailand International Open as Kim Byung-Suk and Jang Dong-Chul claimed first and third positions in the overseas pool.

Kim Byung-Suk of Korea, posted the second highest 3-game series of 695 to add to his two other 3-game series of 692 and 649 to become the new leader in the Men's Open Masters overseas qualifying pool with 2036.

The 24-year-old debutant passed his first national assignment with flying colours after he was selected a member of the Korean elite team through a roll-off in early March this year.

His team-mate and Guangzhou Asian Games gold medalist, Jang Dong-Chul put himself as a title contender after rolling 683, 676 and 631 for a 9-game aggregate of 1990 to take up third behind overnight leader, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE, who slipped down one spot to second.

2009 AMF World Cup champion, Choi Yong-Kyu of Korea shot 672, 663 and 638 for a total of 1963 to finish fourth but missed the top 3 bracket by 27 pins. Any improvement to his lowest series will put him firmly in the top 3.

American PBA pro, Tim Mack of the United States dropped to fifth after being second overnight on a total of 1946. There were no changes in the local pool with Yannaphon Larpapharat leading with 2024.

There were also no changes to the ladies' division with Putty Armein of Indonesia and Hong Kong's Chan Shuk Han in first and second positions with 1803 and 1723 respectively. India's Sabeena Saleem improved her total to 1722 to move up to third.

Angkana Netvriseth remained in the lead of the local pool with 1842 ahead of Sariya Chongvarin in second with 1799 followed by 2010 Asian Schools Masters gold medalist, Yanee Saebae third with 1792.

Singapore women have yet t make their mark with Daphne Tan seventh with 1594 while Jasmine Yeong-Nathan and Asian Games bronze medalist, New Hui Fen third and fourth in the mixed pool.

Qualifying will continue until Friday, April 15 and the Masters finals will be contested on Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17. The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women will also qualify for the ABF Tour Thailand leg which will be held on Monday, April 18 at the same venue.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

12th April, Bangkok: Globe-trotting PBA pro, Tim Mack staked his claim on Men's Open Masters title of the 37th MWA Thailand International Open after a splendid qualifying effort moving the American into second spot.

With over 78 international titles to his credit, the only crown that has eluded Tim Mack of the United States is the Thailand Open. His best effort was finishing second in 2007 to champion, Daniel Lim of Malaysia.

The 39-year-old American notched up two better 3-games series of 678 and 643 to add to his third best series of 625 taking up second spot with a 9-game tally of 1946. Mack has shown a glimps of his old spark recently in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Stretching the lead in the overseas pool was three-time Asia Ranked No. 1, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE, who improved his overnight total from 1934 to 2019. Hareb Al-Mansoori and Naif Oqab, both of UAE slipped to third and fourth.

Meanwhile, Hassan Al-Zaabi of UAE shot the tournament's first perfect game yesterday in his sixth attempt in which he posted 734 but his two other series of 547 and 473 put him fourth in the mixed pool with 1754.

2011 Dubai Open champion and runnerup in the 5th Saudi Open did well to take up fifth with 1888 while Hong Kong Kong's Eric Tseng and Indonesia's Ryan Lalisang took sixth and seventh positions respectively.

Leader in the local pool, Yannaphon Larpapharat improved his 2017 by 7 seven pins to take his tally to 2024. Ex-national, Kritchawat Jamparkao finished second with 1996 while Thai youth, Dechochai Tinjiratip finished third with 1976.

Asian Games silver medalist, Putty Armein of Indonesia took over the lead in the ladies' open overseas pool after chalking up 639, 604 and 560 for a 9-game aggregate of 1803 dislodging overnight leader, Chan Shuk Han of Hong Kong into second spot.

2006 Asian Ranked Women No. 1, Kim Eun Jung of Korea took third spot with 1609 followed by ABF Tour TOC first runnerup, Milki Ng of Hong Kong fourth with 1537.

There were no changes in the ladies' open local pool with Angkana Netvriseth, Sariya Chingvarin and Yanee Saebae occupying the top 3 positions with 1842, 1799 and 1792 respectively.

The scores in both the men's and ladies' division will increase substantially especially with over 40 bowlers from three Korean teams. The Korean national team, bowlers from Ulsan City, Dae Jeon Metropolitan City and Paichai University.

Teams from Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore have also arrive Bangkok and will begin their qualifying rounds. Missing this year are bowlers from India, Philippines and Malaysia.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

10th April, Bangkok: Three-time Asia ranked No. 1, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE took over the lead of the Men's Open Masters qualifying table of the 37th MWA Thailand International Open on Sunday.

Hussain Al-Suwaidi, who was second overnight, improved his lowest 3-game series of 562 with 666 for a 9-game tally of 1934 to move into the top of the standings to dislodge overnight leader and compatriot, Hareb Al-Mansoori into second spot.

Since winning the Hong Kong Open title in September last year, the 30-year-old Emirati had seen his form taken a dip and failing to finish in the podium in several tournaments early in the year.

Hussain will be hoping to return to the winning circle with a good showing in the finals this weekend. Another Emirati, Naif Oqab also improved two of his 3-game series for a new total of 1884 to take up third spot in the standings.

UAE bowlers continued to dominate the qualifying with Shaker Al-Hassan, Saeed Obaid Ali, Mohammed Dawood and Fahad Ali all making improvements to finish fourth to seventh positions.

Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand remained in the lead of the local pool by improving from 1977 to 2017 to become the first qualifier to surpass the 2,000-mark. Ex-international, Kritchawat Jamparkao regained second spot with 1996 while two-time ABF Tour Thailand leg champion, Somjed Kusonpithak moved up to third with 1961.

India's Sabeena Saleem led the Ladies' Open division with 1648 albeit being the only overseas lady having made her attempt. 2010 ABF Tour Thailand leg champion, Angkana Netvriseth maintained her lead in the local pool with 1842.

Sariya Chongvarin improved her 9-game tally from 1754 to 1799 but remained second in the table while Yanee Saebae also improved her total from 1704 to 1755 to retain third spot.

The overseas participants are expected to arrive Bangkok in the next two days and will begin their qualifying rounds which will drive the scores to a higher level. Qualifying will end on Friday, April 15 and the Masters finals will be contested on April 16 and 17.

The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women at the end of the Open Masters finals will also qualify for the ABF Tour Thailand leg which will be held at the same center on Monday, April 18.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

10th April, Bangkok: Emirati bowlers dominated the qualifying rounds of the 37th MWA Thailand International Open underway at S.F. Strike Bowl Ngamwongwan, Nontaburi with debutant Hareb Al-Mansoori in the lead.

Hareb Al-Mansoori of UAE, who led Stage 1 finals of the H.H. Emir Cup but failed to progress after the second stage, rolled 660, 644 and 603 for a three best 3-game series of 1907 to lead the Men's Open Masters overseas pool.

2010 Hong Kong Open champion and three-time Asia No. 1, Hussain Al-Suwaidi finished second with 1830 from his three series of 675, 593 and 592. Newly-crowned 2011 Dubai Open champion, Shaker Al-Hassan gave UAE a top 3 finish with 1827.

Naif Oqab, Saeed Obaid Ali, Fahad Ali and Mohammed Dawood were the four other Emiratis who arrived Bangkok early for their qualifying rounds to occupy fourth to seventh positions in the table.

ABF Tour Kuwait leg first runnerup, Yannaphon Larpapharat registered the highest 9-game aggregate of 1977 to lead the local pool ahead of Pasut Pusanthaveekul in second with 1914 while overnight leader, Kritchawat Jampakao slipped down to third with 1910.

Thai national bowler and 2010 ABF Tour Thailand leg champion, Angkana Netvriseth of Thailand topped the ladies' Open Masters local pool with a 9-game tally of 1842 on 640, 604 and 598.

Sariya Chongvarin finished second with 1754 followed by 2010 Asian Schools Masters gold medalist, Yanee Saebae third with 1704. Korngunya Aree and Numanut Charchaisiri rounded up the top 5 with 1697 and 1689 respectively.

The top 3 men from the overseas pool and the top 3 men from the local pool will automatically advance to Stage 2 finals. Positions 4 to 12 from the men's local pool, positions 4 to 12 from men's overseas pool plus top 12 from the men's mixed pool will qualify for Stage 1 finals.

There will be four additional qualifiers from the Desperado Squad who will also qualify for the Stage 1 finals schedule for April 16.

The top 3 ladies from the overseas pool and the top 2 ladies from the local pool will automatically advance to Stage 2 finals. Positions 3 to 6 from the ladies' local pool, positions 4 to 7 from ladies' overseas pool plus top 7 from the ladies' mixed pool will qualify for Stage 1 finals.

Qualifying will run through to April 15. The Youth Open, Youth Graded and Youth Under-15 Masters finals will also be contested on April 15.

The 37th MWA Thailand International Open is sponsored by Metropolitan Water Authority and supported by the Thai Sports Council. It is sanctioned by World Tenpin Bowling Assocaition and Asian Bowling Federation.

The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women from the Open Masters finals will also qualify for the fourth leg of the ABF Tour - Thailand 2011 which will be held on April 18.

Photos by Terence Yaw.