11th June, Hong Kong: Esther Cheah of Malaysia retained the Women's Open Masters crown of the 39th Hong Kong International Open while Zoe Dias Ma of Macau won his first international open in the Men's Open division.

Cheah, who was seeded fifth, beat top seed, Kimberly Ooi of Singapore twice to win the Women's Open crown for the second consecutive year. The Malaysian national bowler breezed through the first match, 204-156 to force the second decider.

In the deciding match, Cheah started off with three consecutive strikes while Ooi opened in the first frame. Despite having an opened frame in the fifth, Cheah downed another three strikes for a 220-193 victory over the Singaporean.

The champion had earlier ousted second seed and 2009 winner, Chan Shuk Han of Hong Kong and Ilma Nur Jannah of Singapore, 201-181-178 to set up a showdown with the top seed in the final.

Cheah also breezed pass two other Singaporeans, fourth seed Joey Yeo Ruoqi and sixth seed, Tracy See, 210-185-148 in the first match to move up the ladder.

"It's nice to win the title for a second straight year," said the 26-year-old Esther. "I was lucky in the first match against Kimberly when she had two bad splits and I had a single pin miss.

"But in the second match, my ball travelled well down the lanes and had good carry. I did scrubbed my ball before the title match and it paid off."

Cheah earned HK$26,000 (approx. US$3,350) for the win and Ooi settled for HK$14,000 (approx. US$1,800). Chan pocketed HK$7,000 as second runner-up.

In the earlier Stage 2 finals, Ooi topped the field with 2038 total followed by Chan in second with 2064 and Ilma third with 2035. Yeo, Cheah and Tracy made the stepladder finals in fourth to sixth positions with 2022, 2003 and 1986 respectively.

Meanwhile, 2011 Asian Schools All Events gold medalist, Zoe Dias Ma of Macau clinched his first-ever international open title after defeating challenger and fifth seed, Jassim Darwish of Kuwait, 226-198 in the deciding match.

Zoe was forced into the second match after he narrowly lost the first, 193-201. The champion started off well with three opening strikes to take a 15 pin lead over the Kuwaiti.

As Jassim struggled to repeat his striking power shown in the first match, Zoe rolled a double in the tenth frame to seal the victory, 226-198.

"I had a good start in the first match but was unable to have enough strikes to shut out the match and take the title. I needed to double in the tenth frame but the stubborn pin 10 refused to fall.

"And when Jassim struck out to take the first match, I was determined not to allow this chance to slip away. I have to thank my coach, Daniel Yiu for guiding me during the match."

Jassim earned a crack at the title after edging two Emiratis, second seed, Hussian Al Suwaidi and third seed, Shaker Al Hassan in a closely fought second match to win 232-227-218.

The runner-up had a lucky break in the first match beating fourth seed, Lee Tak Man of Macau and Andrew Frawley of Australia, 186-173-157 to advance into the second match.

Zoe pocketed the top prize of HK$55,000 (approx. US$7,000) as champion with Jassim taking home HK$22,000 (approx. US$2,830) and Hussain earning HK$14,000 as second runner-up.

The champion, who trailed Hussain before the last game, snatched top spot after finishing with 242 in the final game of the Stage 2 finals.

Hussain finished second with 2187 and Shaker third with 2145. Lee, Jassim and Frawley made the stepladder finals in fourth to sixth positions with 2129, 2121 and 2098 respectively.

Hong Kong's hope was dashed when Michael Tsang was edged out into seventh position by 5 pins when Frawley rolled 223 in the last game and Tsang managed only 214. Sam Cooley, who was in the top 6, was also edged out after he posted 207 in his final game.

The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women qualified for the fifth leg of this year's ABF Tour Hong Kong 2013 which will be held at the same centre tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

10th June, Hong Kong: Three-time Hong Kong Open champion, Wu Siu Hong staked his claim on a fourth win after topping the Men's Open Masters Stage 1 finals of the 39th Hong Kong International Open with Michael Tsang giving the host nation a one-two finish.

Wu, who has won the Hong Kong Open title in 2003, 2006 and 2009, set a blistering pace with 267 in his opening game to lead two Emiratis, Hareb Al Mansoori and four-time Asia Ranked No. 1, Hussain Al Suwaidi in second and third.

But a poor 175 in Wu's second game saw the Hong Kong national team member slipping down to third as Hareb and Hussain surged ahead. Wu recovered with another 267 in the third game to regain the lead while Hareb trailed by 29 pins.

Despite a lowly 186 in the fourth game, Wu was able to hang on to the lead and continued his lead until his team-mate, Michael Tsang rolled the tournament's second 300 in the seventh game to move into the lead.

Again Wu bounced back to regain the lead for the second time after the eighth game and never looked back ending the stage with 2215 for pole position, 70 pins ahead of his nearest rival.

Tsang, who was fighting for second spot with Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Al Saud, finished stronger to claim second spot with 2145 giving the host nation a one-two finish.

Mohammed settled for third spot with 2131 while early leader, Hareb took fourth spot with 2094. A third Hong Kong national bowler, Michael Mak completed the top 5 with 2087.

"I've won the Hong Kong Open title three times all at this bowling centre," said Wu when interviewed by local TV medai. "Maybe this centre could give me the lucky break I need.

"The lanes were not exactly easy and is very tricky. I had to make countless adjustments to continue to bowl well. Although I'm quite confident for tomorrow's second round, I will still need to put in 100% concentration."

Singapore's Alexander Tan edged Hong Kong's Joshua Chow by 1 pin to squeeze into the second stage with 1898.

In the Women's Open division, Singapore's Kimberly Ooi was a runaway leader after leading from game 4 to end with a comfortable margin of 128 pins over defending champion, Esther Cheah of Malaysia in second.

Ooi amassed a 10-game total of 2072 with Cheah posting 1944. Yap Seok Kim of Team Bowlmart, Philippines finished a creditable third with 1935 followed by team-mate, Cecilia Yap fourth with 1889.

Early leader, Julia Lam of Macau rounded out the top 5 with 1867 ahead of her team-mate, Hui Tong in sixth position. Hong Kong's Agnes Chan made the cut in 15th position with 1772 while Carmen Tang missed the cut by 6 pins.

The top 18 men will be joined by the top 3 local and top 3 overseas seeded qualifiers and the top 15 women will also be joined by the top 3 local and top 3 overseas qualifiers for Stage 2 finals tomorrow.

The top 6 men and top 6 women finishers will advance to the stepladder shootout finals to determine this year's men and women champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

10th June, Hong Kong: National youth, Joan Cheng clinched victory in the Youth Open Masters finals of the 39th Hong Kong International Open in her final game to beat perfect-gamer and team-mate, Otto Leung at SCAA Bowing Centre.

Daniel Tan of Sunway Mega Lanes, Malaysia set a blistering pace with 222, 211 and 238 in his three opening games to take a 36 pin lead over Hong Kong's national youth member, Joan Cheng in second.

The Malaysian held the lead for another game but soon found himself slipping down to third as Alexander Tan of Singapore took over the running midway through the 10-game finals.

Another Hong Kong national youth, Otto Leung stole the limelight when the 15-year-old shot the tournament's first 300 in the sixth game to move into the lead while Daniel recovered to trail Leung by 21 pins.

Leung and Cheung then traded the lead from game 7 right through to the ninth game with Leung having a slight edge over Cheung by 20 pins going into the tenth and final game.

A disappointing 160 in Leung's last game saw Cheung clinching victory with 2104 after rolling 203 in her tenth game as Leung settled for second position with 2073.

Early pace-setter, Daniel finished third with 2061 a further 8 pins away while Tony Wong of Hong Kong and Alexander Tan rounded out the top 5 with 2045 and 2037 respectively.

Meanwhile China's Zhao Zhi Feng won the Men's Grade B Masters title with 1959 pinfalls, 39 pins ahead of Kot Man Kam of Macau in second with 1920 and Law Siu Hei third with 1914.

Chan Kam Fook of Sunway Mega Lanes, who was second before the tenth and final game, shot 171 to slipped into fourth position with 1911 followed by Sunny Man of Singapore fifth with 1866.

Reeta Seeto of Hong Kong pipped leader, Qin Xiuli of China by 14 pins to claim the Women's Grade B Masters crown with 1401. Qin, who led most of the way, settled for second with 1387.

Maggie Wong of Hong Kong finished third with 1297 while Rocica Lai Hoi Sze and Chan Po Li, both of Hong Kong rounded out the top 5 with 1293 and 1292 respectively.

Zhao picked up HK$7,000 (approx. US$800) for winning the Men's Grade B title and Seeto earned HK$1,000 for her victory in the Women's Grade B division. Youth Open champion, Joan Cheng won HK$1,000.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

9th June, Hong Kong: 2013 ABF Tour Thailand champion, Sam Cooley took over the lead of the Men's Open Masters overseas qualifying pool of the 39th Hong Kong International Open at SCAA Bowling Centre on Sunday.

Cooley, who was third behind his fellow-compatriot, Andrew Frawley with 1388 moved up into pole position after registering a stunning 3-game series of 769 to give himself a 6-game tally of 1463.

The 2012 World Youth All Events gold medalist, who lost to Hong Kong's Eric Tseng in the title match of the Euromed-Storm International Challenge Masters last month is determined to go one up with his inspiring display.

2013 Thailand Open champion and current Asian Ranked No. 1, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE also made the top 3 bracket in second with an improved 1423 pushing down Frawley into third.

Macau's Zoe Dais Ma slipped down to fourth and failed to secure a bye with 1389 while Kuwaiti Basel Al Anzi rounded out the top 5 with 1384.

Tseng, who is one of the local seeded qualifiers and attempted to earn a bye as one of the top 3 local qualifiers, did made some improvement after rolling 762 but his lower 641 series only put him fourth with 1403.

Wicky Yeung, Achilles Hung and Rickle Kam occupied the top 3 local qualifiers with 1470, 1446 and 1423 respectively.

The current cut in tenth position in the mixed pool is held by four-time AMF World Cup champion and Hall of Famer, Paeng Nepomuceno of Philippines with 1269.

Singapore's Tracy See regained top spot in the Women's Open overseas qualifying pool with 1267 pushing down brief leader, Lara Posadas of Team Bowlmart, Philippines on 1261.

Overnight leader, Joey Yeo Ruoqi of Singapore took third spot with 1253 ahead of team-mate, Kristine Kuah in fourth and a second Filipina, Cecilia Yap fifth.

Two of the local seeded qualifiers, Milki Ng and 2009 champion, Chan Shuk Han moved into the top 3 bracket with 1182 and 1181 behind leader, Sonia Ho in pole position with 1233.

2012 ABF Tour Hong Kong leg champion, Gloria Yung got pushed out into fourth position. The current cut went to Sammi Kao of Hong Kong with 1043.

Qualifying will end late this evening and a one-game desperado squad for the Men's Open will be held for the top 3 finishers to join the Stage 1 finals tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

7th June, Hong Kong: Hong Kong national youth, Victoria Chan captured her first international title after a narrow victory in the Youth Under-18 Masters finals of the 39th Hong Kong International Open on Sunday.

Singapore's Eugene Or got off the mark with two cracking opening games of 212 and 202 to open up a gap of 42 pins over two Hong Kong national youth members, Kelvin Ngan in second and Victoria Chan in third.

But Or's lead was short-lived as Ngan's third game of 224 allowed him to take over the running as Or slipped down to second, 39 pins adrift. Despite rolling only 163, Ngan was able to remain in the lead at the halfway point.

Ngan bounced back with another superb game of 256 to stretch his lead to 85 pins as Victoria Chan moved up to second.

Chan reduced the gap to 23 pins after the sixth game and subsequently took over the lead after the seventh game while Ngan trailed by just 1 pin going into the eighth and final game.

The 18-year-old lass ended with 201 to capture her first-ever title with 1590 with Nicolas Michel Breant storming home to snatch second position with 1577, 13 pins adrift and Ngan settling for third.

Meanwhile, 58-year-old H.M. Sio of Macau clinched the Senior Masters title with 1604. Sio, who trailed pace-setter, Ng Kwok Hing of Hong Kong by 5 pins after the seventh game, over-powered Ng with 192 in the final game to snatch victory.

Ng settled for second position with 1587 while ex-international, Chung Him finished third with 1577. Hong Kong's Chiang Kwok Fai and Tse Lik Wai completed the top 5 with 1561 and 1530 respectively.

Sio picked up HK$4,500 (approx. US$580) as champion with HK$2,000 and HK$1,000 going to the first and second runner-up. Victoria Chan earned HK$2,000 for her victory with HK$1,000 and HK$500 going to second and third in the Youth Under-18 Masters.

Ngan faded off to end with a poor 161 to settle for third spot with 1541 followed by Otto Leung of Hong Kong and early pace-setter, Or rounding out the top 5.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

8th June, Hong Kong: National kegler, Wicky Yeung improved his earlier total of 1406 to 1470 to go top of the Men's Open Masters qualifying table of the 39th Hong Kong International Open at SCAA Bowling Centre on Saturday.

Yeung, who was third before his latest attempt, improved his lower 3-game series of 681 with 745 taking his 6-game tally to 1470 for top spot. Achilles Hung slipped down to second with 1446 after having led for the past three days.

Rickle Kam also slipped one spot down to third with 1423 and could see himself out of the top 3 and earning one bye into Stage 2 finals.

Asian Indoor Games bound, Michael Tsang and ex-international Rocky Hui rounded out the top 5 with 1341 and 1321 respectively. Three-time Hong Kong Open champion, Wu Siu Hong, Michael Mak and Eric Tseng remained the top 3 local seeded qualifiers.

Andrew Frawley and Sam Cooley also remained in the top 2 positions of the overseas qualifiying standings with 1393 and 1388 ahead of Kuwait's Basel Al Anzi moving up into the top 3 with 1384.

Thailand Open champion, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE and a second Kuwaiti, Jassim Darwish rounded out the top 5 with 1383 and 1375 respectively.

The current cut in tenth position in the mixed pool went to Hall of Famer and four-time AMF World Cup champion, Paeng Nepomuceno of the Philippines with 1234 or averaging 205.67.

Meanwhile, Singapore youths stamped their mark by occupying the top 3 positions of the Women's Open overseas qualifying pool. Joey Yeo RuoQi topped the standings with 1215 followed by Joy Yap and Tracy See in second and third with 1199 and 1192.

Team Bowlmart's Lara Posadas of Philippines missed the top 3 by 12 pins after finishing fourth with 1180 while a fourth Singaporean, Kristine Kuah completed the top 5 with 1179.

Ex-national youth, Sonia Ho dislodged overnight leader, Gloria Yung with an improved 1209 to become the new leader in the local pool. Yung slipped down to second with 1160 ahead of Melody Yeung third with 1143.

National bowlers, Milki Ng, Chan Shuk Han and Zoe Tam are the three local seeded qualifiers in the Women's Open division.

Macau's Hui Tong headed the mixed pool with 1144 while the current cut in ninth position is held by Tilda Shum of Hong Kong with a total of 1051.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

7th June, Hong Kong: Two-time Thailand Open champion, Andrew Frawley of Australia topped the overseas qualifying pool to stake his claim on the Men's Open Masters title of the 39th Hong Kong International Open underway at SCAA Bowling Centre.

Frawley, whose last open title came when he took the 2010 Thailand Open for the second time, won the 2012 ABF Tour Bahrain leg. The 48-year-old Aussie came close to winning his second ABF Tour Tournament of Champions title this year but had to settle for first runner-up.

The leader registered an inpressive 708 and 685 for a 6-game tally of 1393. This year's ABF Tour Thailand leg champion, Sam Cooley finished second to give Australia a one-two in the standings with 1388.

Current Asian Ranked No. 1 and newly-crowned Thailand Open champion, Shaker Al Hassan took third spot with 1383 while Kuwait's Jassim Darwish and Macau's Zoe Dais Ma tied with 1375 to round out the top 5.

Hong Kong national youth, Achilles Hung stunned the field by taking top spot in the local pool with 742 and 704 for a total of 1446. National kegler, Rickle Kam also impressed with 1423 to finish second.

Wicky Yeung finished third with 1406 and became the third Men's Open to surpass the 1400-mark as Leo Tse completed the top 5 with 1321.

Three-time Hong Kong Open champion, Wu Siu Hong, 2010 Asian Youth Masters gold medalist, Michael Mak and newly-crowned Euromed-Storm Masters champion, Eric Tseng are the top 3 local seeded qualifiers.

The top 3 men in the local pool and top 3 men in the overseas pool will earn a bye into Stage 2 finals while positions 4 to 9 local qualifiers, 4 to 12 overseas qualifiers and 1 to 10 qualifiers from the mixed pool will contest 10-game Stage 1 finals on June 10.

The top 18 finishers plus the 6 seeded qualifiers will bowl another 10 games on June 11 and the top 6 will advance to the stepladder shootout finals.

Meanwhile, 2010 ABF Tour Macau leg champion, Julia Lam topped the Women's Open Masters overseas pool with 1176 followed by Team Bowlmart's Yap Seok Kim of Singapore in second with 1153.

Lam's team-mate, Hui Tong finished third with 1144 followed by another two Team Bowlmart members and Filipinas, Cecilia Yap and Lara Posadas in the top 5 with 1125 and 1116.

Last year's ABF Tour Hong Kong leg champion, Gloria Yung led the local pool with 1160, 23 pins ahead of Melody Yeung in second and Wu Sau Ting third with 1143 and 1138 respectively.

2009 Hong Kong Open champion, Chan Shuk Han of Hong Kong national team, missed the top 3 to finish fourth with 1128. Milki Ng, Chan and Zoe Tam are the 3 local seeded qualifiers.

The top 3 women in the local pool and top 3 women in the overseas pool will earn a bye into Stage 2 finals while positions 4 to 7 local qualifiers, 4 to 10 overseas qualifiers and 1 to 8 qualifiers from the mixed pool will contest 10-game Stage 1 finals on June 10.

The top 15 finishers plus the 6 seeded qualifiers will bowl another 10 games on June 11 and the top 6 will advance to the stepladder shootout finals.

Qualifying will run through to June 9 and the Masters finals will be held on June 10 and 11. The top 16 men and the top 16 women in the Masters finals will also qualify for the ABF Tour Hong Kong leg to be hald at the same centre on June 12.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.