30th August, Hong Kong: Son Young Seok and Lim So Hyun swept the Men's and Women's Open Masters titles of the 41st Hong Kong International Open to give Korea a grand double at SCAA Bowling Centre on Sunday.

Son, who ended the Stage II finals with an eight-game total of 2023, defeated compatriot and second seed, Kim Dong Gyoo in a low scoring all-Korean finals, 170-167 to win the Men's Open title.

The 35-year-old Son also earned the top prize of HK$55,000 (approx. US$7,000). Kim had earlier denied Hong Kong's bid for the title after he breezed past third-seed Hong Kong's Michael Mak and winner of the first match, Tony Wong, 258-210-214 in the semi-finals.

Wong, who topped yesterday's Stage I, ousted fourth-seed, Lee Tak Man of Macau and sixth-seed, Surasak Manuwong of Thailand, 214-201-181 in the first stepladder match to advance to the semi.

Kim picked up HK$22,000 after settling for second while Mak, who remained in third earned HK$14,000. Wong, Lee and Surasak took home HK$7,000, HK$5,000 and HK$4,000 respectively.

The first runner-up finished the earlier Stage II finals 148 pins behind the champion with 1875. Mak took third spot with 1859 and Lee fourth with 1846. Wong and Surasak qualified for the stepladder finals in fifth and sixth positions with 1821 and 1816.

In the Women's division, second-seed Lim So Hyun defeated top seed and defending champion, Victoria Chin of Malaysia twice to win the women's crown. The challenger took the first match, 213-177 and 226-167 in the second match.

The champion had earned the right to challenge the top seed after she beat third-seed and two-time Hong Kong Open champion, Esther Cheah of Malaysia and winner of the first match, Lee Na Young of Korea, 210-185-188.

Lee, who won four gold medals at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, sailed past fifth-seed, Veronica De Souza of Macau and sixth-seed, Natasha Roslan of Malaysia, 224-181-206 to advance to the semi-final.

Chin topped the second stage finals with an eight-game total of 1815, 62 pins ahead of Lim in second with 1753. Cheah finished third with 1718, Lee fourth with 1708, De Souza fifth with 1691 and Natasha sixth with 1674.

Lim won HK$26,000 as champion, Chin HK$14,000 as first runner-up and Cheah HK$7,000 as second runner-up. Fourth, fifth and sixth placed finishers took home HK$3,500, HK$2,500 and HK$1,800 respectively.

The top 16 Asian men and top 8 Asian women finishers in the finals qualified for tomorrow's ABF Tour Hong Kong leg which will be staged at SCAA Bowling Centre from 10.00am.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

29th August, Hong Kong: Last year's Youth champion, Tony Wong sprang a surprise to lead the Men's Open Stage I Masters finals of the 41st Hong Kong International Open while 2013 champion, Esther Cheah topped the women's division.

Debutant, Son Young Seok set a cracking pace with a stunning 277 in his opening game to lead Cheng Hsing Chao of Chinese Taipei by 19 pins and 2015 ABF Tour Macau leg champion, Michael Mak a further 4 pins away in third.

The Korean added another strong game of 235 to remain in the lead after the second game as Tong Wong moved into second spot, 22 pins adrift followed by a second Korean debutant, Kim Yusin and 2014 World Championships Masters gold medallist, Kang Hee Won of Korea.

Son just could not retained his lead for another game after Tony Wong surged into the lead with first three games of 253, 237 and 253, leaving the Korean in second, 35 pins away.

The Hong Kong national bowler increased his gap to 64 pins at the halfway mark while Son slipped away as SEA Games team bronze medallist, Surasak Manuwong of Thailand took over second spot.

Wong kept his lead despite registering only 217 and 215 in his next two games but ended strongly with 257 and 234 to end the stage with 1912. Surasak settled for second with 1835, 77 pins adrift.

Mustafa Al Mousawi of Kuwait posted two back-to-back 277 and 278 in game six and seven but a poor last game put the youngster in third with 1781. 2015 ABF Tour Thailand leg champion, Lee Tak Man of Macau finished fourth with 1780.

Singapore's ex-national bowler, Ng Tiac Pin of Singapore completed the top five with 1779. Early pace-setter dropped to 11th position. The cut at 18th position went to Hong Kong Cup champion, Otto Leung with 1677.

Meanwhile, 2013 Hong Kong Open women champion, Esther Cheah of Malaysia snatched top spot of the Women's Open Stage I Masters with 1794. Debutant, Lim So Hyun of Korea finished second with 1757.

Defending champion, Victoria Chin of Malaysia, who led the field before the final game, slipped down to third after ending with a poor 162. 2015 Asian Youth Masters gold medallist, Natasha Roslan of Malaysia and a fourth Malaysian, Wendy Chai completed the top five with 1725 and 1695 respectively.

The cut in 15th position went to Zoe Tam of Hong Kong with 1530, 14 pins ahead of Pan Yu Fen of Chinese Taipei, who missed the cut for the next stage.

The men's field was cut to 18 and will be joined by the top three local and top three overseas qualifiers for another eight games in Stage II. The women's field was cut to 15 and will also be joined by the top three local and top three overseas qualifiers for Stage II.

The top six men and top six women finishers at the end of the Stage II finals will advance to the stepladder finals. The Men's Grade A and Women's Grade A finals will be contested this evening.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

28th August, Hong Kong: ABF Tour Egypt leg champion, Mohannad Ebrahim of Kuwait rolled the second perfect game of the 41st Hong Kong International Open to leapfrog into the lead of the Men's Open Masters qualifying leaderboard.

The 20-year-old, who had a total of 1354 from a 722 and a 632 three-games series, was deep into the last few spots in the mixed pool as qualifying gets nearer to the end. A lucky break came when Mohannad took to the lanes for the 1.00pm squad.

The Kuwaiti started off with a sizzling 267 but gave away the advantage after he managed only 204 in the second game. Determined to not waste a good opportunity to improve, Mohannad downed strike after strike in the third game.

All of a sudden, not only was he faced with a chance to improve his score, he went on to end the game with a the tournament's second 300 to the delight of his team mates.

His effort gave him a stunning 771 series to add to his other set of 722 for 1493 moving out of the mixed pool to lead the overseas table. He also earned the bye into Stage II finals.

Overnight leader, Annop Arromsaranon of Thailand settled for second with 1472. 2014 World Championships doubles bronze medalist, Sam Cooley of Australia squeezed into the top three with two fine attempts of 751 and 696 for a 6-game total of 1447.

Cheng Hsing CHao of Chinese Taipei, who led breifly yesterday, slipped out of the top thee bracket with his 1443 while early leader, Jang Dong Chul of Korea rounded out the top five with 1442.

Wu Siu Hong, Joshua Chow and Lau Kwun Ho remained the top three qualifier in the local pool with 1446, 1444 and 1441 while Wicky Yeung and Michael Mak completed the top five with 1405 and 1404.

Meanwhile, 2014 Incheon Asian Games multiple gold medalist, Lee Na Young of Korea remained unchallenged, topping the Women's Open division with 1361. 2011 SEA Games trios gold medalist, Tanaprang Sathean of Thailand split the Korean pair in second with 1335.

Lim So Hyun settled for third but may have to go through a one-game roll-off to break the tie with Rebecca Voukolos of Australia for tthird spot after totaling 1321. 2015 Asian Youth Masters gold medalist, Natasha Roslan of Malaysia completed the top five with 1317.

Joan Cheng, Joey Yip and Milki Ng were the top three local qualifiers while three additional women from Hong Kong will be added to the local pool since the top three local seeded qualifiers are also amongst the local qualifiers.

The cut for the women division, held by Chang Hsu Chen of Chinese Taipei is at 1209 at after 8.30 pm squad. The last squad is 10.00 pm at the end of which will determine the final list of qualifiers.

The top three local men, top three overseas men, top three local women and top three overseas women will skip Stage II finals. Stage I finals will be contested at 2.00 pm local time.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

27th August, Hong Kong: This year's SEA Games Team bronze medalist, Annop Arromsaranon of Thailand and 2014 Incheon Asian Games multiple gold medalist, Lee Na Young of Korea went to the top of the leaderboard of the 41st Hong Kong International Open.

Annop posted 279, 237 and 255 on his second attempt yesterday for a three-game series of 771. At the 19.00 hrs squad, the Thai added a second seven hundred series of 701 to go top of the Men's Open Overseas pool with 1472.

Cheng Hsing CHao of Chinese Taipei, who led before th 7.00pm squad with 1443, slip to second. Overnight leader, Jang Dong Chul dropped one spot into third position with 1442. Missing the top three who will advance into Stage II finals was ex-national Ng Tiac Pin in fourth with 1432.

The local pool cut in 12th position is occupied by Macau's Lee Tak Man with two three-game series of 1359. 2015 ABF Tour Kuwait leg champion, Mohannd Ebrahim headed the mixed pool with 1354.

Three-time Hong Kong Open champion, Wu Siu Hong and Joshua Chow remained one and two in the local pool with 1446 and 1444. Lau Kwun Ho took third spot with 1441. Current cut and tenth in the Mixed pool went to ABF Tour Bahrain winner, Yaqoub Al-Shatti of Kuwait with 1310.

In the Women's Open division, 2014 Incheon Asian Games multiple gold medalist and two-time Thailand Open champion, Lee Na Young of Korea occupied top spot in the overseas pool with 1361 after rolling 269, 208 and 236 for a three-game series of 712 and 196, 217 and 236 for a second series of 649.

Her compatriot and debutant, Lim So Hyun trailed in second with 1321. 2015 Asian Youth Masters gold medalist, Natasha Roslan of Malaysia earned the bye for Stage II finals in third with 1309.

Australia's Rebecca Voukolos missed the bye by five pins to take up fourth with 1304. 2013 Asian Youth All Events bronze medalist, Joan Cheng impressed by taking over top spot in the local pool with 1301.

Ex-national, Joey Yip and overnight leader, Milki Ng rounded out the top three with 1279 and 1250 respectively. Ng, Chan Shuk Han and Cheng are also the top three local seeded qualifiers.

Meanwhile, ex-national youth member, Otto Leung of Hong Kong emerged as champion of the Hong Kong Cup finals held this morning. Leung totaled 2241 in the ten-game finals and earned HKG$12,000 (approx. US$1,500).

Rocky Hui settled for second position in two sussessive year with 2072 after a poor 143 in his final game. Leo Tse clinched third spot with 2067. Hui and Tse picked up HKG$6,000 and HKG$3,000 respectively. The champion automatically qualified for the Men's Open Stage I finals.

Qualifying will end late on Friday, August 28 evening with the desperado squad for the top three Men's Open finishers to join Stage I finals on AUgust 29. The Youth Under-18 and Senior Masters finals will be contested tomorrow morning.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

26th August, Hong Kong: Three-time Hong Kong Open champion, Wu SIu Hong and 2011 PBAP Classic Champion, Joshua Chow shone in the opening qualifying rounds of the 41st Hong Kong International Open underway at SCAA Bowling Centre.

Wu blitzed the lanes with two three-games series of 745 and 701 to occupy top spot in the Men's Open Masters qualifying local pool with 1446. Chow rolled 739 and 705 to take second spot with 1444 while a Lau Kwun Ho shot 738 and 703 for a six-games total of 1441.

The top three in the local pool will earn a bye and skip Stage I finals. Newly-crowned ABF Tour Macau leg champion, Michael Mak of Hong Kong missed the top three cut by 37 pins to head the rest of the six local qualifiers with 1404.

The top three local seeded qualifiers through an earlier roll-off, Joshua Chow, Rickle Kam and Jimmy Cheung automatically qualify for Stage I finals.

Ex-international and 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games Team gold medalist, Jang Dong Chul of Korea topped the overseas pool with 1442 followed by 2015 SEA Games Team bronze medalist, Annop Arromsaranon of Thailand in second with 1354.

Early leader and 2015 AMF World Cup bound, Basel Al Anzi of Kuwait took third spot with 1417. The top three from the overseas pool will also skip Stage I finals. Mohammed Al Nuaimi of UAE headed the rest of the 12 qualifiers for Stage I finals with 1398.

Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE will defend the title he won last year together with the top three local seeded qualifiers, local qualifiers positioned 4 to 9, overseas qualifiers positioned 4 to 12, ten qualifiers from the mixed pool, winner of the Hong Kong Cup and three from the desperado squad for the eight-games Stage I finals on August 29.

Meanwhile, two-time ABF Tour Tournament of Champions first runner-up, Milki Ng earned the top local seeded qualifier in the WOmen's Open division after topping a local roll-off held before the start of this championship.

Ng is joined by this year's ABF Tour TOC champion, Chan Shuk Han in second and 2013 Asian Youth All Events bronze medalist, Joan Cheng in third. The top three local qualifier also earn a bye for Stage II finals.

Ex-national, Joey Yip of Hong Kong topped the local pool with 1279 ahead of Ng in second with 1279 from two three-games series of 640 and 610. Chan could earn a bye if she can stay in third with her 1219 total.

Newly-crowned ABF Tour Macau leg Women's champion, Veronica De Souza of Macau led the overseas pool with 1287 trailed by Rebecca Voukolos of Australia in second with 1248. Han Kyeo Rae of Team Ulsan, Korea took third spot with 1236. The top three overseas qualifiers will also earn abye and skip Stage I finals.

Victoria Chin of Malaysia will defend the title she won last year together with the top three local seeded qualifiers, local qualifiers positioned 4 to 7, overseas qualifiers positioned 4 to 10 and eight qualifiers from the mixed pool for the eight-games Stage I finals on August 29.

The top 18 men finishers and the top 15 women finishers from Stage I together with Men's and Women's six seeded qualifiers will bowl another eight games in Stage II finals on August 30. The top six men and top six women will advance to the stepladder finals.

The top 16 Asian men and top 8 Asian women from the Stage II finals will also qualify for the ABF Tour Hong Kong leg to be held on August 31 at SCAA Bowling Centre.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.