22nd March, Kuwait: American PBA pro, Chris Loschetter of Avon, Ohio claimed his maiden title after emerging as the Men's Champion of the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 while Helen Johnsson of Sweden took the women's crown.

Loschetter got off to a cracking start by reeling in five consecutive strikes to open up a gap of 45 pins over challenger, Tore Torgersen when the Norwegian had an open frame in the second.

Despite recovering with a double in the fifth and sixth frames, Torgersen just could not repeat the form he displayed in the earlier match. Loschetter made spares in his next three frames and went on to strike out for a comfortable victory over his challenger, 235-186.

"It's an irony that my maiden win comes outside of America," said the 30-year-old Loschetter, whose best career finish was second at the 2005 Denny's World Championship.

"Sean (Rash) called to see if I would want to come to Kuwait and since there is so little PBA Tour stops this year, we've to do more travel and compete internationally.

"We were at Helsinki for the first World Bowling Tour and I didn't even qualify. So to come here and win is simply fantastic. The competition is well run and the format is interesting. We'll be in Saudi in a couple of days and hopefully I can carry my form forward."

Torgersen, who also qualified for last year's stepladder finals as No. 2 seed and lost the match to end up in third, again was denied his long overdue title.

The 42-year-old 1994 World Cup champion and inducted into the World Bowling Writers' Hall of Fame in 2000, had made the title match after he thrashed Sweden's Martin Larsen, 277-227 in the third match.

Larsen took a comfortable victory over the only women in the stepladder finals and No. 3 seed, Helen Johnsson 267-229 in the all-Swedish second match to face Torgersen. Larsen also eliminated defending champion, Osku Palermaa of Finland, 253-207 in the first match to advance.

The champion won the top prize of US$25,000 and also earned 50 valuable World Bowling Tour ranking points. Torgersen settled for US$12,000 while Larsen took home US$8,000 for third position.

Johnsson was relegated into fourth spot to claim US$6,000 and Palermaa made US$5,000 for remaining in fifth position.

Loschetter ended the earlier Round 5 Modified Matchplay finals in pole with a total of 2795 from 6 wins and a draw. Torgersen finished second with 2677, 118 pins adrift from 5 wins and two second placings.

Johnsson claimed third spot with 2632 from 4 wins and a second placing ahead of Larsen in fourth with 2573 from 3 wins, 3 second placings and a second-place tie. Palermaa survived to make the final stepladder spot in fifth with 2562 had only one win.

In the earlier women's stepadder finals, Helen Johnsson outclassed Sandra Andersson, 266-212 in the all-Swedish title match to emerge as champion and pocketted an additional US$2,850 bounus.

Andersson, who had a comfortable victory over No. 2 seed, Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia, 279-209 in the first match, just could not repeat her earlier form to settle for second and US$1,850.

Roumimper won US$1,400 while Nina Flack of Sweden won US$1,100 as the fourth best women finisher during the Round 2 finals.

The top 16 Asian men qualified for the second leg of this year's ABF Tour Kuwait 2011 which will be held at the same Cozmo Bowling Centre tomorrow morning. The Kuwait leg will be telecast LIVE over Kuwait TV commencing 10.00am.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

21st March, Kuwait: Kuwaiti pint-sized youngster, Mustafa Al Mousawi upstaged top seed, Mohannad Ebrahim, 185-167 in the Youth title match of the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 to take his maiden victory.

Mustafa Al Mousawi had finished as the fourth highest Kuwaiti youth in the overall qualifying standings, first knocked out No. 3 seed, Abdulrahman Alswaied 165-153 to move up the ladder to face No. 2 seed, Mohammed Khalid.

The pint-sized 12-year-old showed his true colors as champion easily defeating Khalid, 208-167 to meet the top seed in the title match.

Mustafa kept his nerve during the final match to defeat Mohannad Ebrahim, 185-167 to take his maiden victory to the delight of his supporters.

Sheikh Talal Al-Sabah, President of Asian Bowling Federation and Kuwait Bowling Federation presented the trophy to Mustafa together with officials from the Egyptian Bowling Federation.

A total of 11 youths took part by competing alongside the seniors and women bowlers in which the top four youth finishers advance to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

21st March, Kuwait: PBA pro, Tim Mack of the United States won the Round 4 finals of the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 to advance into the next round ahead of Tore Torgersen of Norway in second and Asia's best finisher, Sayed Ibrahim Al Hashemi third on Monday evening.

Tim Mack, who earned exemption in the 2009 PBA Tour trials, displayed his old spark that won him 72 international titles since quiting Team America in which he won a gold and four silver medals at the 2003 World Championship.

Mack set a blistering pace with 269 in his opening game at the start of the Round 4 finals and followed it up with 257 to lead England's Paul Moor by 24 pins.

Losing the lead briefly to Moor midway through the 6-game finals, the 39-year-old bounced back with 263 and 258 to open up a gap of 56 pins over Norway's Tore Torgersen moving up to second.

The American prevailed to take the round with 1466, 23 pins ahead of Torgersen in second with 1443 while Sayed Ibrahim Al Hashemi of UAE did well to finish third with 1440.

Osku Palermaa of Finland took fourth spot with 1435 while Thailand's Yannaphon Larpapharat was the fifth bowler to surpass the 1400-mark with 1425.

Helen Johnson of Sweden and Tannya Roumimper outshone their male counterpart despite given a 5 pin handicap. The duo ended the round in sixth and seventh positions with 1366 and 1361 respectively.

The last and eight spot to advance into the next round was Paul Moor, who need a 224 in his final game to edge Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong by 14 pins with a total of 1352. Wu missed the cut in ninth with 1338. Round 3 leader, Ronnie Russell failed to advance when he finished tenth.

The top 8 would join up with the seven seeded qualifiers for tomorrow's Round 5 finals, first over four games before advancing into the modified Matchplay finals over 7 matches with pins carried forward. he top 5 would advance to the stepladder grand finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

21st March, Kuwait: Ronnie Russell of the United States put in a stunning performance in the Round 3 finals of the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 to advance into the next round together with the next 8 best finishers.

Norway's Tore Togersen opened accounts with a high game of 276 to lead one of two women in the finals, Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia by 24 pins. The 42-year-old Norwegian could not hold the lead after Thailand's Yannaphon Larpapharat snatched the lead with his own 276 in the second.

Ronnie Russell of the United States, who started off with 205, also registered 276 in his second but followed it up with another big game of 266 in the third to move to the front ahead of the Thai.

Russell ended with three addition games of 222, 215 and 257 to end the finals with a total of 1441 to win the round. Tannya Roumimper claimed second spot with 1365 plus 5 pins handicap each game.

Kuwait's best finisher was Asian Championship Doubles silver medalist, Basel Al Anzi taking third spot with 1334 while newly-crowned ABF Tour TOC winner, Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE finished fourth with 1321.

Making the cut for the next round from fifth to ninth were Helen Johnsson (SWE-1306), Sayed Ibrahim Al Hashemi (UAE-1286), Tore Togersen (NOR-1283), Ayad Al Amiri (KUW-1278) and Yannaphon (THA-1274).

Asian Championship Masters gold medalist, Khaled Al Dubyyan of Kuwait missed the cut by 31 pins after finishing 10th position while Round 2 leader, Mahmood Al Attar also crashed out after a poor 158 in his final game.

The top 9 would join the qualifiers from positions 8 to 14 to bowl another 6 games in Round 4 finals later at 5.00pm. The top 8 after this round would meet the top 7 seeded qualifiers for tomorrow's Round 5 finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

21st March, Kuwait: Asian Championship silver medalist, Mahmood Al Attar of UAE topped Round 2 finals of the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 to lead seven other finalists advancing into Round 3 on Monday.

Sweden's Sandra Andersson set a blistering pace in the opening game of 247 in the Round 2 finals to lead Hong Kong's Cyrus Cheung by the handicap of 5 pins she received. The Swede continued to lead the field up to the halfway mark but only 2 pins ahead of Cheung.

Mahmood Al Attar, who rolled consistent lines of 203, 221, 215 and 245 that gave the Emirati the lead after the fourth game as Kuwait's Khaled Al Dubyyan moved up to second, 9 pins adrift.

Except for losing the lead temporarily to Fadhel Al Mousawi in the fifth game, Mahmood bounced back with 239 to end the final in pole with 1314. Kuwaiti Khaled claimed second spot with 1304 while Fadhel tied third spot with pace-setter, Andersson with 1293.

The leader had squeezed into the finals last in 34th position. Thailand's Yannaphon Larpapharat, Cyrus Cheung, Kuwait's Basel Al Anzi and Ayad Al Amiri completed the top 8 to advance into the next round.

Nina Flack of Sweden, who was seventh before the last game, missed the cut by 16 pins after she was edged out by Basel when she bowled a poor game of 163.

The top 8 would join bowlers from positions 15 to 22 from the qualifying standings in the Round 3 finals for another 6 games.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

20th March, Kuwait: Four Swedes from the final squad of the day made the cut for the Round 2 finals of the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 except for Squad B leader, Helen Johnsson who earned a place in Round 3 finals.

After three squads completed their third block, it came down to who will make the final cut from the final squad of the day. Overnight squad leader, Victoria Johansson of Sweden got off to a disasterous start with 149 allowing Sandra Andersson to take over the lead.

Andersson kept the lead up to the halfway mark with Helen Johnsson breathing down her neck when she narrowed the gap to just 1 pin. Johnsson rolled a creditable 215 to move to the front as Andersson slipped down behind the new leader.

Another superb game of 224 saw the Swede opened up a gap of 45 pins with another Swede, Nina Flack took over second spot.

With the final game to go, Johnsson needed 238 or better in order to edge the 14th-placed Mohammed Janahi of Bahrain for a place in the second bracket and into Round 4 finals. She needed to strike out from the tenth frame but managed only a 9 spare and 9 pin in the bonus frame.

Although Johnsson ended the squad in the lead with 3884, she missed by just 7 pins and had to settle for 16th in the overall standings and a place in the Round 3 finals.

Nina Flack, who finished second to Johnsson with 3804, made the cut for Round 2 finals in 24th position. Andersson took 28th position with 3785 while the fourth qualifier from this squad, Victoria Johansson finished 29th with 3767.

The four qualifiers from the final squad knocked out Michael Tsang of Hong Kong into 35th position. Women defending champion, Vanessa Fung was also knocked out in 36th position.

The four slots reserved for the highest ranked Kuwaitis outside the top 34 were Ayad Al Amiri (47th- 3649), Fadhel Al Mousawi (55th-3614), Salem Al Hajras (56th-3609) and youth Mohannad Ebrahim (59th-3586).

Qualifiers from positions 23 to 34 plus the four Kuwaitis will contest the first final of Monday, March 21 over 6 games at 10.00am.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

20th March, Kuwait: Overnight leader, Martin Larsen of Sweden will lead two other Europeans, two Americans and two Asians into the Round 5 finals after the strongest Squad A completed their third block at the 8th Kuwait Open 2011.

Larsen did not have the best of starts when 28 bowlers from Squad A took to the lanes at Cozmo Bowling Center at 5.00pm. The lanky Swede shot 204 but England's Dominic Barrett coud take advantage of the set back when he managed only 186 allowing Larsen to stretch his lead to 51 pins.

Both had identical 213 in the second game so the gap remained unchanged. When Barrett fired 268 in the third, Larsen responded with 277 to widen the gap slightly to 60 pins.

An aweful 157 from Barrett in the fourth allowed PBA pro, Sean Rash to take over second spot as the leader posted a respectable 211. Another sizzling 278 from Larsen gave him a comfortable gap of 163 pins before the final game.

Despite a lowly 165 in the game, Larsen ended the three blocks with 4184, 80 pins ahead of the recovering Barrett, who settled for second with 4104. Rash claimed third spot with 4095 and Jason Belmonte of Australia took fourth place with 4072.

Chris Loschetter of the United States clinched fifth spot with 4051 while England's Stuart Williams shot a big game of 268 to snatch the sixth and final spot with 4042.

Guangzhou Asian Games two silver medalist, Mohammed Al Rageebah will join the top 6 as the highest Kuwaiti qualifier on 3844. His team-mate, Jassem Darwish, who shot the tournament's fourth 300 had a chance to take Rageebah's place but fumbled with 172 and 160 in his last two games to slip down the field.

Thailand's Surasak Manuwong was perhaps unlucky to lose his place in the top 6 finishing seventh and had to give away the spot to the top Kuwaiti. But he headed the next 8 who would advance into Round 4 finals.

Squad D leader, Osku Palermaa of Finland finished ninth with while Indonesia's Ryan Lalisang, who was 39th before the final block, posted the highest 6-game series of 1458 to haul himself up to 10th on 3926.

Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong, England's Paul Moor, USA's Tim Mack and Bahrain's Mohammed Janahi made the next 8 qualifiers from 11th to 14th position.

The only threat for Tim Mack and Mohammed Janahi will perhaps come from Squad B leader, Victoria Johansson of Sweden, who need 1309 (with 30 pins handicap) to topple the 14th-placed Janahi.

Second in the same squad, Sandra Andersson, also from Sweden will need 1344 (plus 30 pins handicap) and a third Swede Helen Johnsson will need 1365 (plus 30 pins handicap).

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

20th March, Kuwait: After a superb final block series of 13322 to top Squad D, Finland's Osku Palermaa will be eyeing a place in the top 6 bracket in the Round 5 finals of the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 which will be staged on Monday.

Osku Palermaa had an aweful opening block when he only managed 1222 but returned to his usual form after a much improved second block of 1396 which moved him up 14th in the overall standings.

In today's third and final block, the Finn fired consistent lines of 234, 225, 221, 218, 222 and 202 to end his qualifying round in the lead with 1322. His 18-game tally of 3940 and an average of 218.89 may squeeze Palermaa into the top 6 bracket.

His only hope would be for the top 8 with the highest average to crumble in their third and final block later at 5.00 and 9.00 pm.

Meanwhile, overnight squad leader, Paul Moor of England had trailed Palermaa all the way, settled for second in the squad with 1239. His 18-game aggregate of 3916 and an average of 217.89 placed him 11th overall behind Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong.

The squad's first block leader, Sayed Ibrahim Al Hashemi of UAE who finished third behind Moor, totaled 3881 and his behind Bahrain's Mohammed Janahi and Singapore's Jason Yeong-Nathan from the earlier Squad C.

His effort would definitely earn him a place in the second bracket who would advance into Round 4 finals automatically. The highest ranked Kuwaiti after two squads was Mohammed Al Rageebah and he is likely to join the top 6 in Round 5 finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

20th March, Kuwait: 2004 TOC champion, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong ended the third block of Squad C at the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 by taking pole position from overnight squad leader, Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE on Sunday.

The Hong Kong national bowler knocked down 1293 in this block to bring his 18-game tally to 3922 ahead of Mohammed Janahi of Bahrain in second with 3891 and Singapore's Jason Yeong-Nathan third with 3887.

But judging from the overall standings after two blocks, Wu's average of 217.89 could perhaps put him inside the 8 - 14 bracket and crucially earn him a spot into Round 4 finals.

Yeong-Nathan recorded the highest 6-game series of 1356 in this squad which will most likely earn the Singaporean a spot in the 15 - 22 bracket for Round 3 finals.

Overnight squad leader, Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE ended the third block with only 1174 and 3814 total resulting in him dropping to fifth in this squad and behind compatriot Hassan Al Zaabi, who claimed fourth spot with 3828.

Three more squads will be held today which will then finalised the various rounds qualifiers. The finals will commence on Monday, March 21.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

20th March, Kuwait: England's Paul Moor broke into the top 6 of the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 overall qualifying standings by topping Squad D with Finland's Osku Palermaa and overnight squad leader, Sayed Ibrahim Al Hashemi third.

Overnight squad leader, Sayed Ibrahim Al Hashemi of UAE got off to a superb start with 245 to remain in the lead, 31 pins ahead of Paul Moor of England in second. The Emirati held the lead until the halfway mark followed by Finland's Osku Palermaa making his bid.

Moor shot a strong 257 in the fourth to head to the front of the pack after Sayed rolled 217 while Palermaa slipped down after a poor 152. The Englishman stretched his lead to 76 pins after the fifth when Sayed shot a lowly 169.

The left-hander ended with 243 and 187 for a series of 1304 to take pole position with 12-game tally of 2677. Palermaa recovered by scoring the highest 6-game series of 1396 to finish second with 2618, 59 pins adrift.

Sayed settled for third spot with 2596 while second perfect gamer, Mohammed Al Rageebah of Kuwait took fourth position with 2571 followed by compatriot, Khaled Al Dubyyan completing the top 5 with 2560.

Moor was the only qualifier to break into the top 6 and dislodging American pro, Chris Loschetter into eighth position (position 7 reserved for the top Kuwaiti).

The top 5 remained unchanged occupied by Martin Larsen of Sweden, Dominic Barrett of England, Suarasak Manuwong of Thailand, Jason Bemonte of Australia and Tim Mack of USA.

The bowlers will resume with their third block over 6 games tomorrow which will then determine the qualifiers of the four rounds finals cmmencing March 21.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

20th March, Kuwait: Newly-crowned ABF Tour TOC champion and three-time Asia No. 1, Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE took over pole position after Squad C second block of the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 ended on Saturday evening.

Overnight squad leader, Michael Tsang of Hong Kong continued where he left off to remain in the lead with an opening game of 211 as Hussain Al Suwaidi narrowed the gap to just 3 with 223.

Bahrain's Mohammed Janahi shot 235 and 238 in his first two games to take over the running as Commonwealth Championships Masters gold medalist, Remy Ong moved up to second to trail by 15 pins.

A sizzling 266 from Hussain saw him moving into the front of the pack after Mohammed Janahi managed only 192 in his fourth game while Ong fell behind Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong, who began to make his bid for the lead.

But Hussain prevailed to end the block with 232 and 203 and finished in pole with 2640 on the 6-games second series of 1325. Wu snatched second spot with 2629 after a superb 257 in the last game.

Mohammed Janahi settled for third position with 2623 while overnight leader, Michael Tsang recovered from a poor run in the early stages to finish fourth with 2555. Singapore's Shayna Ng was the best female finisher taking up fifth spot with 2540.

Meanwhile, UAE's Mohammed Al Nuaimi shot the tournament's third perfect 300 during his fifth game and got himself out of last position in the squad.

Hussain's fine effort moved him up three spots from 13th to tenth in the overall standings which will allow him to advance directly into Round 4 finals. Wu and Janahi followed Hussain in 11th and 12th positions respectively.

The positions of the top 6 in the overall standings remained unchallenged with Martin Larsen of Sweden, Dominic Barrett of England and Surasak Manuwong of Thailand firmly in the top 3.

Three PBA pros, Jason Belmonte of Australia, Tim Mack and Chris Loschetter of United States occupied fourth to sixth positions respectively. The final squad of the day will be staged at 9.00pm later.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

19th March, Kuwait: Overnight leader, Martin Larsen put in another impressive run in the second block to remain atop the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 overall standings by topping Squad A again on Saturday.

Larsen turned on all cyclinders to fire 240, 231, 222, 222, 256 and 235 for a 6-game series of 1406 adding to his first block of 1430 for a 12-game tally of 2836. But the lanky Swede had to work hard for the lead.

Larsen had to share the lead at the halfway mark with Dominic Barrett when the H.H. Emir Cup champion rolled 224, 263 and 259 and also having Thailand's Surasak Manuwong following closely in third.

Barrett took over the running after the fourth game but Larsen bounced back to end the block firmly in pole. Barrett settled for second with 2803 after scoring 1426 in this block.

Surasak finished third with 2776 on a second block series of 1397 ahead of PBA pro, Jason Belmonte of Australia fourth on 2726. Another pro, Tim Mack of the United States posted the highest 6-game series of 1478 to move up to fifth with 2705.

Stuart Williams, who finished second to Larsen last night, traded sixth and seventh positions with another PBA pro, Chris Loschetter of the United State, who took over sixth position.

With two squads having played their second block, Larsen, Barrett and Surasak occupied the top 3 positions in the overall standings and can only be fiirmed up when the remaining two squads complete their second block today.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

19th March, Kuwait: Swedish women dominated the second block of Squad B at the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 when Victoria Johansson retained pole with Sandra Andersson and Helen Johnsson finishing second and third at Cozmo Bowling Center.

Having led the Squad B in her opening block with 1294 and only finishing in 15th in the overall standings, Victoria Johansson started her second block with another superb opening game of 247.

Despite a temporary setback in the second when she managed a low game of 168, the Swede bounced back 216, 208, 228 and 191 to end the block with 1288 and a 12-game tally of 2582. Her compatriot, Sandra Andersson did better than yesterday when she shot the highest 6-game series of 1343 to move into second and a total of 2547.

Helen Johnsson completed Sweden's domination in this squad taking up third spot with 1250 and a 12-game tally of 2526.

Egypt's Karim Sherif, who was second before the final game, slipped down to fourth with 2511 while Naif Oqab of UAE, wh was third overnight, finished fourth with 2498. Nina Flack of Sweden made the most ground improving from tenth to sixth after knocking down the second highest 6-game series of 1330.

Squad A is scheduled for 1.00pm, Squad C at 5.00pm and the last squad of the day, Squad D at 9.00pm during which the combined scores of all the squads will determine the leaders and qualifiers after two blocks.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

18th March, Kuwait: Hong Kong national bowlers Michael Tsang shone in the last squad of the first block by topping Squad C of the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 qualifying rounds late Friday evening.

Asian Games Team bronze medalist, Michael Tsang of Hong Kong started the final squad of Day 1 with a blistering pace by rolling 258 and 234 to lead Bahrain's Mohammed Janahi by 49 pins and team-mate, Michael Mak third.

Tsang followed it up with consistent lines of 212, 204, 220 and 202 to end the first block with a total of 1330. Newly-crowned ABF Tour TOC champion and three-time Asia No. 1, Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE did well to snatch second position with 1315.

Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong, who trailed team-mate Tsang in second before the final game, slipped down to third with 1302. Mohammed Janahi also slipped down to fourth place with a total of 1287.

Three other Hong Kong bowlers, Michael Mak, Cyrus Cheung and Wicky Yeung were equally impressive by taking up fifth to seventh positions respectively.

But Tsang's 1330 only landed him ninth position in the overall standings from the four squads completed today while Hussain finished 12th and Wu 13th overall.

Squad A leader and first perfect gamer, Martin Larsen remained firmly in the lead with 1430 after the first day of qualifying followed by Squad D leader, Sayed Ibrahim Al Hashemi of UAE in second on 1404.

Stuart Williams of England, Saurasak Manuwong of Thailand and PBA pro, Jason Belmonte of Australia completed the top 5 finishers. Bowlers will resume with the second block tomorrow and the third and final block on Sunday.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

18th March, Kuwait: UAE national bowler, Sayed Ibrahim Al Hashemi took Squad D of the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 to move into second behind leader, Martin Larsen of Sweden in the first block of qualifying on Friday evening.

Newly-crowned ABF Tour TOC champion, Lai Kin Ngoh of Malaysia got off to a splendid start with a strong opening game of 255 ahead of Thailand's Badin L. But her lead was short-lived after England's Paul Moor reeled in two superb games of 245 and 258 to take over the running.

The left-handed Englishman's lead only lasted up to the halfway mark as UAE's Sayed Ibrahim Al Hashemi over-turned a 30 pin deficit to lead Moor by 17 pins after the fourth game with 232, 257, 197 and 244.

The Emirati went on to end the block with 258 and 216 to top Squad D with a total of 1404. Moor settled for second with 1373 despite finishing strongly with 231 and 239.

PBA pro, Josh Blanchard of the United States stormed home with two incredible games of 266 and 267 to snatch third spot with 1364 while another Emirati, Mahmood Al Attar and Lai Kin Ngoh completed the top five.

Sayed's superb effort move him into second position, 26 pins behind leader, Martin Larsen of Sweden after the three squads were combined. Stuart Williams slipped down one spot to third with 1385.

Meanwhile, Asian Games two silver medalist, Mohammed Al Rageebah of Kuwait shot the tournament's second 300 in his last game but his 6-game tally of 1260 put him in 18th position.

The final squad of the opening day will be played at 9.00pm and with the scores combined, it will finalise who would end up the first day leader. Bowlers will resume with the second block tomorrow and the third and final block on Sunday.

The combined scores of all the squads at the end of the third day will determine who would advance into the next stage of the competition.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

18th March, Kuwait: Swedes continued to shine during the opening block of the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 when debutants Helen Johnsson and Victoria Johansson finished second and first in Squad B ahead of Asia's best finisher, Naif Oqab of UAE third.

Helen Johnsson of Sweden set an early pace with 232 followed by two of her compatriots, Victoria Johansson and Sandra Andersson in second and third on 226 and 222 respectively. Another strong 234 from Johansson gave the Swedish lass the lead after the second game.

The debutant continued to roll 194, 201, 215 and 194 to end the her first block with 1294 and top the squad. Johnsson shot a superb 247 in her sixth game to snatch second spot with 1276.

Asia's best finisher was Naif Oqab of UAE, who also fired a high game of 254 to take up third while Andersson, who was second going into the final game, slipped down to fifth behind Egypt's Karim Sherif, who almost knocked down the second 300 but ended with 279.

"It's nice to come here and do well in the first block against so many good bowlers," said Victoria Johansson, who lives in the southern part of Sweden. "The lanes are quite kind to me and didn't dry up as quick as I thought it would."

The leader's effort of 1294 only put her in eighth position after the two squads were combined. Helen Johnsson ended up in 11th position. Martin Larsen, who shot the first 300 in the earlier Squad A, remained in the lead on 1430.

Squad D will take to the lanes at 5.00pm and the last squad of the day will be staged at 9.00pm later this evening. The bowlers will be bowling three blocks of 6 games each to determine if they would advance into the next round.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

18th March, Kuwait: Martin Larsen of Sweden shot the tournament's first 300 en-route to topping the opening squad of the 8th Kuwait Open 2011 underway at Cozmo Bowling Center of Friday.

Thailand's Surasak Manuwong got off to a cracking start with 267 in his opening game ahead of Kuwaiti youngster, Mustafa Al Mousawi, who rolled 259 to trail by 8 pins. Martin Larsen of Sweden followed his second game with 279 after a poor opening game of 172 to take over the running.

But the Swede could not hold the lead when 2010 Qatar Open champion, Stuart Williams of England stormed into the front by the fourth game, 36 pins ahead of Larsen as Surasak slipped down to third.

Williams continued to lead after the fifth with Norway's Tore Togersen closing followed by PBA pro, Jason Belmonte of Australia and Surasak tieing third while Larsen slipped to fourth.

Larsen then fired the tournament's first 300 in the final game to end the first block of the opening squad with 1430. Williams finished second with 1385 followed by Surasak third with 1379.

Belmonte finished fourth with 1378 as newly-crowned H.H. Emir Cup champion, Dominic Barrett of England stormed home to snatch fifth spot with 1377 followed by Torgersen in sixth position with 1324.

Another PBA pro, Chris Loschetter of United States was the final bowler in this squad to have surpassed the 1300-mark with 1317 to claim seventh position.

Bowlers competing in this year's Kuwait Open will bowl three blocks of 6 games each over the next three days in the qualifying rounds and the top 38 will advance. Ranked 1 to 6 plus the highest Kuwaiti finisher will proceed to Round 5 finals.

Positions 23 - 34 plus the next four highest Kuwaitis will bowl in Round 2 finals over 6 games at the end of which qualifiers from positions 15 to 22 will join them in Round 3 finals.

The top 9 will then advance to Round 4 finals joined by qualifiers from positions 8 - 14 for another 6 games in Round 4 finals. The top 8 plus the qualifiers from positions 1 - 7 will bowl the first 4 games from scratch and then the next 8 round-robin matches with pins carried forward. Three bowlers will be on each pair of lane and the winner will receive 20 bonus points, the second highest 10 bouns point.

The top 5 with the highest pinfalls plus bonus at the end of Round 4 will proceed to the stepladder finals. The 8th Kuwait Open is also the fifth stop of the inaugural WTBA World Bowling Tour in which winners will earn ranking points.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.