26th March, Kuwait: Indonesia celebrated a fabulous double after Ryan Lalisang and Sharon Limansantoso emerged as the Men's and Women's champion of the ABF Tour Tournament of Champions for the first time at Cozmo Bowling Centre on Friday.

Twice Kuwait Open and ABF Tour Kuwait leg champion, Ryan Lalisang certainly relished on his favourite lanes as he claimed his fifth victory at Cozmo Bowling Centre. The Indonesian went on a strikefest as his challenger, Hussain Al-Suwaidi suffered a split in the fourth frame.

There was simply no stopping the Indonesia as he continued to knock down strikes after strikes and appeared on course for a perfect ending. Lalisang struck in the tenth frame but left a solid pin 10 after a seemingly perfect pocket shot in the 11th frame.

Lalisang ended the match with 289 as the Emirati struck out from frame 8 to end on a respectable 199 defeat. The champion had reached the finals after another comfortable victory over Bahrain's Yousif Falah, 266-215 in the second semi-finals.

The Indonesian edged Kuwait's Khaled Al-Dubyyan, 237-228 in the quarter-finals earlier. Hussain ousted the sole Thai survivor, Somjed Kusonpithak 220-171 in the first semi to advance to the finals.

Hussain also had an easy passage in the quarter-finals eliminating another Thai and top seed, Yannaphon Larpapharat, 220-188.

Meanwhile, Indonesia became the second country to win both the men's and women's Tournament of Champions titles following Malaysia's victory in 2006. Sharon Limansantoso claimed her first major title after defeating top seed, Kim EUn Jung of Korea, 204-178.

Sharon had a normal start sparing the first two frames and knocking down a double strike as the Korean suffered two splits in th third and fourth frames. As the Indonesian lass struck again in the fifth, Kim had another aweful split.

Despite getting a split herself in the sixth frame, Sharon was more or less cruising for victory while Kim failed to find her line for strikes. Sharon claimed the women's crown, 204-178 to give Indonesia the fabulous double.

The champion sailed through to the finals after another convincing victory over Hong Kong's Chan Shuk Han, 225-172 while the runnerup edged defending champion, Tang Joh Six of Malaysia, 197-181 to advance to the finals.

"Kuwait is my lucky hunting ground and every time I come here, I'm always very confident," said the 29-year-old Ryan Lalisang. "And lanes 3 and 4 is also my favourite pair of lanes too.

"It's fantastic for me and Sharon to win both the titles. The finals had been held in Jakarta for the past 5 years and we have never won it. But to win both is even more fabulous."

Lalisang won the top prize of US$20,000 as Hussain settled for US$8,000. Both Yousif Falah and Somjed Kusonpithak took home US$4,000 each as losing semifinalists.

"I came to the finals not expecting to become the champion. My target was to make the top 8 and hope for the best," said the elated 25-year-old Sharon Limansantoso, who has not won a single ABF Tour title.

"But to emerge as the champion is simply out of this world. I'm so happy I'm really lost for words. I was quite nervous in the quarter-finals but after the semis, I was totally relaxed and just made sure I remain calm for each match."

Sharon won US$10,000 as the champion as Kim Eun Jung, who was the first runnerup in 2006, settled for US$5,000. Chan Shuk Han and Tang Joh Six went home with US$3,000 each.

A total of seven legs were held in 2009 in which participants earned ranking points from each leg contested. The top 16 men and top 16 women, based on their rankings, qualified for the Tournament of Champions held fron March 24.

There will be an additional leg for the 2010 season making it a total of 8 legs and a grand finals. Kuwait will host the first leg which will be staged on April 1, 2010 follwoing the 7th Kuwait International Open. The other 7 legs will be held in Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Egypt, Bahrain, Macau, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

For further information and details, please contact ABF Tour Committee at Tel: +852 2893 6039, Fax: +852 2893 6290; Email: hktbc@netvigator.com.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

25th March, Kuwait: Thai national bowlers, Yannaphon Larpapharat and Surasak Manuwong again stole the limelight on Day 2 of the ABF Tour Tournament of Champions after finishing first and third at the end of the Men's Round 1 second block on Thursday.

First block leader, Somjed Kusonpithak of Thailand resumed the second block in the lead despite losing his opening match with Kuwait's Khaled Al-Dubyyan taking over second spot from Indonesia's Ryan Lalisang.

The 22-year-old managed to maintain his lead in the next three games despite winning only one match and suffering a lowly 162 in the second match. As Khaled dropped his pace a little, it was another Thai, Surasak Manuwong who made his bid in second.

Two superb matches from overnight third-placed, Yannaphon Larpapharat moved the Thai into the lead followed by Kuwaiti, Khaled regaining second spot as Somjed and Lalisang slipped out of the leading trio.

Yannaphon drew his last match to end the second block with 3310 in the lead from nine wins and one draw to advance into the next stage as top seed. Khaled settled for second with 3231, 79 pins adrift the leader.

"The first three matches was difficult as the back-end was too strong," said the 27-year-old Yannaphon Larpapharat, who won last year's Saudi leg and the Thailand Open Masters title.

"But when the oil carried down a little, it was much easier to bowl and I was able to win the matches with higher scores."

"I actually bowled better yesterday to finish fourth," said the 23-year-old student, Khaled Al-Dubyyan. "But everyone was struggling in the beginning and there were not much high scores.

"I was just maintaining my scores and made sure I don't bowl low games. It's been quite a while since my last title and it would be nice to win on home ground."

Surasak held on to thrid spot with 3218 followed by overnight leader, Somjed in fourth spot with 3161. Lalisang took fifth position just 1 pin off Somjed with 3160 while Bahrain's iYousif Falah finished strongly to take up sixth with 3125.

Hong Kong's sole representative, Eric Tseng finished seventh position with 3120 while the last quarter-final spot went to UAE's Hussain Al-Suwaidi with 3104. Michael Tsang of Hong Kong was unlucky to miss the cut in ninth, 31 pins away.

Top seed, Yannaphon will meet Hussain Al-Suwaidi in the quarter-finals while No. 2 seed, Khaled is matched up against two-time Kuwait leg champion, Ryan Lalisang. Third-seed, Surasak will meet Yousif Falah and Somjed will meet Eric Tseng.

For further information and details, please contact ABF Tour Committee at Tel: +852 2893 6039, Fax: +852 2893 6290; Email: hktbc@netvigator.com.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

25th March, Kuwait: First block leader, Kim Eun Jung of Korean stamped her mark as firm favourite after leading all the way to end the second block of Round 1 unchallenged in the ABF Tour Tournament of Champions at Cozmo Bowling Centre on Thursday.

With 54 pins margin from the first block yesterday, Kim Eun Jung did not have a good start managing only 189 but was still able to win her opening match and remained in front of the pack with Sharon Limansantoso moving into second.

The Korean continued to lead the field as a keen tussle developed for second spot. By the fifth game, she was well ahead of Limansantoso by a comfortable margin of 107 pins. Kim went on to end with 3266 from a total of 14 wins out of 15.

"I bowled in the same line from yesterday but my ball reacted differently and that's why I did not have a good start," said the 37-year-old Kim Eun Jung. "Luckily I made quick adjustment and recovered."

Asia Ranked No. 1, Chan Shuk Han, who was fifth in the first block, improved to second spot with 3102, 164 pins adrift while Limansantoso settled for third spot with 3080. Defending champion, Tang Joh Six dropped to fourth with 3062.

The second Indonesian to make the cut was Tannya Roumimper, who amassed a total of 3019 while the biggest mover was Malaysia's Shalin Zulkifli, recovering from a poor 11th place to sixth with 2999.

Korngunya Aree of Thailand and the second Korean, Park Jin Hee made the top 8 cut in seventh and eighth positions with 2994 and 2984 respectively. Hong Kong's Vanessa Fung was unfortunate to miss the cut by 25 pins in ninth.

The first four finishers will be seeded one to four while the remaining four will draw to see whom they will meet in the one-game quarter-finals knockout round scheduled tomorrow morning.

For further information and details, please contact ABF Tour Committee at Tel: +852 2893 6039, Fax: +852 2893 6290; Email: hktbc@netvigator.com.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

24th March, Kuwait: Thai national bowlers, Somjed Kusonpithak and Yannaphon Larpapharat took centre stage as the duo finished first and third spots of the Men's Round 1 first block of ABF Tour Tournament of Champions on Wednesday.

2009 ABF Tour Macau leg champion, Michael Tsang opened account with a scintilating game of 252 and earned 10 pins bonus after beating team-mate, Eric Tseng in the first match of the 8-game Round-Robin matchplay first block.

Despite winning the second match, the Hong Kong youngster had to give up the lead as 2008 Thailand leg champion, Somjed Kusonpithak of Thailand also won both the two opening matches with 234 and 224 to leap frog Tsang.

While both Somjed and Tsang traded the lead in the next two matches, it was Ryan Lalisang's five straight wins that gave the Indonesian the lead pass the halfway mark with another Thai, Yannaphon Larpapharat closing in on the leader in second.

Khaled Al-Dubyyan gave the local crowd the cheers as two massive games of 268 and 243 put the lanky Kuwaiti into the lead as Yannaphon was the only Thai who stayed close to Khaled while Lalisang and Somjed dropped their pace slightly.

As Khaled held on to the lead for another match, Somjed ended the strongest amongst the front runners with a sizzling 285 to snatch pole position with 1810 winning 6 matches. Lalisang, who was the only bowler to win all 8 matches, finished second with 1780.

"I tried to bowl from the outside but it didn't work," said the 23-year-old Somjed Kusonpithak. "Fortunately, I moved to the inside and my ball reacted better. It's not easy to score big games and I'm lucky to shoot the 285 in my last match."

Yannaphon, who almost gave the Thais a 1-2 finish settled for third with 1721 as Khaled lost the last match with 190 to take up fourth spot with 1758. A third Thai, Surasak Manuwong completed the top 5 in fifth with 1705.

"I keep telling myself that if I win all my matches, I'll have a good chance to finish in the top 3 even if I don't have much high games," said the 29-year-old Ryan Lalisang, who has won the Kuwait leg for two consecutive years in 2007 and 2008.

"I started on the inside but as the lanes got drier, I moved to the outside and it gave me better carry. It is important to finish in the top 8 so I'm happy with my performance today."

The men will return to Cozmo Bowling Centre for their second block of 7 games tomorrow afternoon after the women have completed their second block. The top 8 men and top 8 women will advance to the Round 2 knockout stage to be held on March 26.

For further information and details, please contact ABF Tour Committee at Tel: +852 2893 6039, Fax: +852 2893 6290; Email: hktbc@netvigator.com.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

24th March, Kuwait: Korean season-campaigner, Kim Eun Jung took a convincing lead in the Women's Round 1 first block of ABF Tour Tournament of Champions underway at Cozmo Bowling Centre at Salmiya City.

Indonesia's Sharon Limansantoso, who qualified for the grand finals in fifth, got off the mark with a cracking 263 for the early running ahead of the surprised Sabeena Saleem of India in second.

Another superb 234 saw the Indonesian lass stretching her lead to 72 pins with Korea's Kim Eun Jung making up grounds to take up second spot as Sabeena suffered a poor 158 to slip down the field.

Whilst Kim won her third match with 233 and a bonus point of 10 gave her a brief lead, Sharon bounched back with a win in the fourth game to regain the lead while the Korean dropped behind her despite winning her fourth match too.

Kim then picked up her pace to win the remaining four matches with 212, 224, 211 and 202 to end the block with 1767 and 70 pins bonus from seven wins ahead of defending champion, Tang Joh Six of Malaysia, who stormed home to snatch second spot with 1713.

"After the practice this morning, I knew which ball suited the lane conditions," said 37-year-old Kim Eun Jung when interviewed by Kuwait TV.

"I was also fortunate to be able to read the lanes quicker and towards the second half, I had to make many adjustments.

Sharon settled for third spot with 1690 followed by another Korean and two-time Indonesia leg champion, Park Jin Hee fourth with 1627 while Hong Kong's Chan Shuk Han rounded up the top 5 with 1620.

"Although I had a great start, I wasn't really very comfortable," said Sharon Limansantoso.

"My body is very stiff and I was very awkward with my delivery. But overall I'm quite happy for where I am. "Tomorrow will be a bigger test and I hope I can maintain better consistency to make the top 8 Round 2 cut.

The women will resume with their second block of sevent matches tomorrow morning at 10.00 when the field will be cut to 8 for the Round 2 one-match knockout stage of the competition. The men will contest their first block later today.

For further information and details, please contact ABF Tour Committee at Tel: +852 2893 6039, Fax: +852 2893 6290; Email: hktbc@netvigator.com.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.