22nd November, Daejeon, Korea: Second-seed Song Si Ra of Daejeon City defeated topseed, Choi Tae Seung in the Open title match of the 2014 It's Daejeon International Open to win her first major title.

Song, who had earlier ousted PBA pro, Dan MacLelland of Canada 213-195 in the semi-finals to earn a crack at the title, started the all-Korean title match against Choi with a double strike in the second and third frames.

Whilst Choi struggled to double, Song rolled another double strike in the sixth and seventh frames to open up a gap of 18 pins. Both had an open frame in the eighth but Choi struck out from frame 9 in an attempt to put some pressure on his opponent.

But Song kept her cool to match Choi's effort by striking out as well to seal the victory 231-205 and emerged as champion. Song pocketed the top prize of 40 million Korean won (approx. US$37,200) as champion while Choi settled for 20 million won.

"I expected the match against Choi to be a tough one but when I got an early double, I quickly settled down," said the 24-year-old Song through an interpreter, who won the President's Cup Trios gold this year for Daejeon City team.

"I made a small mistake in the eighth frame but luckily Choi also missed a single pin spare in the same frame. I had a good cushion so I didn't feel any pressure going into the last two frames."

In the first TV match, PBA pro MacLelland of Canada defeated third-seed, Jang Dong Chul of Ulsan City and fourth-seed, Lee Na Hyun of Chung Buk, 196-167-168 before going down to Song in the semi.

The Canadian earned 10 million won for finishing as second runner-up while Jang and Lee took home 5 and 3.28 million won respectively for finishing fourth and fifth positions.

In the earlier Women's Open title match between topseed, Cherie Tan of Singapore and Sung Gyeung Eun of Daejeon City, Tan had an early scare when she failed to convert a single spare in the second frame.

But the Singaporean recovered to reel in six consecutive strikes to take a big lead over her opponent. Although Sung struck twice in the sixth and seventh frames, the match was really beyond her reach going down, 202-246.

Tan, who won the 2014 Asian Games Team gold medal back in October, earned 8 million Korean won (approx. US$7,440) as champion while Sung settled with 4 million won. Lee Yeon Ji of Seoul Metropolitan City, who missed the TV finals in third, pocketed 2 million won.

"I had an early scare when I missed the single pin spare, but fortunately I strung together a few strikes to settle my nerves," said the 26-year-old Tan, whose last major title was winning the 2012 DHC-IBC in Japan apart from her recent Team gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.

Six overseas men and six overseas women together with more than 140 local bowlers comprising of amatuer and Korean professionals made the finals from best of three attempts from November 14.

120 from the Open division bowled two blocks of 8 games each over two days for the top 5 to make today's TV Finals. The 42 women bowled 9 games for the top 2 to appear in the finals.

The tournament is the second stop of the 2015 PBA-World Bowling Tour, which is a major WBT and will earn points toward the Grand Finals next year.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Daejeon.

21st November, Daejeon, Korea: Round 1 leader, Song Si Ra of Daejeon City completed the second round by winning Squad A to qualify for the Top 5 TV Finals of 2014 It's Daejeon International Open in second overall.

Song had a poor start in the opening game of the second round with 156 to drop behind PBA pro, Dan MacLelland of Canada, who got off brilliantly with a sizzling 277 to take over the lead.

But the Korean bounced back with 266 to regain the lead and opened up a gap of 59 pins as MacLelland managed only 189 in the second game. A second Korean women, Lee Su Jeong also shot a big game of 278 to move up into third.

Song did not have a smooth ride though as she had inconsistent games which saw her lead of going up and down. The fight for second spot was between MacLelland and Su Jeong for the rest of the round.

Song, however finished strongly to win the squad with 1771 and a 16-game total of 3493 to advance to the TV finals in second, 43 pins behind Squad B leader Choi Tae Seung. The big surprise came from a third Korean women though.

Lee Na Hyun of Chung Buk City stormed home to snatch second spot in this squad with 3469 to join Song in the TV finals in fourth position overall. Round 1 Squad A leader, Jang Dong Chul was third overall with 3471.

MacLelland, who almost missed the cut with a poor 195 final game, clinched the fifth and final spot with 3458 edging the unlucky Kim Seon Jeong of Korea by just 7 pins.

American PBA pro, Josh Blanchard had a shot going into the last game but ended up with 3444 to tie seventh overall with Lee Gyo Hwan of Korea. Seo Hyeon Jin and overnight squad second-placed, Choi Yong Kyu completed the top 10.

The Open TV Finals has been brought forward to 11.00am with the title match for the Women's Open and the first match for the third, fourth and fifth-seed of the Open division. The winner will meet the second-seed in the second match.

The title match between the winner of the second match and the topseed will determine this year's champion and a chance to win the top prize of 40 million Korean won (approx. US$37,200).

Photos by Terence Yaw in Daejeon.

21st November, Daejeon, Korea: 2012 Asian Youth Masters champion, Choi Tae Seong took over the lead of the Open Division Squad B after the second round of 8 games ended at the 2014 It's Daejeon International Open.

Overnight leader, Jang Don Chul of Ulsan City was able to stretch his lead to 72 pins over Choi Yong Kyu despite both managing a slow start of 188 and 172. But Jang recovered with a sizzling 248 to take his lead even further after the second game.

The leader followed it up with 225, 232, 226 before stumbling to another low game of 183 allowing Choi Tae Seung of Busan City team to narrow the gap to just 44 pins after the sixth game with big games of 234, 278 and 257.

Jang continued to struggle managing 171 and 189 in his two final games as Choi took over the running from the seventh game with 245 following his 257 in the sixth. The 24-year-old ended the round with 224 for a 8-game series of 1899 and a 16-game total of 3536.

Jang settled for second with 3471 on a poor 1657 set. KPNA pro, Seo Hyeon Jin registered 1829 for this round to move up to third with 3437 while Choi Yong Kyu slipped down to fourth with 3436.

Bae Su Uk of Korea completed the top 5 with 3425 while Choun Jae Woo took sixth position with 3413. Cha Ji Hyeon rolled a perfect game in the sixth game to finish seventh woth 3412.

On average, Squad A leader, Song Si Ra of Daejeon CIty still leads with an average of 222.75 as Choi Tae Seung only averaged 221. KPBA pro, Jeong Jae Young, who was fourth in the first round, moved back up to second with average of 217.13.

Jang slipped down to third on his 216.94 average ahead of Lee Yeon Ji of Seoul Metropolitan City fourth with 216.75. Yun Hee Yeo completed the top 5 with 215.88.

Squad A will complete their second round of 8 games later tonight and the combined scores will determine the top 5 advancing to the TV Shootout finals on November 22, revised to start at 11.00am local time.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Daejeon.

21st November, Daejeon, Korea: 2014 Asian Games Team gold medalist, Cherie Tan of Singapore advanced to the TV Finals as topseed after topping the Women's Open Finals of 2014 It's Daejeon International Open joined by top qualifier, Sung Gyeung Eun of Daejeon City team as second-seed.

Kim Ji Yeon of Chung Buk Province got off to a cracking pace with 261 in her opening game to lead Bae Sung Hee of Daegu Sports Council in second, just 3 pins adrift while Daphne Tan of Singapore rolled 256 for third.

Kim led for another game before a second Singaporean, Cherie Tan shot into the lead after posting a splendid 246 following her first two games of 202 and 233. KPBA pro, Park Jin Hee trailed in second, 4 pins adrift.

Like Kim, Cherie led for another game before handing the lead to Oh Nu Ri of Pyeong Taek Province after the fifth game. But Cherie bounced back to regain the lead after the sixth game as Oh fell behind by 22 pins.

The left-hander went on to end the final with 238, 213 and 216 to advance into the TV Finals as topseed with 2000. Whilst Kim and Seoul City's Lee Yeon Ji fought out second spot, Sung Gyeung Eun stormed home with 227, 208 and 248 to snatch that spot with 1942.

Lee missed the cut by 12 pins for finishing third with 1926 while Oh and Kim rounded out the top 5 with 1907 and 1898 respectively.

The second-seed, Sung will square off with Cherie in the TV Finals over just one game to determine the champion on November 22.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Daejeon.

20th November, Daejeon, Korea: Ex-national Jang Dong Chul of Kyeung Buk team led Round 1 of the 2014 It's Daejeon International Open after topping the second squad to move ahead of Squad A leader, Song Si Ra of Daejeon City team.

Seo Hyeon Jin of Korea got off to a great start with an opening game of 259 to lead ex-national, Jang Dong Chul by 4 pins and Korean pro, Choi Jong In a further 17 pins away in third.

Seo's lead did last long as Jang followed up his first game of 255 with a splendid 265 to take over the running and building up a margin of 52 pins ahead of his nearest rival with Jong In still in third position.

Jang led the next three games despite only registering moderate games of 180, 214 and 191 and although the leader picked up his pace with a superb 241, Jang lost his lead to former team-mate and top qualifier, Choi Yong Kyu.

Yong Kyu, who had a poor start with 177, fired 224, 236, 243, 226 and 244 to take over the lead albeit just 1 pin ahead of Jang. Yong Kyu held the lead for another game before handling the lead back to Jang after the seventh game.

Jang ended strongly with 232 to end the round with 1814 to win the squad and become the overall leader from two squads. Yong Kyu finished second with 1758 to take third overall behind Squad A leader, Song Si Ra, who total 1782.

Choi Jong In, who finished third in this squad with 1721, ended up in eighth position. Jeong Jae Young, who was second in the first squad, settled for fourth with 1758 while Lee Yeon Ji of Seoul Metropolitan team completed the top 5 with 1734.

The Women's Open Final round will be contested tomorrow morning over 9 games and the top 2 will make the TV finals. The Open division Squad B will bowl their second round of 8 games 2.00pm local time and Squad A at 6.00pm.

The top 5 finishers at the end of the round (16 games) will make the cut for the Open TV Finals on November 22 after the Women's TV Finals. SBS cable TV station will broadcast the finals live starting at 2.00pm.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Daejeon.

20th November, Daejeon, Korea: Song Si Ra of Daejeon City team took the opening squad of the Open division first round finals at the 2014 It's Daejeon International Open from Jeong Jae Young of KPBA in second and Lee Yeon Ji of Seoul Metropolitan team third.

An Seong Jo of Korea got off the block with a cracking 269 in his opening game to lead PBA pro, Dan MacLelland of Canada by 10 pins as two other finalists, Surasak Manuwong of Thailand and Jeong Jae Young posted 258 and 256.

Jeong immediately took over the running with another superb 257 followed by Surasak in second while An managed only 181 to slip down to fourth behind Kim Seon Jeong of Korea moving up to fourth.

A poor 174 from Jeong allowed the Thai to move into the lead but only briefly as Song Si Ra bowled consistently in her first four games to become the new leader at the halfway point with Surasak trailing by 16 pins.

Song continued her relentless pace with 238, 212 and 199 before easing off with 194 in her eighth and final game of the round to win the squad with 1782 thanks to an 8-pin handicap she received for each game.

Jeong settled for second with 1737 after recovering from two low games while Lee Yeon Ji stormed home with 226, 228 and 239 in her last three games to snatch third spot with 1734. Yun Hee Yeo, who was third before the last game, finished fourth with 1727.

2014 Asian Games Singles gold medalist, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand rounded out the top 5 with 1722. MacLelland ended the block in ninth position with 1695 while a second PBA pro, Josh Blanchard of USA finished 20th.

Squad B will take to the lanes for their first round of 8 games at 8.00pm local time and the combined scores will give an indication of what the cut will be to make the top 5 TV show on November 22.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Daejeon.

20th November, Daejeon, Korea: Korea: Top seed, Choi Yun Chil of Korea claimed an easy victory in the Senior Masters title match of the 2014 It's Daejeon International Open at WorldCup Bowling Centre on Thursday.

Choi, 79 defeated challenger and second-seed, Bae Han Ok 232-191 to win the Senior's crown and pocketed a prize of 3 million Korean won (approx. US$2,700). Both title contenders started off the match well with two spares and a strike each.

The top seed then rolled three strikes-in-a-row to build up a 39 pins margin as Bae struggled to find any connecting strikes to keep himself in the match. Despite an opened frame in the eitght, Choi wnded with 210 plus a 22 pin handicap for the win.

Bae, who defeated third-seed and winner of the first stepladder match, settled for second position to take home 1.5 million won. Lee Jung Hak, who defeated two women finalists, Choi Seung Su and Kim Yeong Hui, 250-225-167, lost to Bae, 205-221 to finish third and earned 1 million won.

In the earlier 6-games finals, the champion topped the block with 1275 pinfalls to advance to the stepladder finals as top seed. Bae took second spot with 1272, just 3 pins adrift followed by Lee in third with 1269.

Choi and Kim made the cut for the stepladder finals in fourth and fifth positions with 1267 and 1263 respectively. Kim Yun Mun missed the cut by 18 pins in sixth position after he managed 1245.

The Open division Squad A first block finals of 8 games will commence at 3.00pm local time and Squad B at 8.00pm later today. The Women's Open 9 games finals will be held tomorrow morning followed by the second block of 8 games.

The top 2 finishers in the Women's Open division will advance to the TV Shootout finals and the top 5 Open will qualify for their TV Shootout finals, both on November 22.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Daejeon.

18th November, Daejeon, Korea: Newly-crowned Indonesia Open champion, Bernice Lim of Singapore took over the lead of the Women's Open division on the final day of qualifying rounds of the 2014 It's Daejeon International Open.

Lim, who trailed team-mate New Hui Fen by 16 pins yesterday, notched up an improved 3-game series of 654 with a superb 687 to take her 9-game tally to 2075. Lim now leads overnight leader and 2014 Asian Games Team gold medalist, Hui Fen by 17 pins.

Cherie Tan of Singapore improved to move into third spot with 1967 while Jazreel Tan, Shayna Ng and Daphne Tan completed the only six overseas women in the competition in fourth to sixth positions.

The four spots not taken up will be given to the top 6 reserves. Sung Gyeong Eun of Daejeon Team remained in the lead of the local pool with 2135 ahead of Lee Yeon Ji of Seoul Metropilitan team in second with 2114.

Yun Hee Yeo finished third with 2099 while Kim Su Jin and Lee Da Hye completed the top 5 with 2071 and 2015 respectively. The current cut in 15th position went to Son Hye Rin with 1949.

Lee Na Hyun headed the mixed pool with 1948 and the cut in 19th position went to Shin Su Ji with a total of 1066. The top 15 local, top 6 overseas and top 19 in the mixed pool plus 6 from the reserves list will qualify for the finals.

PBA pros continued to dominate the Open division with Josh Blanchard of Columbia 300, USA taking over the lead from overnight leader, Dan MacLelland of Canada. The American improved his lowest 3-game series of 604 with 715 for a total of 2118.

The Canadian settled for second with 2105. Debutant and ABF Tour TOC winner, Surasak Manuwong of Thailand finished third with 1875 ahead of compatriot and 2014 Asian Games Singles gold medalist, Yannaphon Larpapharat in fourth with 1847.

Yasuo Tanaka of JPBA, Japan took fifth spot with 1652 and sixth position went to another debutant, John Khoo of Singapore with 1547. As there are only six in the overseas pool, 14 places will be allocated to the reserve list.

2009 AMF World Cup and leader for the past five days remained to ex-international, Choi Yong Kyu with 2213. Top female in the Open division, Choi Hyun Sook took second spot with 2137 while Kim Dong Gyun rounded out the top 3 with 2128.

Current cut in 50th position after the 4.00pm squad went to Kim Hyun Suk of Korea with 1938. Park Se Jin and Choi Suk Byung tied top spot in the mixed pool with 1937 and the cut at 49th position went to 2011 Asian Championships Team gold medalist, Suh Sang Cheon of Korea with 1839.

Qualifying will end late this evening and the official practice will commence tomorrow morning and official opening ceremony at Hotel Riviera will be held at 6.00pm. Final rounds will be held on November 20 and 21.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Daejeon.

17th November, Daejeon, Korea: PBA pros, Dan Maclelland of Canada and Josh Blanchard of USA stamped their mark at the 2014 It's Daejeon International Open by occupying the top 2 spots of the Open division qualifying standings.

MacLelland, who had only two attempts after arriving Daejeon yesterday, posted 773 and 660 for a 6-game aggregate o 1393 for the lead. His Columbia 300 team-mate, Blanchard, who also shot the second perfect game with 299, registered 1317 after two attempts as well.

Debutant and 2013 ABF Tour TOC winner, Surasak Manuwong of Thailand finished third with 1220 on two attempts ahead of compatriot and 2014 Asian Games Singles gold medalist, Yannaphon Larpapharat with 1150 in fourth.

The lead in the local pool remained unchanged with 2009 AMF World Cup champion and ex-Korean national, Choi Yong Kyu on 2213. Choi Hyun Sook and Kim Dong Gyun took second and third positions with 2137 and 2128 respectively.

Hyun Sook is the best women bowler competing in the Open division with a handicap of 8 pins per game. The top 50 local qualifiers will make the cut for the finals. The current cut in 50th position went to Kim Byeong Hak with 1920.

Lee Wan Hee of Korea headed the mixed pool with 1919 and the cut at 49th position was held by Kim Su Yong with 1742. The top 50 local, top 20 overseas and top 49 from the mixed pool will qualify for the finals.

Meanwhile, 2014 Asian Games Team gold medalist, New Hui Fen of Singapore topped the Women's Open overseas pool with 9-game tally of 2058 ahead of newly-crowned Indonesia Open champion, Bernice Lim took second spot with 2042.

Jazreel Tan finished third with 1914 followed by Cherie Tan, Daphne Tan and Shayna Ng in fourth to sixth positions with 1834, 1742 and 1654 respectively.

Sung Gyeong Eun of Daejeon City team remained in pole position in the local pool with 2135 followed by Seoul Metropolitan team member, Lee Yeon Ji in second with 2114. Yun Hee Yeo finished third with 2099.

The top 15 local, top 10 overseas and top 19 from the mixed pool will qualify for the finals. All the finalists will take part in the official practice on November 19 followed by the official opening ceremony.

Qualifying will end tomorrow and the finals will be contested on November 20 for the Senior and the Open division first block of 8 games. The top 5 Senior finishers will advance to the stepladder shootout finals.

The second block of 8 games for the Open division and the finals for the Women's Open division will be staged on November 21. The top 2 Women Open and the top 5 Open will advance to the stepladder shootout finals on November 22.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Daejeon.

16th November, Daejeon, Korea: Sung Gyeong Eun of Daejeon City team and 2009 AMF World Cup champion, Choi Yong Kyu set the qualifying pace by topping the Women's Open and Open division standings of the 2014 Daejeon International Open.

Sung registered double 726 3-game series to add to her 683 effort to take the early lead of the Women's Open standings with 2135 averaging an impressive 237.22. Her team-mate, Lee Yeon Ji trailed Sung by 21 pins with 2114 while Yun Hee Yeo took third spot with 2099.

With the late announcement of this year's tournament, the second 2015 PBA-World Bowling Tour stop, only Singapore has sent six women national team members. Newly-crowned Indonesia Open champion, Bernice Lim secured top spot despite only made two attempts of 700 and 688 to lead the overseas pool with 1388.

2014 Asian Games Team gold medalist, New Hui Fen finished second with 1348 followed by 2014 Asian Games Team gold, two silver and All Events bronze medalist, Jazreel Tan tieing third spot with Cherie Tan on 1294.

Other Singapore team members, Daphne Tan and Shayna Ng occupied the remaining two spots in the overseas pool in fifth and sixth positions with 1164 and 1073 respectively.

The top 15 local qualifiers, top 10 overseas qualifiers and the top 19 from the mixed pool together with the defending champion, Kang Soo Jin of Korea will contest the 9-game Finals on November 21. The top 2 will advance to the TV finals.

Meanwhile, 2009 AMF World Cup champion and ex-national, Choi Yong Kyu of Korea topped the Open division standings with 2213 from 791, 718 and 706 series. His compatriot, Choi Hyun Sook of KPBA finished second with 2137.

Kim Yong Gyun took third spot with 2128 while Kim Young Gwan of KPBA and Lee Gyuh Wan of Korea rounded out the top 5 with 2125 and 2067 respectively. There will be two PBA pros from Columbia competing so will 2014 Asian Games Singles gold medalist, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand.

The top 50 local qualifiers, top 20 overseas qualifiers and the top 49 from the mixed pool together with the defending champion, Kim Jun Yung will bowl two blocks of 8 games each divided into two squads on November 20 and 21.

The top 5 will advance to the TV Shootout finals on November 22. The champion will walk away with the top prize of 40 million Korean won (approx. US$36,000). A total prize fund of 149 million won is as stake making this tournament a Major PBA-World Bowling Tour.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Daejeon.