25th February, Dubai: Youth Under-23 Masters first runner-up and Round 3 leader, Kim Bolleby of Sweden bagged the Open Masters title of the 3rd Dubai International Open Bowling Tournament on Saturday evening.

Bolleby, who lost to Kuwait's Jassem Abbas Darwish in the Youth Under-23 Masters title match yesterday, made amends with a victory in the Open division to win the top prize of AED 60,000 (approx. US$16,300).

The overnight Round 3 leader ended the Round 4 finals earlier with 1813 to add to his previous round score of 1851 to advance into the stepladder shootout finals as top seed with 3664 total pinfalls.

In the all-lefty championship match between the Swede and challenger, Remy Ong of Singapore, both started off with three strikes-in-a-row and Bolleby had a split in the fourth frame in which he managed to convert while Ong had a fourth strike.

By the seventh frame, the Singaporean had a slender lead over Bolleby but Ong failed to spare his eighth frame allowing the top seed to draw level. As Ong was unable to recover from the costly mistake, the Swede pulled away by striking out for a 245 victory over Ong's 220 to take the title.

"I was a bit worry when we were warming up for the match when the lanes were slightly different from the earlier finals," said the 20-year-old Bolleby. "Luckily I made a quick adjustment and it paid off.

"For sure I was a bit disappointed after I lost in the youth finals but winning the Open title more than made up for it. I'm going to Doha for the Emir Cup and hopefully I can carry my form into that tournament."

Ong, who was seeded fourth, ousted third seed, Peter Ljung of Sweden and fifth seed, Biboy Rivera of Philippines, 236-215-194 in the opening match before beating second seed, Perttu Jussila of Finland, 207-180 in the second match to face the top seed.

Ong received AED 30,000 (approx. US$8,160) as first runner-up while Jussila received AED 15,000 (US$4,000) as second runner-up. Ljung and Rivera took home AED 10,000 and AED 8,000 for finishing fourth and fifth positions respectively.

Jussila advanced into the stepladder finals second from Round 4 finals with 3642, Ljung third with 3588, Ong fourth with 3585 while Rivera edged American Patrick Healey Jnr by 3 pins to squeeze in as fifth seed.

The main sponsor of the tournament was Grand Capital LLC with La Marquise Coffee Shop, Mars Digital Printing, Grand Service Station Auto Service, SuperPrice Car Rental, and French Bakery as co-ponsors.

The tournament is endorsed by the Dubai Sports Council and is santioned by Emirates Bowling Federation, Asian Bowling Federation and World Tenpin Bowling Association.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

24th February, Dubai: Youth Masters first runner-up, Kim Bolleby of Sweden narrowly topped the Round 3 finals of the 3rd Dubai International Bowling Tournament, 12 pins ahead of Singapore's Remy Ong in second and UAE's Jamal Ali Ali third on Friday.

Bolleby, who was the third seeded qualifier, set a blistering pace with 258 and 235 to lead UAE's Jamal Ali Ali by 22 pins. But a big game from Jamal saw the left-handed Emirati shooting into the lead, albeit only 6 pins ahead of the Swede.

Jamal and Bolleby traded the lead in the next two games with less than 15 pins separating the duo while Singapore's Remy Ong, who was third in the earlier Round 2 finals, stayed close with the leaders.

Despite a setback in the sixth game in which Bolleby managed only 187, the 20-year-old Swede bounched back brilliantly with 276 to regain the lead as Ong took over second spot from Jamal.

Bolleby hung on to the lead with a final game of 210, just 12 pins ahead of the Singaporean on 1839 while Jamal finished strongly with 255 to secure third spot with 1821.

"I had many lucky breaks in the first half of the block but struggled a bit as the lanes got drier," said the delighted Bolleby. "I came across a pair of difficult lanes and suffered big time but luckily I got back two good games. I'm delighted to have bowled well and my target is to make the stepladder finals tomorrow."

Finland's Perttu Jussila took fourth spot with 1817 followed by Filipino, Biboy Rivera in fifth with 1772. American Patrick Healey Jnr, UAE's Hussain Al Suwaidi, Finn Joonas Jahi and Round 2 leader, Peter Ljung of Sweden finished sixth to ninth positions.

2004 World Raking Masters champion and a third Emirati, Mohammed Khalifa Al Qubaisi took the final tenth position to join the rest for tomorrow's Round 4 finals for another 8 games with pins carried forward.

Kuwait's Basel Al Anzi missed the cut by just 5 pins despite ending strongly with a final game of 234. The top 5 at the end of Round 4 finals will proceed to the stepladder shootout to determine the champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

24th February, Dubai: Sweden's Peter Ljung cruised into the next round of the 3rd Dubai International Open Bowling Tournament ending Round 2 finals by a comfortable margin over Filipino Biboy Rivera and Singaporean Remy Ong in second and third.

Local left-hander, Jamal Ali Ali got off the mark with a cracking 279 to lead another left-hander, Peter Ljung of Sweden by 12 pins and 2004 World Ranking Masters champion, Mohammed Kahlifa Al Qubaisi showing early pace in third.

But the Swede never looked back thereafter when he rolled 258, 226, 265, 225, 245, 233 and 247 to end the Round 2 finals with 1964, 165 pins over Biboy Rivera in second with 1799.

The Filipino had trailed Ljung after the halfway mark and despit losing second spot to Remy Ong for the next two games, Rivera regained second, 16 pins ahead of the Singaporean.

"I generally don't do that well during qualifying when we play on the same pair of lanes," said the 45-year-old Swedish national women coach, Peter Ljung. "But when we have to move from pair to pair, I can bowl well on fresher lanes. Sixteen games is a lot in a day for me and I hope I can last the distance."

UAE's Sayed Ibrahim AlHashemi did well to finish fourth with 1779, a further 4 pins adrift while Kuwait's veteran Yaqoub Al Shatti completed the top 5 with 1755. Mohammed Khalifa settled for sixth spot with 1737.

There was a keen tussle for the final two spots amongst Finn Joonas Jahi, Filipino Jordan Evan, UAE's Hassan Al Zaabi and a third Filipino Hashim Guinomla toward the end of the round.

Jahi and Guinomla ended stronger to squeeze into the next round in 11th and 12th positions with 1635 and 1634 while Evan and Hassan failed to make the cut in 13th and 14th positions respectively.

The top 12 will be joined by the top 8 seeded qualifiers for another 8 games in Round 3 finals before the field will be cut to the top 10 who will advance into tomorrow's Round 4 finals with pns carried forward.

The top 5 at the end of the 8-games Round 4 finals will proceed to the Stepladder shootout finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

23rd February, Dubai: Youth Masters second runnerup, Perttu Jussila of Finland, moved into the top spot of the Open Masters leaderboard on the final qualifying day of the 3rd Dubai International Open Bowling Tournament.

American PBA, Tim Mack had rolled the highest 3-game series of the tournament with 779 in the last squad on Wednesday, Perttu Jussila responded brilliantly with 781 at the 1.00pm squad to become the new leader.

The Finn got off the mark with a sizzling 276 and then slowed down his pace with 237. But the 20-year-old responded with another scintillating 268 for the high series of 781. His new 9-game tally of 2188 overahauled Kim Bolleby of Sweden by 7 pins.

Thailand's Yannaphon Larpapharat then improved his score to 2183 at the 3.00pm squad to regain second spot with 2183, pipping Bolleby by 2 pins and relegating the Swedish youngster to third.

Bahrain's Yousif Falah, two Emiratis Mahmood Al Attar and Shaker Al Hassan and Tim Mack slipped down to fourth to seventh position while Basel Al Anzi of Kuwait and Patrick Healey Jnr tied eighth position on 2168.

The duo will have a one-game roll-off to break the tie and decide who will advance into Round 3 finals automatically.

Several bowlers made improvements but not good enought for the top 8 bracket. Remy Ong of Singapore improved to 13th position with 2164 and Peter Ljung of Sweden to 20th position with 2122.

Current cut at 26th position is held by Hassan Al Zaabi of UAE on 2085. Qatar's Mansour Al Awamy improved his score but is one spot off the cut with 2080. The last squad will end qualifying at 11.00pm.

Round 2 finals of 8 games will be contested at 9.30am tomorrow. The top 12 finishers together with the top 8 seeded qualifiers will bowl another 8 games in Round 3 finals.

The top 10 will advance to Round 4 finals with pins carried forward from Round 3. The top 5 will proceed to the stepladder finals shootout to decide the champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

23rd February, Dubai: Kuwait's Jassem Abbas Darwish had to go into the deciding match to beat challenger, Kim Bolleby of Sweden and win the Youth Under-23 Masters title of the 3rd Dubai International Open Bowling Tournament on Thursday.

Jassem's decision to concentrate just on the youth division paid off handsomely after he captured the title to take home AED 25,000 (approx. US$6,800) but the 22-year-old had to work hard for the win.

His challenger and No. 2 seed, Kim Bolleby of Sweden had out-classed winner of the first match, Perttu Jussila of Finland, 277-185 to face top seed, Jassem. The 21-year-old left-hander was in superb form taking the first game, 266-247 to force a decider.

But Bolleby just could not repeat the form he displayed earlier going down to the Kuwaiti, 176-234 to settle for AED 13,000. Jussila, who beat No. 4 seed Samantha Hannan of England and No. 5 seed Kevin Wattimena of Ireland, 256-165-219 in the first match, took home AED 7,500 for finishing third.

In the earlier 6-games semi-finals, the champion finished atop the field of 10 finalists with 1303 followed by Bolleby in second with 1283 and Jussila third with 1237. Samantha and Wattimena made the stepladder finals in fourth and fifth positions with 1202 and 1201 respectively.

Wattimena received AED 6,000 for fourth position and Samantha received AED 5,000 for fifth position. Local hopeful, Sultan MK Al Qubaisi missed the cut by 2 pins to finish sixth while a second Kuwaiti, Aseel Al Roomi finished in seventh.

Qualifying for the Open division will end late Thursday evening. The bar has been raised substantially and stands at 2085 occupied by Hassan Al Zaabi of UAE. The cut for the top 8 stands at 2168 and is occupied by both Basel Al Anzi of Kuwait and Patrick Healey Jnr of USA.

If either of them do not make any improvments, there will be a one game roll off to break the tie and decide who will advance to Round 3 finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

22nd February, Dubai: Swedish youngster, Kim Bolleby out-shone his older peers to take over the lead of the 3rd Dubai International Bowling Tournament Open division with three impressive attempts on Wednesday.

Bolleby 20, who has already impressed by qualifying for the Youth Under-23 division in second spot with 1991, registered 716, 719 and 746 to take over top spot in the Open division with 2181.

Arab Games two gold medalist and Asian Championship two bronze medalist, Yousif Falah of Bahrain who had slipped down to seventh after several bowlers cracked the top 8 bracket, hauled himself up to second with a strong 746 series to take up second spot with 2179.

Thailand's Yannaphon Larpapharat and overnight leader, Mahmood Al Attar of UAE shared third position with 2175 as defending champion, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE dropped one spot further down to fifth.

Bahrain's new head coach, Tim Mack of USA shot the highest 3-game series of the tournament so far with a sizzling 779 break into the top 8 by sharing fifth spot with 2170 after having fell to 18th position.

Kuwait's Basel Al Anzi also tied seventh position after last year's runner-up, Patrick Healey Jnr. improved his total to 2168. Day 10 high series winner, Hareb Al Mansoori of UAE was knocked out of the top 8 and lies in ninth with 2167.

2004 World Ranking Masters champion and UAE veteran, Mohammed Khalifa Al Qubaisi also dropped out into tenth with 2165 followed by compatriot and two-time Asia ranked No.1, Hussain Al Suwaidi in 11th spot.

The cut is now 2055 held by Finn Perttu Jussila and with the final day of qualifying ending tomorrow, many say the cut will be around 280 over.

Meanwhile, the Youth Under-23 finals will be contested tomorrow at 3.00pm local time. Samantha Hannan of England, Kim Bolleby of Sweden and Sultan MK Al Qubaisi of UAE occupied the top 3 spots.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

22nd February, Dubai: Thai national bowler, Yannaphon Larpapharat cracked into the Top 8 bracket of the 3rd Dubai International Open Bowling Tournament Open division qualifying table to tie second spot with defending champion, Shaker Al Hassan.

Yannaphon, who won the Macau Open and Indonesia Open titles last year, almost won Day 10 high series with 721 in his second attempt after a decent 704 opening series. But a third try of 639 put him 16th in the table.

The 29-year-old Thai almost took the AED 10,000 perfect game prize when reeled in 11 consecutive strikes in his third game at the 1.00pm squad today. But he rolled a poor shot in the final throw to land only 7 pins for 297.

Yannaphon's superb series of 745 in the squad on 235, 213 and 297 gave him a new 9-game tally of 2170, just 1 pin shy of leader, Mahmood Al Attar of UAE but shared second spot with defending champion, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE.

The fourth bowler to crack into the top 8 was Kuwait's Basel Al Anzi after posting 740 at the 4.30pm squad for a new 9-game tally of 2169 to take up fourth position. The third bowler to make the top 8 today was Joonas Jahi of Finland with 2154 after shoting 750 in the open 10.00am squad earlier.

Day 10 high series winner, Hareb Al Mansoori of UAE slipped down one spot to fifth with 2167 while 2004 World Ranking Masters champion, Mohammed Khalifa Al Qubaisi of UAE also cracked into the top 8 with 2165 after a superb 740 effort.

Filipino, Jordan Evan slipped down to eighth with 2162 while Ali Ahmed Al Saffer of UAE was knocked out of the top 8. Mohammed Al Jahromi of Bahrain overtook the Joonas' 750 effort with a sizzling 751 at the 1.00pm squad to secure a spot in the finals in 16th position with 2116.

Biboy Rivera almost rolled the first perfect 300 but ended with 289. However, the Filipino improved his standings from 17th to tenth position with 2144, one pin behind Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE in ninth.

The current cut is 2033 held by Adel Al Marzooqi of UAE and judging from the flury of bowlers continuously improving their scores, the cut could be as much as 260 over by tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

21st February, Dubai: Mahmood Al Attar of UAE posted the highest series of the day with 737 to snatch the lead in the Open qualifying table of the 3rd Dubai International Open Bowling Tournament on Tuesday.

Mahmood, who missed to compete in the Youth Under-23 division by just one month, more than made up his disappointment with a terrific qualifying effort.

The 24-year-old started off with 234 and 224 but then scorched the lanes at Dubai International Bowling Center with a sizzling 279 for a 3-game series of 737, which could win him Day 11 high series award of AED 1,000.

The Emirati's 737 increased his 9-game tally from 2131 to 2171 to pip overnight leader, defending champion and compatriot, Shaker Al Hassan by just 1 pin.

Hareb Al Mansoori, winner of Day 10 high series, slipped down to third with 2167 followed by Filipino southpaw, Jordan Evan in fourth spot with 2162. Emiratis Ali Ahmed Al Saffer and Hussain Al Suwaidi took fifth and sixth positions with 2146 and 2145.

Asian Championship two bronze medalist, Yousif Falah of Bahrain and Sayed Al Hashemi of UAE completed the top 8 who would earn a bye in Round 2 finals straight into Round 3. American and ex-UAE coach, Patrick Healey Jr and Hashim Guinomla of Philippines rounded up the top 10.

Making inroads in today's qualifying rounds were Philippines' Biboy Rivera (15th-2083), Thailand's Yannaphon Larpapharat (16th-2064), Finland's Joonas Jahi (18th-2046) and Singapore's Remy Ong (23rd-2026).

The current cut at 26th position is held by UAE's Jamal Ali with 1999 (average 222.11). Newcomer Benjamin Hong of Singapore is 29th with 1998. With three days left for qualifying, the cut could be raised to as much as 2040.

Qualifying continues through to Thursday, February 22 for the Youth (Under-23) division and February 23 for the Open division. Finals will be held from February 24 onwards.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

20th February, Dubai: Asian champion and three-time Asia ranked No. 1, Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE is vying for the Open title of the 3rd Dubai International Open Bowling Tournament on home ground after an impressive showing in the qualifying rounds.

Hussain Al Suwaidi, who failed to advance into the fourth round last year, bounced back with victory in the ABF Tour Tournament of Champions in Kuwait a month later. Since then, the Emirati has seen a dip in form for the rest of the season.

But judging by the form the 30-year-old Emirati has displayed so far durng the on-going qualifying rounds, he is definitely a strong title contender. Hussain had taken the lead after the fourth day but lost it briefly.

Hussain regained the lead on the sixth day but again was robbed of the lead by fellow-compatriot and defending champion, Shaker Al Hassan, who remained in the lead with 2170. Filipino Jordan Evan is second with 2162.

Another Emirati, Ali Ahmed Al Saffar took third spot with 2146 as Hussain slipped down to fourth with 2145. Bahrain's Yousif Falah, three Emiratis Mahmood Al Attar, Sayed Al Hashemi and Hareb Al Mansoori completed the top 8.

Meanwhile, Biboy Rivera of the Philippines bagged Day 9 high series award of AED 1,000 with 734 while Thailand's Yannaphon Larpapharat will likely win Day 10 high series award with 721.

There were no changes to the top three positions in the Youth Under-23 division with Samantha Hannan of England firmly in the lead with 2107. The Abu Dhabi-born English girl has also won five daily high series awards in the youth division.

With the arrival of Qatari and Kuwaiti bowlers and making their qualifying attempts in the remaining four days, the current cut at 1945 (averaging 216) will surely be raised.

Qualifying continues through to Thursday, February 22 for the Youth (Under-23) division and February 23 for the Open division. Finals will be held from February 24 onwards.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.

19th February, Dubai: Defending champion, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE is eyeing to retain the title after topping the Open Masters qualifying table of the 3rd Dubai International Open Bowling Tournament underway at Dubai International Bowling Center.

Shaker, who defeated ex-UAE coach Patrick Healey Jr of USA in the title match to take the big home victory last year, was fifth in the standings with 2107, improved his lowest 3-game series of 659 to 722 for a new 9-game tally of 2170 to move to the top of the table.

The 42-year-old left-hander had 688, a third day highest series of 760 to add to his 722 for the lead. Filipino Jordan Evan took second spot with 2162 on series of 759, 696 and 707 followed by Ali Ahmed of UAE third with 2146.

Three-time Asia ranked No. 1, Hussain Al Suwaidi, who led the standings for two days, slipped down to fourth with 2140. Bahrain's Yousif Falah and three Emiratis Mahmood Al Attar, Sayed Al Hashemi and Hareb Al Mansoori completed the top 8.

Last year's runner-up, Patrick Healey Jr tied ninth position with Day 2 highest series award winner, Hashim Guinomla of Philippines with 2117.

Meanwhile, Samantha Hannan of England lead the Under-23 Youth qualifying table with 2107 after winning five daily highest awards over the past week. Sultan MK Al Qubaisi and Abdullah Nabil Marzouk of UAE took second and third spots with 1970 and 1912.

Standings are based on best of three 3-game series attempts and positions 1 to 8 will receive a bye for Round 3 finals. Positions 9 to 26 plus two best UAE qualifiers will contest the Round 2 finals over 8 games on Friday February 24.

The top 12 highest finishers together with the top 8 seeded qualifiers will contest the Round 3 finals over another 8 games where the field will be cut to 10 for another 8 games in Round 4 finals on Saturday 25 with pins carried forward.

The top 5 will proceed to the Stepladder Finals with the third, fourth and fifth seeds to bowl one game. The winner will advance to meet the second seed for another game and a chance to face the top seed in the title match to decide the champion.

The champion will walk away with the top prize of AED60,000 (approx. US$16,300), AED30,000 for second and AED15,000 for third position.

Photos by Terence Yaw.