2nd March, Doha: Dubai Open champion, Kim Bolleby of Sweden captured his second consecutive title with victory in the H.H. Emir's Cup 2012 against No. 2 seed, Stuart Williams of England, with a strike over 7 pins in a one-ball roll-off to break the tie of the championship match.

Williams, who defeated No. 4 seed Joonas Jahi of Finland 459-368 over a two-game semi-final match, easily took the first game against Kim Bolleby of Sweden, 224-199 in the title match for a 25 pins margin.

An opened frame in the second and another in the fifth proved to be the turning point of the match as Bolleby had four consecutive strikes to level things off. But Williams bounced back with a turkey and spared his bonus frame to end with 182 and 406 total.

The Swede had to have a double strike to take the game and the match but managed only a strike in the tenth frame and spared a difficult 2-4-7-8 for 207 to tie on 406 forcing a one-ball roll-off to break the tie. Williams downed 7 pins while Bolleby struck to win the tie-breaker and the title.

"This two weeks have been an amazing period for me," said the 20-year-old Bolleby, who won AED 60,000 in last week's Dubai Open. "I squeezed into Step 2 finals in tenth and as last qualifier.

"And I hung on to fourth position to make the last spot for the stepladder finals. Then I beat the top seed to earn a crack at the title. In the title match, I had two big breaks. This victory is slowly sinking in.

"To win two titles in this short period of time is really unbelievable. I wasn't planning to go to Bahrain. Now I'm re-considering. Who knows, I may be third time lucky."

The champion ousted Dominic Barrett, 412-337 in the first Step 3 match. Bolleby was richer by US$27,000 with his victory while Williams settled for US$13,500. Barrett and Jahi took home US$4,000 each.

Brits Dominic Barrett and Stuart Williams finished one-two in the earlier 8-games Step 2 finals with 1836 and 1772. Joonas Jahi snatched third spot with 1752 from his final game as Bolleby made the cut in fourth with 1724.

Kuwait's Jassem Dariwsh and Patrick Healey Jnr of USA both missed the cut by 45 pins to tie fifth spot with 1675. Positions 5 to 8 received US$1,600 each while positions 9 to 16 earned US$1,000 each.

Mr Salman Abdul Ghani, Honorary Life President of Qatar Bowling Federation together with Mr Abdul Salam Abbas, President of Qatar Bowling Federation gave away the prizes to the champion and runnerup.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

1st March, Doha: Stuart Williams of England snatched pole position in the eighth and final game of the Step 1 Finals of the H.H. Emir's Cup 2012 from Patrick Healey Jnr of USA in second and Andrew Frawley of Australia in third.

2009 Emir's Cup champion, Patrick Healey Jnr of United States, Andrew Frawley of Australia and Fahad Al-Emadi of Qatar set a blistering pace with 274, 268 and 265 in their opening games to lead the field of 30 finalists.

The American kept his lead for the next two games after rolling 212 and 233 as Fahad and England's Stuart Williams traded second positions. Frawley fired 244 in the fourth to take over the running but just 1 pin ahead of Healey.

A second Qatari, Yousef Al-Jaber led the field for only one game as Healey regained it in the sixth and seventh games and leading Williams by 20 pins.

Despite ending the finals with 210, Williams finished stronger with 246 to snatch pole with 1818. The American settled for second with 1802, 16 pins adrift while Frawley took third spot with 1769.

"I took some weight off the side of one of my balls and it helped in the ball's reaction on the lanes," said Stuart Williams from Chester, Cheshire.

"More bowlers played on the same area as I did and that also helped. I had two high games early in this block and that relaxed me quite a bit and boosted my confidence as the final got to the end. We'll see how it goes tomorrow and hopefully I can keep on doing well."

Jassem Darwish of Kuwait claimed fourth position with 1752 after a strong 235 in his final game followed by Yousef in fifth spot with 1683 ahead of newcomer, Benjamin Hong of Singapore took sixth spot with 1675.

Finland's Joonas Jahi and Bahrain's Yousif Falah tied seventh position with 1666 followed by defending champion Dominic Barrett of England in ninth position with 1660. Newly-crowned Dubai Open, Kim Bolleby of Sweden occupied the tenth and final spot with 1614.

Qatar's Mohammed Jamal missed the cut by 8 pins to finish 11th while the top youth was Abdulrahman Jaidah of Qatar taking up 12th position.

The top 10 will advance into Step 2 finals for another 8 games from scratch, joined by the top 6 seeded qualifiers. The top 4 at the end of the finals will qualify for the Step 3 knockout finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

29th February, Doha: Three-time Asia Ranked No. 1 and overnight leader, Hussain Al Suwaidi won the high series award for a second day after ending the third and final block of qualifying of the H.H. Emir's Cup 2012 in pole position.

With 90 pins margin from the second block, it was a stroll in the park for Hussain as the 30-year-old Emirati continued to adapt well to the difficult lane conditions at Qatar Bowling Center.

Hussain stretched his lead over his nearest opponent and compatriot, Shaker Al Hassan to 207 pins after scoring another high series of 1323 and an 18-game tally of 3976 to advance into the Step 2 finals as overall leader.

Shaker, who won the Day 2 high series award, trailed Hussain all the way to finish second in the squad with 3769, albeit on a lower 6-game series of 1206.

Qatar's Mansour Al-Awamy did well to take up third with 3678, just one pin ahead of team-mate and 2010 champion, Mubarak Al-Muraikhi in fourth with 3677. Mubarak also posted the second highest series of 1305.

Kuwait's Jassem Darwish, who was second in the first block, slipped down to fifth with 3661 while Patrick Healey Jnr. of USA registered the third highest series with 1300 to move up from 17th to ninth position.

Squad A leader, Perttu Jussila of Finland ended up in second overall with 3787, 189 pins behind Hussain, 18 pins ahead of third-placed Shaker. Winner of the earlier squad high series, Yaqoub Al Shatti of Kuwait was third with 3769.

Mansour and Mubarak occupied the final two positions in the top 6 bracket to advance automatically to Step 2 finals while Singapore's Remy Ong missed the cut in seventh by just 2 pins.

Taysier Al-Qusei of Palastine took the final cut position at 28th with 3452 on an average of 191.78. Ghanim M Bojasom and Jassem Al-Deyab were the top 2 Qatari youths earning automatic qualification in 29th and 30th.

Yousef Al-Jaber and Khalil Al-Mothen were the top 2 Qatari qualifiers outside the top 28 to also earn their places in Step 1 finals. Joseph Hasrooni (233) of Lebanon, Hussain Hijji (225) of Palestine, Ahmed Saleh Al-Baker (224) of Qatar and Mohammed Al-Jahromi (214) of Bahrain were the top 4 qualifiers from the desperado squad.

Qualifiers from positions 7 to 28, plus top 2 Qatari youths, top 2 Qatari finishers and top 4 from desperado squad will contest the Step 1 finals tomorrow over 8 games. The top 10 will join the top 6 seed qualifiers for the Step 2 finals on Friday, March 2.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

29th February, Doha: Kuwait's Yaqoub Al Shatti shot the highest series of Squad A in the third and final block of qualifying in the H.H. Emir's Cup 2012 to break into the top 6 bracket while Perttu Jussila of Finland remained the squad leader.

Apart from starting with a poor 156 in the opening game, Yaqoub Al Shatti recovered with a sizzling 264 in the second game as Perttu Jussila continued to lead the field after posting 214 and 223 in his first two games.

By the halfway mark, Yaqoub had moved up into second to trail leader Jussila by 126 pins as Khaled Al Dubyyan of Kuwait slipped down to fourth behind Singapore's Remy Ong improving up to third.

Although the lanky Finn ended the third and final block with 1237, his 18-game tally of 3787 put him in pole position in the suqad. Yaqoub finished second after shooting the highest 6-game series of 1309 and a n 18-game total of 3650.

Ong finished third with 3675 from a third block score of 1237 while his compatriot, Benjamin Hong did well to take up fourth spot with 3618 ahead of Khaled Al Dubyyan completing the top 5 with 3617.

The cut for the top 6 stood at 205.33 average with Jussila holding a 210.39 average and Yaqoub holding 208.33 average, the duo will surely make the top 6 bracket to earn a bye in Step 1 finals. Ong's 204.17 average may well squeeze him in.

Squad B will take to the lanes for their third and final block which will determine who will earn the curcial top 6 positions. A one-game desperado squad will be held after the squad to add 4 bowlers with the highest score to join Step 1 finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

28th February, Doha: Squad A leader, Perttu Jussila of Finland retained his lead in Squad A of the H.H. Emir's Cup 2012 after posting 1277 in the second block of qualifying round to win the high series award for a second day.

Australia's Andrew Frawley posted 235 in his opening game to take over the running from overnight leader, Perttu Jussila after the Finn got off to a slow start with 189.

Jussila was unable to pick up his pace after another lowly 188 but the Aussie struggled in the second with only 145 allowing the Finn to re-take the lead as Kuwait's Yaqoub Al Shatti move up to second and closed the gap to 23 pins.

The leader finally found his rythmn to fire 235, 238, 213 and 194 to romp home a comfortable leader with 1277 earning him the high series award of the squad for a second consecutive day.

His second block effort of 1277 added to his first block of 1273 gave him a 12-game aggregate of 2550. A second Kuwaiti and 2011 Asian Championship Masters gold medalist, Khaled Al Dubyyan flew home to snatch second spot with 1270 and 12-game total of 2465.

Frawley slipped back to third with 1234 and a 12-game total of 2464 while Yaqoub finished fourth with 1269 and a 12-game total of 2441. Singapore's Remy Ong completed the top 5 finishers in this squad with 2438.

WIth two squads combined, overnight leader Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE firmed up pole position with 2653 ahead of compatriot Shaker Al Hassan in second with 2563. Squad A leader, Perttu Jussila settled for third with 2550.

Dubai Open Youth Under-23 Masters champion, Jassem Abbas Darwish of Kuwait took fourth position with 2487 followed by tema-mate, Khaled Al Dubyyan and Andrew Frawley completing the top 6.

The third and final block of 6 games will be played tomorrow which will end the qualifying rounds. Step 1 finals will be contested on March 1.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

28th February, Doha: Overnight leader and three-time Asia Ranked NO. 1, Hussain Al Suwaidi remained in the lead of Squad B after the second block of qualifying rounds in the H.H. Emir's Cup 2012 with Shaker Al Hassan giving UAE a one-two finish.

Qatar's Khalil Al-Mothen fired a sizzling 248 in his opening game but made little improvement to his position as overnight leader, Hussain Al Suwaidi continued to lead the field with 215, stretching his margin to 98 pins.

An average game of 191 saw his lead reduced to 48 pins when his compatriot, Shaker Al Hassan made up good ground with 213 and 246 in his first two games to take over second spot from Jassem Darwish of Kuwait, who slipped to third.

But Hussain rebounded with 246, 212, 227 and 206 ending the second block with 1297 to add to his first block high series of 1356 for a 12-game tally of 2653.

Shaker Al Hassan posted the highest 6-game series of 1335 in this block to take up second behind Hussain with 2563, 90 pins adrift while Jassem shot 1209 to finish third with 2487 total.

Qatar's Fahad Al-Emadi, who was third overnight, dropped to fourth with 2440 while American Tim Mack improved his position to complete the top 5 with 2429. Last year's champion, Dominic Barrett of England struggled to find pace ending in tenth with 2388.

His fellow-countrymen, Stuart Williams also struggled big time finishing a dismal 21st position. The remaining 22 players from Squad A will bowl their second block at 7.00pm lcal time which will give an indication of the cut for the finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

27th February, Doha: Three-time Asia Ranked No. 1, Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE led the second squad of the first block qualifying round en-route to topping Day 1 of the H.H. Emir's Cup 2012 with Jassim Darwish of Kuwait and Fahad Al-Emadi of Qatar in second and third.

Qatar's Mohammed Jamal surprised the field of 45 in the second squad with a superb 236 opening game to lead American Patrick Healey Jnr. by 6 pins but Mohammed dropped his pace allowing two-time Asia ranked No. 1, Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE to take over the lead with 223 and 246.

The 29-year-old Emirati continued with his blistering pace rolling 223, 192, 238 and 234 to comfortably end the first block with 1356 pinfalls. Hussain, who missed the top 5 stepladder finals at last week's Dubai Open, is looking strong to do well here.

Dubai Open Youth Under-23 Masters champion, Jassim Abbas Darwish of Kuwait continued to impress after finishing second to Hussain with 1278 while top Qatari, Fahad Al-Emadi, who had trailed Hussain in the early stages, took third spot with 1277.

Qatari youth, Abdulrahman Jaidah did well to finish fourth behind his compatriot with 1236 as a second Emirati, Shaker Al Hassan rounded up the top 5 with 1228 in this squad.

With the two squads combined, Hussain, Jassim and Fahad occupied the top 3 spots with Squad A leader, Perttu Jussila of Finland in fourth followed by Abdulrahman in fifth. Aussie Andrew Frawley, who was second in the earlier squad, completed the top 6.

Squad B will resume their second block of 6 games tomorrow at 4.00pm local time while Squad A will take to the lanes at 7.00pm. The third block of 6 games on Wednesday, February 29 will end the qualifying of 18 games.

Step 1 finals will be contested on Thursday, March 1 while Step 2 to Step 4 finals on Friday, March 2 ending the five day tournament.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.

27th February, Doha: Perttu Jussila got off to a flying start after the Finn led the opening squad of the first block of the H.H. Emir's Cup 2012 ahead of Aussie Andrew Frawley in second and Joonas Jahi of FInland third at Qatar Bowling Center on Monday.

Local Qatari, Zakareya Al Zoqari set the early pace with 228 in the opening game to lead local youth, Ghanim M Bojasom by 10 pins but he could hanndle the pace as Perttu Jussila moved quickly into the lead with 205 in the first and 238 in the second game.

Newly-crowned Dubai Open champion, Kim Bolleby stepped up his pace to take over the running at the halfway mark but also could not keep pace as Jussila regained it after the fourth game with another superb game of 232.

By the fifth game, the Finn's nearest opponent was Singapore's Remy Ong trailing in second, 43 pins adrift. Despite ending the sixth and final game with only 189, Jussila hung on to the lead and ending the first block with 1273.

Australia's Andrew Frawley finished strongly to take up second spot with 1230 while a second Finn, Joonas Jahi claimed third spot with 1217. Ong slipped to fourth after a poor 156 final game while Khaled Al Dubyyan of Kuwait rounded up the top 5.

Squad B will contest their first block later today. Players will bowl three blocks of 6 games each over the next three days. Players in positions 7 - 28 together with 2 top Qatari youths, 2 top Qataris and 4 from desperado squad will qualify for the 8-games Step 1 finals on March 1.

The top 10 finishers will be joined by the top 6 seeded qualifiers for another 8 games in Step 2 finals at the end of which the top 4 will proceed to the Step 3 shootout finals. The No. 1 seed will meet the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed to face the No. 3 seed over two games total pinfalls.

The winners of Step 3 finals will meet in the Step 4 title match again over two games total pinfalls to determine the champion, who will win the top prize of US$27,000. Second will receive US$13,500 while third and fourth placings will earn US$4,000 each.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha.