9th May, Taoyuan: Hiroki Tachibana of Japan won the Open Division Round 1 finals of the 3rd Formosa International Bowling Classic 2026 in the final game from Wan Muhammad Zarif Ikram of Malaysia in second and pace-setter, Michael Mak of Hong Kong, China third.

Dylan Lam of Hong Kong, China got off the finals with a stunning 300, sixth in the tournament so far, to lead Jeremiah Camacho of Guam by 39 pins. Ex-Hong Kong international, Michael Mak did well too with 266 to take up third spot.

Mak added a strong 253 to take over the running, nine pins ahead of Lin Yi Feng of Chinese Taipei, who added 276 to his 237 opener. Mak downed 254 in the third game to tie with Lin, who shot a superb 257. Lam, after his 300 and 203, recovered with 234 to stay close with the leading duo in third.

Mak pulled ahead of Li with another sizzling 269 in the fourth game. Lin manage 203 to trail Mak in second. Hirko Tachibana of Japan gradually crawled up the field to take up third.

Tachibana shot into the lead with a superb 265 to move ahead of Mak, stumbling slightly with 180. The Japanese went on to end the round with 254, 211 and 250 to win the round with a total of 1950. Syawal Sayed of Malaysia stormed home to snatch second position with 1911.

Mak settled for third with 1906. A second Japanese, Yoshinao Shimoji and Dyalan Lam completed the top five with 1902 and 1883 respectively.

There was a tie amongst four finalists from 25th to 28th positions on 1722. Chen Chia Hsing and Lai Tsung Cheng both struck in a one-ball roll-off to break the tie and advanced. Noah Taimanglo of Guam and Puntep Bhayakaporn of Thailand shot nine and eight pins and failed to make the cut for Round 2 finals.

The top 26 along with the top 3 overseas and top 3 local qualifiers from the general standings will contest Round 2 finals over eight games tomorrow afternoon. The top 6 with the highest pinfalls will proceed to the Stepladder Shootout finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Taoyuan, Taiwan.

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