19th June, Macau: Cheng Hsing-Chao of Chinese Taipei spoiled Korea's clean sweep of the Open Masters titles at the 2013 Macau-China International Open by winning the Men's crown while Korea's Hong Hae Ni and Sim Ui Jin finished one-two in the women's division.

Top seed, Cheng needed only one match to take the title with an easy 221-164 victory over challenger and No. 3 seed, Kim Dong Gyun of Korea National Sports University in the championship match.

Despite an open frame in the first, Cheng recovered with three strikes-in-a-row and another three from frames six before ending with 221. Kim had three splits in the third, eighth and tenth frames to end with a low game of 164.

"It's been a long time since I've won anything and I'm glad that I've finally ended a five year drought," said the 24-year-old Cheng, who won the 2008 Thailand Open when he was only 19.

Kim earned a crack at the title by defeating No. 2 seed and team-mate, Lee Dong Eun and winner of the first stepladder match, Lee Tak Man of Macau, 243-202-213 in the second match.

Macau's hope of winning the elusive men's title was given a big boost when Lee, who was seeded fifth, ousted Round 1 leader and No. 4 seed, Surasak Manuwong of Thailand and No. 6 seed, Rodson Tong of Malaysia, 238-161-213 in the opening stepladder match.

Cheng picked up the top prize of MOP$70,000 (approx. US$9,000) as champion while Kim and Lee earned MOP$30,000 and MOP$15,000 for finishing second and third. Tak Man, Surasak and Tong took home MOP$6,000, MOP$5,000 and MOP$4,000 respectively.

The Women's title match was an all-Korean affair which saw top seed, Hong Hae Ni beating second seed and Round 1 leader, Sim Ui Jin, 244-198 to win her first international title.

The top seed was forced into the second deciding match after handing the first match to Sim. Hong started the first match with a double and three strikes-in-a-row from frame six and looked set for an easy victory.

Two opened frames in the ninth and tenth allowed Sim to strike out in her tenth frame to edge Hong, 201-196. Hong made no mistake in the decider when she took a huge lead with seven strikes-in-a-row closing out her opponent.

Sim had earlier sailed past third seed, Angkana Netvrseth of Thailand and winner of the first stepladder match, Chen Ya-Chi of Chinese Taipei, 234-162-194 to advance to the final.

Chen took out fourth seed, Qin XiuLi of China and sixth seed, Joey Yip of Hong Kong, 212-171-135 in the first stepladder match. Hong won MOP$40,000 (approx. US$5,100) as champion.

Sim settled for MOP$18,000 as first runner-up while Angkana pocketed MOP$10,000. Chen, Qin and Yip earned MOP$4,000, MOP$3,000 and MOP$2,000 for finishing fourth to sixth positions respectively.

The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women qualified for the sixth leg of this year's ABF Tour Macau which will be held at the same bowling center tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

18th June, Macau: Korea National Sports University bowlers dominated the Women's and Men's Graded Masters of the 2013 Macau-China International Open with the women taking the top four positions and the men finishing one-two.

Kang Yoo Ra of Korea National Sports University got off the mark with 213 in her opening game to lead team-mate, Lee Ah Reum by 2 pins. But her lead lasted only one game when Ah Reum took over the running with 243 after the second game.

Ah Reum widened her margin to 70 pins at the halfway mark as a third KNSU team-mate, Lee Hye Jin moved up to second followed by another KNSU player, Lee Da Woom in third.

The leader had her lead reduced to 29 pins after the fourth game when she rolled 188 as Hye Jin drew closer and Da Woom continued to trail the leading duo.

Ah Reum rounded off the last two games with 222 and 208 to win the title with 1331, 60 pins ahead of Da Woom, who ended strongly to take second spot with 1271.

Hye Jin slipped down to third with 1259 as Women's Open Masters Round 1 leader, SIm Ui Jin stormed home to take fourth spot with 1190. China's Qin XiuLi prevented a white-wash to finish fifth with 1145.

Meanwhile, Kim Dong Gyun led from game 2 onwards to romp home with a convincing victory in the Men's Graded Masters division. Kim completed the 6 games finals with 1307 with Kwon Oh Sung taking second spot with 1276 to give Korea National Sports University a one-two finish.

First game leader, Ali Alrashdi of UAE hung on to third with 1239 ahead of twoKNSU men, Kim Sun Keun in fourth position with 1186 and Lee Dong Eun in fifth position with 1184.

Kim Dong Gyun pocketed MOP$20,000 (approx. US$2,570) as champion with his tem-mate, Kwon earning MOP$10,000 and Ali taking home MOP$5,000. Lee Ah Reum won MOP$8,000 (approx. US$1,35) as the women's champion.

Lee Da Woom and Lee Hye Jin picked up MOP$4,000 and MOP$3,000 each for finishing second and third respectively.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

18th June, Macau: Sim Ui Jin and Hong Hae-Ni gave Korea National Sports University a one-two finish in the Women's Open Round 1 Masters finals of the 2013 Macau-China International Open ahead of Thailand's Angkana Netvrseth in third.

2012 Sinai Open champion, Angkana Netvrseth set a cracking pace with 233 and 213 in her first two games to narrowly lead Korea National Sports University's Sim Ui Jin by 8 pins and China's Qin XiuLi a close third, 4 pins further away.

Sin reversed the gap to Angkana after the Thai managed only 177 in her third game but then the Korean fired a sizzling 285 in the fourth game to move 96 pins clear of her team-mate, Ha Yu Rim in second and Angkana slipping down to third.

By the fifth game, Sim had extended her lead to 125 pins with another team-mate and top qualifier, Hong Hae Ni firing 253 to take over second spot.

The leader eased off with 170 in her sixth and final game to cruise home on a total of 1298 with a comfortable margin of 96 pins over Hong in second with 1257.

Angkana bounced back with 252 in her last game to snatch third spot with 1253 ahead of Qin XiuLi in fourth position with 1249. Chinese Taipei's Chen Ya Chi and Ha Yu Rim completed the top 6 with 1209 and 1202 respectively.

The women will resume with another 6 games in Round 2 with pins carried forward at 9.00am tomorrow and the top 6 finishers will advance to the stepladder finals. The Graded Masters finals will be held later tonight.

The top 16 women at the end of the Masters finals will also qualify for the ABF Tour Macau leg which will be held on June 20 at the same bowling center.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

18th June, Macau: Surasak Manuwong of Thailand took a surprise lead in the Men's Open Masters Round 1 finals of the 2013 Macau-China International Open ahead of Hong Kong's Raymond Leung and Chinese Taipei's Cheng Hsing-Chao in second and third.

Hong Kong national team member, Lau Kwun Ho got off the block with a stunning 254 to lead 2012 ABF Tour Hong Kong leg champion, Kang Bo Long of Malaysia by 8 pins closely followed by Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong in third.

Wu followed up on his opening game of 243 with another strong game of 234 in the second to share the lead with Rodson Tong of Malaysia, who rolled 233 and 244 in his first two games.

Tong pull away into the lead at the halfway mark with 212 as Wu managed 193 to tie second spot with compatriot, Raymond S.R. Leung, 19 pins adrift.

Ex-international, Surasak Manuwong stormed into the lead after rolling the highest game of the round with 277 in the fourth game with the Malaysian slipping down to second and trailing the Thai by 43 pins.

The Thai ended the first round with 211 and 193 for a total of 1336 and with a comfortable margin of 80 pins. Leung took second position with 1315 while Cheng Hsing-Chao of Chinese Taipei clinched third spot with 1289.

"I struggled during the qualifying rounds and I was lucky to make the finals," said the 2012 Thaiand Open champion, Surasak. "I tried many lines during the warm up and decided to go for the outline line.

"It didn't work well in the beginning but made a slight adjustment and from then on, I was very comfortable. I hope I can keep the momentum going into the next round."

Korea National Sports University's Lee Dong Eun finished strongly to take fourth position with 1280 while Wu and Rodson ended in the top 6 with 1277 and 1256 respectively.

Top qualifiers from both the local and overseas pool struggled big time with Lee Tak Man of Macau in ninth, Michael Mak of Hong Kong in 13th, defending champion Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand in 20th.

Hong Kong Open champion and Macau's title contender, Zoe Dias Ma finished 21st and Australia's Sam Cooley in a dismal 32nd position.

The men will resume with another 6 games in Round 2 with pins carried forward and the top 6 finishers will advance to the stepladder finals. The women will contest their Round 1 at 1.00pm local time.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

17th June, Macau: Two-time champion, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand staked his claim for a third consecutive victory in the 2013 Macau-China International Open after taking over pole position of the Men's Open Masters qualifying table briefly.

Yannaphon, who had 1405 on the board and was fourth, took to the lanes at the 5.20pm squad to blitzed the lanes with 217, 237 and 221 for a 675 series to add to his 780 for a new 6-game tally of 1455.

The 2012 ABF Tour Tournament of Champions winner took over the lead briefly from Hong Kong's Michael Mak, who had gone into the lead after the 11.30am squad with 1433.

But the Thai's celebration was short-lived when Australia's Sam Cooley rolled 266, 267 and 224 for a higher series of 757 in the same squad as Yannaphon to regain the lead with 1488.

Korea National Sports University's best performer was Choi Kyung Hwan in fourth position with 1409 while Euromed-Storm International Masters champion, Eric Tseng rounded out the top 5 with 1384.

The top 4 local seeded qualifiers remained unchanged with southpaw, Lee Tak Man, Hong Kong Open champion, Zoe Dias Ma, veteran national bowler, Choi Io Fai ad Lam Iek Long to lead Macau's challenge.

Hong Kong's Leo Tse headed the mixed pool with 1338 while the current cut in 19th position is held by Edmond Lo of Hong Kong with 1245.

Newly-crowned ABF Tour Hong Kong leg champion, Milki Ng continued her fine form to make the cut for the Women's Open Masters finals to leapfrog from fourth in the reserves table to fourth in the overseas pool with 1243.

Overnight leader and southpaw, Hong Hae-Ni, her team-mates, Sim Ui Jin and Lee Da Woom remained the the top 3 overseas qualifiers with 1422, 1289 and 1249 respectively.

Youth Masters second runner-up, Hui Tong continued to head the local seeded pool followed by Julia Lam and Filomena Choi.

Ji Eun Sol headed the mixed pool qualifying table with 1215 while the current cut at 14th position belong to China's Qin Xiuli with 1168.

Qualifying will end late this evening and the Men's Open Masters Round 1 finals over 6 games will be contested tomorrow morning at 9.00am local time. The Women's Open Masters Round 1 will be held at 1.00pm.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

17th June, Macau: National youth, Ricky Sham captured the Youth Masters title for the 2013 Macau-China International Open with Christine Cheung taking second spot to give Hong Kong a one-two finish.

Hong Kong national youth, Victoria Chan set a blistering pace with a superb 230 in her opening game to lead Agape Bowling Academy's Muhammed Eirfin of Singapore by 20 pins followed by Chinese Taipei's Cheng Hsing-Yueh third.

Chan kept the lead for another game before team-mate, Christine Cheung took over the running at the halfway mark and opening up a 43 pin lead over Chan as Macau's Hui Tong moved up into thrid.

Cheung continued to lead the field of 24 youths with Hui Tong taking over second spot 58 pins adrift as Chan slipped down to a further third position.

Despite only rolling 179 in the fifth game, Cheung remained in the lead as the 20-year-old Macau national bowler, Hui Tong narrowed the gap to 37 pins.

But the limelight was stolen away from the leading duo when a fourth Hong Kong national youth, Ricky Sham fired 213 and 241 in his last two games to snatch victory with 1198.

Cheung managed 176 in her lost game to settle for second with 1181 giving Hong Kong a one-two finish while Hui Tong hung on to third position with 1169. Chan ended in fourth with 1137.

The Senior Master title went to ex-Hong Kong international, Eric Lau after the 55-year-old veteran totaled 1218 pinfalls. Lau got off the mark with a stunning 252 and 221 in his first two games to open up a gap of 64 pins.

Lau rolled 192 to remain in the lead at the halfway mark but a slip up in the fourth with 173 allowed his compatriot, Franco Lau to take over the lead, albeit 9 pins ahead.

Franco led Lau by 4 pins after the fifth game going into the sixth and final game. Lau prevailed with a 190 to take victory while 58-year-old Vong Vang Ip of Macau stormed home with 221 to snatch second spot with 1208.

54-year-old Ho Po Hei clinched third spot with 1194 while Franco managed only 177 to miss the podium in fourth position with 1163 and Surat Larpapharat of Thailand completed the top 5.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

16th June, Macau: Fourth runner-up of last week's Hong Kong Open Masters, Lee Tak Man and 2010 ABF Tour Macau leg winner, Patricia Hui Tong are eyeing for a home victory in the 2013 Macau-China International Open.

Lee, an active member of the Macau national team, backed up his intentions with impressive 703 and 697 3-game series for a total 1400 to top the local seeded pool of the Men's Open Masters table.

The 22-year-old made the stepladder finals of the Hong Kong International Open as fourth seed only to be elimnated in the first match to settle for fifth position. Lee will be hoping to improve on that showing.

Newly-crowned Hong Kong Open champion and team-mate, Zoe Dias Ma finished second behind Lee with 1306 while national team veteran, Choi Io Fai and Lam Lek Long took up the top 4 spots with 1274 and 1115.

ABF Tour Thailand champion, Sam Cooley remained firmly in pole position of the overseas pool by extending his overnight total of 1400 to 1411. Korean National Sports University's Choi Kyung Hwan of Korea moved up to second with 1409.

Two-time winner and defending champion, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand, who shot the highest 3-games series with 780, took up third spot with 1405 followed by Euromed-Storm Masters champion, Eric Tseng of Hong Kong in fourth with 1384.

Two students from Korean National Sports University, Kim Dong Gyun and Cha In Ho finished fifth and sixth positions with 1367 and 1364 respectively.

ABF Tour Hong Kong leg first runner-up, Hareb Al Mansoori of UAE headed the mixed pool with 1327 while the current cut in 19th position went to Agape Bowling Academy's Ryan Nicholas of Singapore with 1222.

Meanwhile, 2010 ABF Tour Macau leg champion, Patricia Hui Tong took over the lead of the Women's Open Masters local seeded pool with 1218 underlining her as a top contender from Macau.

A victory here on home ground would give the 20-year-old member of the Macau national team a boost to her confidence as she prepares for her debut in the 4th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Incheon, South Korea a week from now.

2011 ABF Tour Macau leg champion and overnight leader, Julia Lam slipped down to second with 1212 followed by ABF Tour Hong Kong leg semi-finalist, Filomena Choi third with 1113.

Hong Hae-Ni, who maintained her lead in the overseas pool with 1422 two days ago, and team-mate, Sim Ui Jin gave Korea National Sports University a one-two with 1289. Ex-Hong Kong international, Joey Yip slipped down to third with 1240.

KNSU student, Lee Ah Reum headed the mixed pool with 1186 while the current cut in 14th position went to Agape Bowling Aademy's Tracey Lin of Singapore with 1088.

Qualifying will end tomorrow and the Masters finals of the Open division will be contested over two blocks of 6 games each on June 18 and 19. The Youth and Senior Masters will be held tomorrow morning 9.00am local time.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

15th June, Macau: 2013 ABF Tour Thailand champion, Sam Cooley of Australia went top of the Men's Open Masters qualifying table of the 2013 Macau-China International Open underway at Internacional do COTAI Bowling Centre on Saturday.

Making his debut at the championship, the 22-year-old Aussie registered two 3-games series of 731 and 680 for a 6-game tally of 1411 to lead the Men's Open qualifying table.

Following his heartbreaking miss in last week's Hong Kong International Open in which he ended his campaign in eighth position and was knocked out in the opening round of the ABF Tour Hong Kong leg, Cooley is determined to make amends.

Euromed-Storm International Masters challenge, Eric Tseng of Hong Kong finished second in the table with 1384 while Kim Dong Gyun of Korean National Sports University team earned third spot with 1368.

His team-mate, Cha In Ho finished fourth with 1364 while two Hong Kong national bowlers, Michael Mak and Wu Siu Hong tied on 1349 to round out the top 5.

Fourth runner-up in the Hong Kong Open Masters last week, Lee Tak Man, Macau national bowlers Choi Io Fai, Lam Lek Long and newly-crowned Hong Kong Open champion, Zoe Dias Ma are the four local seeded qualifiers.

Leong Chou Kin, Sio Hon Meng, Ho Iun Lam, Vong Vang Ip and Ho Weng Hou occupied positions 5 to 9 in the local pool.

Meanwhile, last year's first runner-up and champion of the Women's Graded division, Hong Hae-Ni staked her claim on the women's crown by leading the overseas pool with 1422 with two 3-games series of 722 and 700.

Ex-international, Joey Yip of Hong Kong trailed in a distant second with 1240 followed by Chinese Taipei's Chen Ya-Chi third with 1179. Daphne Oh of Agape Bowling Academy, Singapore and a second Taiwanese, Chueh Yu Fan completed the top 5.

The top 9 local men qualifiers, top 11 overseas men qualifiers and top 18 quaifiers from the mixed pool will contest the Men's Open Masters finals over two blocks on 6 games each on 18 and 19 June.

The top 6 men finishers will adavnce to the stepladder final shootout. The top 7 local women qualifiers, top 9 overseas women qualifiers and top 14 quaifiers from the mixed pool will contest the Women's Open Masters finals over two blocks on 6 games each on 18 and 19 June.

Again, the top 6 women finishers will advance to the stepladder shootout finals. The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women will also qualify for the ABF Tour Macau leg which will be held on June 20.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.