14th December, Abu Dhabi: Korea dominated the Masters finals of the World Bowling Championships 2014 with Kang Hee Won capturing their fourth gold medal and Park Jong Woo-Choi Bok Eum adding their third and fourth bronze.

A packed house at Khalifa International Bowling Centre witnessed yet another thrilling and exciting finale to the 13-day long world-class bowling championships. Like the 5-player Team finals yesterday, the tie was decided in the tenth and final frame between Korea and United States.

All Events and Team silver medalist, Mike Fagan of USA started the final match with a double strike in his two opening frames but Kang went one up with three strikes-in-a-row from frame 3 to open up a small lead.

The American responded well with a double in the fifth and sixth frames to level thing up. Fagan's attempt to take the lead landed him a poor shot with a 2-4-6-10 split in the seventh frame to fall 16 pins behind the Korean.

Just when the match had favored Kang, he too stumbled to a similar split in the ninth frame. Fagan's opportunity to win USA's first gold in the championship came to an abrupt halt when he encountered yet another 4-6 split in the ninth frame.

And despite striking out from the tenth frame to end with 198, all Kang needed was to mark his tenth frame to take victory. The Korean delighted the crowd and his team-mates by striking home to win the tie with 213.

"I had a good match with Park which gave me the confidence needed to face the American," said the 32-year-old national rookie, who won the Team gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon two months ago.

"When I made a bad shot in the ninth frame, it didn't bother me too much and I said to myself all I needed was to put in full concentration in my next shot. And when Fagan had another split in the ninth frame, I knew I had the chance to win the match.

The champion eliminated two gold medalist, Park Jong Woo, 231-190 in the all-Korean semi-final match to earn a crack at the title while Fagan ousted top seed and third Korean, Choi Bok Eum, 212-197 in the other semi.

In the earlier Step 2 round-robin match-play Masters finals, Choi, who led Step 1 finals in the morning, remained in the lead with a score of 1721 winning six of the seven matches contested for a grand total of 8891.

Park finished second with 1682 and winning four matches for a total of 8669. Kang took third spot with 1611 and won four matches for a total of 8520 while the fourth and last semi-finals spot went to Fagan with 8455 from three wins.

His team-mate, Tommy Jones missed the cut by 18 pins finishing fifth with 8437 and four wins. Martin Larsen of Sweden, Jason Belmonte of Australia and the fourth Korean, Shin Seung Hyeon ended in sixth to eighth positions respectively.

Three Koreans in the Step 1 Masters finals advanced to Step 2 taking the first three spots while the fourth advanced in eighth. Fagan and Jones took fourth and seventh while the Aussie and the Swede was fifth and sixth.

272 bowlers from 49 countries participated in the 13-day championships wholly supported by Abu Dhabi Sports Council with the help of generous sponsors, Borouge, a leading provider of value-creating plastic solutions for infrastructure (a joint-venture organization between ADNOC and Borealis of Austria) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

The championships is co-oganised by World Bowling and Emirates Bowling Federation supported by Zayed Sports City.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Abu Dhabi.

13th December, Abu Dhabi: Top seed, Korea won their first-ever Team gold at the World Bowling Championships 2014 when they edged United States, 1097-1088 in a thrilling Team finals at Khalifa International Bowling Center.

Korea did not get a good start when their front man and doubles gold medalist, Park Jong Woo had an opened frame and their anchorman, Kang Hee Won stumbled to a split in their opening frame.

Team USA got off superbly when Bill O'Neill and singles bronze medalist and anchorman, Tommy Jones both rolled four strikes-in-a-row. Choi Bok Eum answered back with three-in-a-row while Shin Seung Hyeon struck twice.

Front man, Mike Fagan could not repeat the form his displayed in the semi-finals match so did Chris Barnes unable to make any headway.

Park recovered with five-in-a-row and the sole Korean left-hander, Hong Hae Sol added a turkey. At midway through the match, there was very little between the two teams.

Trios silver medalist and debutant, Sean Rash carried the team well when he knocked down four-in-a-row to allow the American a slight edge but Kang responded with five-in-a-row to swing the match back to Korea.

Park doubled in the eighth and ninth frames but failed to add a third in the tenth frame to end with 236. Choi struck out from frame 9 to end with 227.

Fagan struck from the eighth to the tenth frame but left a solid pin 10 in the 11th frame to finish with 218. Barnes missed a crucial single-pin spare in the ninth and did not recover to post 201.

Shin downed 195 as O'Neill struck home for 222 giving the advantage to the Koreans, 658-641. The match swung to USA when Hong failed to spare a 2-4-7 he left in the tenth frame to end with 202.

Park recovered with five-in-a-row and the sole Korean left-hander, Hong Hae Sol added a turkey. At midway through the match, there was very little between the two teams.

Trios silver medalist and debutant, Sean Rash carried the team well when he knocked down four-in-a-row to allow the American a slight edge but Kang responded with five-in-a-row to swing the match back to Korea.

Park doubled in the eighth and ninth frames but failed to add a third in the tenth frame to end with 236. Choi struck out from frame 9 to end with 227.

Fagan struck from the eighth to the tenth frame but left a solid pin 10 in the 11th frame to finish with 218. Barnes missed a crucial single-pin spare in the ninth and did not recover to post 201.

Shin downed 195 as O'Neill struck home for 222 giving the advantage to the Koreans, 658-641. The match swung to USA when Hong failed to spare a 2-4-7 he left in the tenth frame to end with 202.

Rash struck twice in the tenth and 11th frames and an eight pin count for 220 swinging the match back to USA, 861-860. Kang could not strike in his tenth frame opening up a chance for Jones and USA to snatch the win.

The American anchorman struck in the tenth and another in the 11th frame would have sealed the victory but to the dismay of the team, he left a solid 10 hand victory to Korea, 1088-1097.

"We didn't have a good start in the final match against USA when I and Kang had an opened frame each", said the 23-year-old Park. "We were quite tense and we made some mistakes. Luckily we had Hong and Kang to cover us.

"I was a bit nervous in the beginning but after I rolled five strikes-in-a-row, it gave us more confidence. This is our first-ever Team gold medal at the world championships and I'm so happy for my team and my country."

Korea displayed their prowess when they easily eliminated fourth-seed Australia, 1082-924 in the semi-finals while USA thrashed second-seed, Sweden 1236-925 in the other semi.

The champions had earlier ended the preliminaries by topping the second squad with 6917, 132 pins ahead of Sweden, who finished second with 6783. USA took third spot with 6685 thanks to a strong final game of 1146.

Australia finished with a superb final game of 1135 to clinch the fourth and last semi-finals spot while Malaysia, who was fourth after the fifth game, managed only 1056 to slip 10 pins behind Norway in fifth with 6618.

Doubles gold medalist, Choi added an individual medal for himself after topping the All Events standings with a 24-game total of 5603. Fagan settled for his second silver with 5510.

Singles gold medalist, Dan MacLelland of Canada took the bronze medal with 5490. Martin Larsen of Sweden missed the podium by 19 pins to finish fourth with 5471.

Five Swedes, four Koreans, three Americans, two Finns and two Danes made up the bulk of the top 24 qualifying for the Step 1 Masters finals. The cut at 24th position went to Martin Paulsson with 5237.

Mario Quintero of Mexico missed the cut by 4 pins to finish 25th position. The top 24 will contest the 6-games Step 1 Masters finals tomorrow with pins carried forward from the All Events total.

The top 8 finishers will then advance to Step 2 round-robin match-play finals over seven matches with 20 pins for a win and 10 pin for a draw. The top 4 will proceed to the medal round in the semi-finals and finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Abu Dhabi.

12th December, Abu Dhabi: Defending champion, Finland broke the 3-games series record of 3354 set by first squad leader, Korea to lead the first block of the 5-player Team event at the World Bowling Championships 2014 on Friday.

Malaysia got off the block with a splendid 1153 to lead Finland by 8 pins in the second squad but their lead was short-lived as the Finns fired another huge game of 1131 to take over the running.

Sweden, who also posted a superb opening game of 1130, followed it up with a bigger game of 1159 to close in on the leader while Malaysia slipped away with 1085. Finland ended strongly with 1105 to finish the block with 3381 smashing the 3-games series record of 3354 set by Korea in the first squad.

Sweden managed 1073 in their third game to settle for second with 3362, 19 pins off the Finns and also surpassing the newly-set record. Puerto Rico gave a good account for themselves with 3285 to take up third in the squad.

In the earlier Squad 1, Korea started off poorly with 1023 as USA took the early lead with 1101. But the Koreans fought back with 1088 to take over the lead from the Americans, just 8 pins ahead.

The leader posted a stunning 1243, 2 pin short of the 1-game record the 1245 set by France in 2008 in Bangkok for a total of 3354, breaking the record set by Malaysia in 2008 by 1 pin to lead the squad.

USA settled for second with 3261 while Australia finished third with 3209. Korea ended third overall behind Finland and Sweden while Puerto Rico is the cut in fourth position with an team average of 219.

Meanwhile, Singles gold medalist, Dan MacLelland of Canada took over the lead of the All Events standings with 4835 after 21 games played. Overnight leader and Doubles gold medalist, Choi Bok Eum of Korea slipped to second with 4829.

Trios silver medalist, Mike Fagan of USA finished third with 4798 followed by Park Jong Woo of Korea and Singles bronze medalist, Tommy Jones of USA rounding out the top 5.

The top 28 teams from the first block will bowl their second block in Squad B tomorrow afternoon while the bottom half of the 44 teams will complete their second block in the morning.

The top 4 teams will advance to the medal round in the semi-finals and finals shootout. The top 24 in the All Events will qualify for the Step 1 finals over 8 games with pins carried forward from the All Events standings on December 13.

The top 8 from Step 1 will advance to the 7-games Step 2 round-robin match-play finals on December 14. The top 4 will then proceed to the medal round shootout semi-finals and finals for the sixth gold medal of the championships.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Abu Dhabi.

11th December, Abu Dhabi: Denmark's Carsten Hansen, Thomas Larsen and Frederik Ohrgaard defeated top seed, United States, 647-638 in the thrilling finals to win the Trios gold medal at the World Bowling Championships 2014.

Ohrgaard got off to a brilliant start with three strikes-in-a-row matched by rookie, Marshall Kent of United States. Mike Fagan opened in the third frame as anchorman, Larsen rolled four strikes-in-a-row.

The Americans responded well when Sean Rash rolled three strikes-in-a-row from frame 3 to level things up at the halfway point. Hansen also match Larsen with three of his own while Fagan recovered well with a turkey from frame 5.

Just when the match looked good for the Danes, Ohrgaard stumbled to a split in the sixth frame so did Kent, who encountered a 4-9 split in the seventh frame.

A slip up from Hansen when he failed to spare his eighth frame gave the Americans a slight advantage going into the crucial foundation frame.

Fagan struck out to end with 223 and Rash returned with 226 while Ohrgaard had a split in the tenth frame for only 187. Hansen just could not strike thereafter ending with 204 giving USA an almost 60-pins lead.

Larsen struck twice in the eighth and ninth frames giving themselves a chance to win if the anchorman continued to strike out. A lucky strike in the tenth frame put pressure on 22-year-old Kent as he managed only a seven pin count which he subsequently spared to end his game with 189 and a team total of 638.

The Dane's strike in the 11th frame sealed the match and the gold medal to the delight of his team-mates and coaches. Larsen went on to finish with 257 to give Denmark a total of 647 and a well deserved victory.

"We thought we had lost the match when the first two Americans put in good games," said the youngest member of the Danish trio and 22-year-old, Hansen. "I didn't do the math but our coaches and Federik kept telling me we have a chance if Larsen could strike home."

"I knew we had a chance when I struck in the eighth frame," said the 25-year-old two-time winner of the PBA-World Bowling Tour in 2013-2014, Larsen. "I ended on my striking lane and I knew that if I could get my ball far into the lanes, it will come back."

"This is a huge win for us. We won the Team bronze medal in Las Vegas last year and Denmark hasn't won a gold medal since 1983. This gold medal is the result of the hard work we have put in during our preparations."

The champion also had to work hard in the semi-final match against third seed, Korea. They had to come from behind to beat the Korean trio of Park Jong Woo, Hong Hae Sol and Kim Kyung Min, 668-662 to advance to the finals.

The Americans sailed past the Australian trio of David Porto, Sam Cooley and Jason Belmonte, 735-647 in the other semi to face the Danes.

Denmark, who led the first block yesterday, topped the last squad of the day with 4141 and finished 3 pins behind Squad 2 leader, USA in the preliminaries. Korea, who finished behind the American trio, advanced as third-seed.

Australia clinched the fourth semi-finals spot after topping Squad 3 earlier. The second Korean trio of Choi Bok Eum, Kang Hee Won and Shin Seung Hyeon missed the cut by 14 pins while the top Swedish trio and the second American trio ended up in seventh and eighth positions respectively.

After three events and 18 games bowled, Doubles gold medalist, Choi lead the All Events standings with 4174. Fagan's 1515 series in the Trios moved the American into second with 4169. Singles bronze medalist, Tommy Jones of USA is third with 4118.

Competition will resume with the 5-player team event to be played over two blocks of three games each in the next two days. The top half after the first block will bowl in the second squad while the bottom half in the first squad on the second day.

Again the top 4 will advance to the semi-finals and finals shootout. The top 24 in the All Events standings after 24 games, will qualify for the Masters finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Abu Dhabi.

10th December, Abu Dhabi: Two-time PBA-World Bowling Tour winner, Thomas Larsen led his team-mates, Carsten Hansen and Frederik Ohrgaard to give Denmark the lead at the end of the first block of the World Bowling Championships 2014 Trios event.

The Danes reeled off lines of 732, 686 and 740 to top the opening squad with 2158. Ohrgaard posted 718, Hansen 715 and Larsen 725 to finish 183 pins ahead of the first Finish trio of Perttu Jussila, Juhani Tonteri and Doubles bronze medalist, Joonas Jehkinen.

Colombia's first trio took third position in the squad with 1955. Both Finland and Colombia eventually dropped off to 12th and 13th position after the third squad completed their first block.

Singles gold medalist, Dan MacLelland led his Canadian team-mates, David Simard and Francois Lavoie to top the second squad with 2079 but was 79 pins short of the Danish trio.

Joachim Karlsson, Robert Andersson and Martin Paulsson of Sweden finished second to the Canadians just 1 pin behind and kept their third position in the overall standings.

Newly-crowned PBA-WBT Kingdom of Saudi Open champion, Marshall Kent partnered his American team-mates, Mike Fagan and Sean Rash to take up third in the squad with 2038 and is the cut in fourth overall.

The Korean doubles silver medalists, Shin Seung Hyeon and Kang Hee Won together with doubles gold medalist, Choi Bok Eum took the third and final squad of the day with 2032 but only finished sixth overall, 14 pins off the cut.

The second Australian trio of Jason Belmonte, David Porto and Singles bronze medalist, Sam Cooley was third in the squad and eighth overall, a further 27 pins off the cut.

The second American trio of Bill O'Neill, singles bronze medalist, Tommy Jones and Chris Barnes managed fourth in the squad and ninth overall, 30 pins from their compatriots.

The first trio of Doubles gold medalist, Park Jong Woo, Hong Hae Sol and Kim Kyung Min, who is fifth and just 6 pins off the cut, cannot be discounted as the contender for the top 4 positions.

The second block of three games will end the preliminaries and the top 4 will make the cut for the semi-finals and finals shootout. With only 70 pins separating seven teams, it will certainly be a thrilling end to another exciting day of bowling at its best.

PPhotos by Terence Yaw in Abu Dhabi.

16th December, Abu Dhabi: Fourth-seed Choi Bok Eum and Park Jong Woo came from behind to snatch Korea's first gold medal at the World Bowling Championships after defeating Japan, 410-396 in the Doubles finals.

In the title match, Choi had two splits in the first and fourth frames and Daisuke Yoshida too had two splits in the second and fourth frames. But Yoshida's partner, Shusaku Asato covered with a double in the second and third frames.

Choi's team-mate and Incheon Asian Games Masters and Team gold medalist, Park only got going with a double in the fourth and fifth frames to level things up.

Yoshida rolled three-in-a-row to take a slender lead but could not take his striking power all the way to the end and although Asato did recovered with with a double after an opened frame in the fifth, he too could not carry it all the way to the end.

Choi made sure he had no more open frames while Park needed to double in the tenth frame after a strike in the ninth to take victory and the gold medal.

Yoshida managed 191 with Asato 205 for a total of 396. Choi posted 184 and Park was the hero in the match with 226 for a 410 total.

"Choi didn't have a good start and then he had a perfect pocket shot only to see pin 7 and 10 standing," said the 23-year-old star of the Incheon Asian Games winning the Masters and Team gold medals.

"I kept telling myself to take deep breaths and keep my composure otherwise I will make silly mistakes. In the other, it paid off and I'm so glad to win my first gold medal at the world championships."

The champion had also come from behind to beat top seed, Joonas Jehkinen and Kimmo Lehtonen of Finland, 490-466 in the second semi-final match to advance to the finals.

The Japanese pair sailed past third-seed, Kang Hee Won and Shin Seung Hyeon of Korea, 447-379 in the first semi-finals to face the Korean pair of Choi and Park in the finals.

In the earlier fourth and final squad of the preliminaries, Choi and Park snatched top spot with 2703 to clinch the fourth and final semi-finals spot.

2014 World Youth Masters champion, Jesper Svensson and Robert Andersson, who was leading before going into the final game, ended in second with 2680.

The Swedes missed the cut by 23 pins to finish sixth overall. Their team-mates Martin Larsen and Daniel Fransson were knocked off the top 4 into fifth overall by the Koreans and missed the cut by 15 pins.

Zulmazran Zulkifli and Adrian Ang of Malaysia was third in the fourth squad with 2646 but ended up ninth overall.

Squad 1 leader, Jehkinen and Lehtonen remained as top seed with 2729 while third squad leader, Yoshida and Asato advanced in second with 2725.

The competition will next shift to the Trios event over two blocks of three games on December 10 and 11, divided into three squads. The top 4 at the end of the second block will square off in the shootout semi-finals and finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Abu Dhabi.

8th December, Abu Dhabi: Joonas Jehkinen and Kimmo Lehtonen gave Finland a flying start to lead the opening squad of the Doubles event at the World Bowling Championships 2014 and remained top of the overall standings after three squads.

The Finish pair reeled in consistent score lines of 493, 480, 441, 462, 401 and 452 to lead the squad with 2729 and setting a massive benchmark. Two-time world championships Singles champion, Bill O'Neill and Mike Fagan took second spot, 62 pins away with 2667.

Malaysia's first pair of 2013 AMF World Cup champion, Muhamed Syafiq Ridhwan and Alex Liew, who was trailing the Finns until the fifth game, slipped behind the American pair by 5 pins for third position.

In the second squad, Jonathan Simoneau and David Simard of Canada rolled a big game in the last to snatch the lead with 2609. Pace-setter, John Wells and Richard Teece of England ended in second with 2557.

The Canadian's effort only managed to land them in fourth overall after two squads with The Finish, American and the Malaysian pairs hold first, second and third positions respectively.

In the third and final squad of the day, Incheon Asian Games Doubles silver medalist, Daisuke Yoshida and Trios gold medalist, Shusaku Asato led from start to finish to claim top spot with 2725.

Anchorman, Asato needed to strike out in his tenth frame of the last game to snatch the overall lead but only spared the frame. The second Japanese pair could also had tied with the Finns but knocked down only 7 pins in the bonus frame to settle for second overall, just 4 pins adrift.

Incheon Asian Games Team gold medalist, Kang Hee Won and Shin Seung Hyeon of Korea, who finished second to the Japanese with 2717, took third position overall while rookie Daniel Fransson and Martin Larsen clinched fourth position with 2688.

The fourth and final squad of the Doubles preliminaries will be held tomorrow, December 9 to decide the top 4 pairs who would advance to the shootout semi-finals and finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Abu Dhabi.

7th December, Abu Dhabi: 2011 PABCON Masters champion, Dan MacLelland of Canada struck the first gold of the World Bowling Championships 2014 after defeating third-seed, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE, 256-212 in the Singles finals.

MacLelland sailed past top seed, Tommy Jones of USA, 269-236 in the second semi-finals to reach the finals while Shaker also had an easy victory over second-seed, Sam Cooley of Australia, 255-212 in the first semi-final match.

In the title match, MacLelland and Shaker struck in the first frame but both had a similar 7-pin split in the second frame which they failed to convert. The Emirati left-hander recovered with a strike in the third while the Canadian can only spared his fourth frame.

When MacLelland struck thrice thereafter, Shaker missed a single pin in the fourth but again recovered with a double in the sixth and seventh frames. Shaker added three more strikes and an eight ending with 212.

MacLelland added another four strikes and an eight pin to take the match and win Canada's first gold medal with 256. MacLelland added another four strikes and an eight pin to take the match and win Canada's first gold medal with 256. Canada's previous gold came in the Trios event at the 2013 World Championships in Las Vegas.

"In the match against Tommy (Jones), we were playing in the same area so it opened up quite nicely for both of us," said the three-time Collegiate Player of the Year and 2011 Canadian National Champion.

"Tommy made a couple of mistakes and I guess I had a few good breaks. In the match against Shaker, it was trickier as he was left-handed and I was the only one playing the same area so the ball reaction was different.

"I made a ball change in the fourth frame and moved a little and I got all the strikes I needed for this victory. Finishing third in Korea helped boost my confidence a lot since I haven't won anything for quite a long time."

Shaker gave UAE it's first medal at the world championships since 2013 when they won the Team bronze and it's current President, Mohammed Khalifa Al Qubaisi won the Masters bronze medal in Malaysia.

"I made a costly mistake when I missed a single pin in the fourth frame," said the 42-year-old veteran Emirati national team member, who won the Masters bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games Incheon in October and won his first World Bowling Tour title at the PBA-WBT Bahrain Open in March.

"I felt the pressure going into the finals and it affected my game. But after that, I was more relaxed and was able to fight back. But Dan was a better bowler in the final and he deserved the win."

In the earlier last qualifying squad, Cooly topped the squad with 1428 with a big game of 256 in the sixth. Shaker, who was leading the squad, rolled 204 to finish second with 1422 while MacLelland finished third with 1413.

The Aussie advanced to the semi-finals in second behind Jones, who retained pole position. Shaker claimed third spot overall while the Canadian snatched the fourth and last semi-finals spot from third squad leader, Martin Larsen of Sweden by 24 pins.

HRH Prince Abdulhakim Al Saud, President of the Saudi Bowling Federation and Mohammed Khalifa Al Qubaisi, President of Emirates Bowling Federation were on hand to present the medals to the winners and team officials.

Competition will now shift to the Doubles event over the Atlanta medium oil pattern (38 feet) and will be held over the next two days with three squads on December 8 and one squad on December 9.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Abu Dhabi.

13th December, Abu Dhabi: PBA pro Tommy Jones of Team USA, stamped his mark by topping the overall standings of the Singles event on the opening day of competition at the World Bowling Championships 2014.

Jones, 38 of Simpsonville, SC and winner of 13 PBA titles, started off in the second squad moderately with 225 and 212 in his first two games. The Amercian, who failed to defend the title he won at last year's Saudi Open just last week, then blitzed the lanes with a stunning 289 to take over the running.

After a respectable 204 in the fourth, the leader rolled another big game of 268 in the fifth before ending strongly with 236 to top the squad and move into the overall lead with 1434.

Glen Morten Pedersen of Norway, who led the opening squad dropped to second overall with 1381. Japan's Shogo Wada, who was second to Pedersen, settled for third with 1371.

In the third anf final squad of the first day of competition, Mohamed Mustafa of Bahrain took the early lead with 279 with debutant and 2012 World Youth Masters champion, Daniel Fransson of Sweden hot on his heels with 268.

Last week's PBA-WBT Saudi Open firt runner-up, Martin Larsen was third with 263. By midway, Larsen took over the lead but was not far away from Asian Games multiple gold medalist, Choi Bok Eum of Korea and compatriot, Fransson in close company.

The Korean left-hander led after the fifth game but Larsen snatched it with a superb 259 to finish in pole position with 1389 and earned second spot in the overall standings with Jones remaining in the lead.

Choi finished third with 1353 but was good enough for tenth overall. Fransson was third and Manuel Otalora of Colombia took fourth. Pedersen slipped one spot down to third overall with his 1381 from the opening squad while the Japanese Wada was the cut in fourth with 1371.

The fourth and final squad of the Singles will be contested on Sunday morning, December 7. The top 4 finishers from the combined standings will advance to the medal shootout finals with the top seed meeting the fourth-seed and second-seed facing the third-seed over a one game elimination match.

The losers in the semi-finals will be awarded the bronze medal while the winners will square off in the finals for the first gold medal of the championship.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Abu Dhabi.

4th December, Abu Dhabi: The big stage is all set when Zayed Sports City and Emirates Bowling Federation host the 2014 World Bowling Championships for Men from 4 to 15 December at the Khalifa Bowling Centre.

A total of 49 countries consisting of 272 world-class bowlers have converged in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for the year's most prestigious event of the 2014 bowling calendar. Abu Dhabi had previously hosted the World Bowling Championships in 1999 at the same centre.

Eight WorldBowling member federations from the American zone (PABCON), 21 federations from the Asian zone (ABF) and 20 federations from the European zone (EBF) make up the 49 countries.

The teams paraded at the Khalifa Bowling Centre for its official opening ceremony graced by HH Sheikh Saeed Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, Deputy Commander of UAE Naval Forces and Honorary President of Emirates Bowling Federation.

The president of Emirates Bowling Federation, Mr Khalifa Al Qubaisi welcomed all participants and team officials to the city of Abu Dhabi and noted the strong support the host has received.

He also expressed sincere appreciation to WorldBowling for awarding this prestigious championship to his federation, Zayed Sports City and especially the Abu Dhabi Sports Council for their support.

Mr Kevin Donrberger, President of WorldBowling in his speech also expressed gratitude to the host and the President of Emirates Bowling Federation and Zayed Sports City for hosting the event.

2014 Asian Games Masters bronze medalist, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE took the players' oath on behalf of all participants while Mr Salah Al Jaeedi, secretary general of Emirates Bowling Federation took the oath on behalf of the tournament officials.

The official practice session will be held tomorrow in which the participants will have the opportunity to try out the lanes with the lane conditions which would be announced at the team managers meeting to be held immediately after the opening ceremony.

Meanwhile, team officials attended the technical meeting at the adjacent Tennis Stadium next to the bowling centre. Mr Pekka Korpi, first Vice President of WorldBowling and the tournament director conducted the meeting.

Technical Delegate, Mr Marios Nicolaides from Cyprus subsequently released the oiling pattern for the championships. The Atlanta (38 feet) medium pattern and the Tokyo (43 feet) long pattern will be used.

Mr Dornberger also announced the he (American zone) together with Mr Christer Johnsson of Sweden (European zone), secretary general of WorldBowling and Mr Salah Al Jaeedi (Asian zone) are members of the Jury of Appeal.

The competition will kick off with the Singles event on December 6 and 7 with 3 squads on the first day and 1 squad on the second day. The top 4 finishers from the combined squads will qualify for the medal shootout finals.

The Doubles event will also be held over two days on December 8 and 9 and again, the top 4 pairs will qualify for the medal shootout finals. The Trios event will be staged over two blocks of three games each on December 10 and 11 with the top 4 trios advancing to the medal shootout finals.

Similarly, the 5-player Team event will again be held over two blocks of three games each on December 12 and 13 with the top 4 teams making the medal shootout finals.

The top 24 men based on the four events (total of 24 games) in the All Events standings will qualify for Step 1 Masters finals to be played on December 14 over 6 games with pins carried forward from the previous 24 games.

The top 8 finishers will advance to Step 2 Masters finals to be contested on the same day in a round-robin match-play format over seven matches with 20 pins bonus awarded for a win and 5 pins for a draw with pins brought forward from Step 1.

The top 4 will make the cut for the Masters medal shootout finals ending the championships. The host will extend players, team officials and federation representatives to a victory banquet in the evening.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Abu Dhabi.