24th March, Kuwait: Thai national bowlers, Somjed Kusonpithak and Yannaphon Larpapharat took centre stage as the duo finished first and third spots of the Men's Round 1 first block of ABF Tour Tournament of Champions on Wednesday.

2009 ABF Tour Macau leg champion, Michael Tsang opened account with a scintilating game of 252 and earned 10 pins bonus after beating team-mate, Eric Tseng in the first match of the 8-game Round-Robin matchplay first block.

Despite winning the second match, the Hong Kong youngster had to give up the lead as 2008 Thailand leg champion, Somjed Kusonpithak of Thailand also won both the two opening matches with 234 and 224 to leap frog Tsang.

While both Somjed and Tsang traded the lead in the next two matches, it was Ryan Lalisang's five straight wins that gave the Indonesian the lead pass the halfway mark with another Thai, Yannaphon Larpapharat closing in on the leader in second.

Khaled Al-Dubyyan gave the local crowd the cheers as two massive games of 268 and 243 put the lanky Kuwaiti into the lead as Yannaphon was the only Thai who stayed close to Khaled while Lalisang and Somjed dropped their pace slightly.

As Khaled held on to the lead for another match, Somjed ended the strongest amongst the front runners with a sizzling 285 to snatch pole position with 1810 winning 6 matches. Lalisang, who was the only bowler to win all 8 matches, finished second with 1780.

"I tried to bowl from the outside but it didn't work," said the 23-year-old Somjed Kusonpithak. "Fortunately, I moved to the inside and my ball reacted better. It's not easy to score big games and I'm lucky to shoot the 285 in my last match."

Yannaphon, who almost gave the Thais a 1-2 finish settled for third with 1721 as Khaled lost the last match with 190 to take up fourth spot with 1758. A third Thai, Surasak Manuwong completed the top 5 in fifth with 1705.

"I keep telling myself that if I win all my matches, I'll have a good chance to finish in the top 3 even if I don't have much high games," said the 29-year-old Ryan Lalisang, who has won the Kuwait leg for two consecutive years in 2007 and 2008.

"I started on the inside but as the lanes got drier, I moved to the outside and it gave me better carry. It is important to finish in the top 8 so I'm happy with my performance today."

The men will return to Cozmo Bowling Centre for their second block of 7 games tomorrow afternoon after the women have completed their second block. The top 8 men and top 8 women will advance to the Round 2 knockout stage to be held on March 26.

The finals will be telecast on local station, Kuwait TV as well as stations throughout Asia where the ABF Tour 2009 legs were held. For further information and details, please logon to www.abftour.com or contact ABF Tour Committee at Tel: +852-2893-6039 or fax to +852-2893-6290 or Email: hktbc@netvigator.com.

24th March, Kuwait: Korean season-campaigner, Kim Eun Jung took a convincing lead in the Women's Round 1 first block of ABF Tour Tournament of Champions underway at Cozmo Bowling Centre at Salmiya City.

Indonesia's Sharon Limansantoso, who qualified for the grand finals in fifth, got off the mark with a cracking 263 for the early running ahead of the surprised Sabeena Saleem of India in second.

Another superb 234 saw the Indonesian lass stretching her lead to 72 pins with Korea's Kim Eun Jung making up grounds to take up second spot as Sabeena suffered a poor 158 to slip down the field.

Whilst Kim won her third match with 233 and a bonus point of 10 gave her a brief lead, Sharon bounched back with a win in the fourth game to regain the lead while the Korean dropped behind her despite winning her fourth match too.

Kim then picked up her pace to win the remaining four matches with 212, 224, 211 and 202 to end the block with 1767 and 70 pins bonus from seven wins ahead of defending champion, Tang Joh Six of Malaysia, who stormed home to snatch second spot with 1713.

"After the practice this morning, I knew which ball suited the lane conditions," said 37-year-old Kim Eun Jung when interviewed by Kuwait TV.

"I was also fortunate to be able to read the lanes quicker and towards the second half, I had to make many adjustments.

Sharon settled for third spot with 1690 followed by another Korean and two-time Indonesia leg champion, Park Jin Hee fourth with 1627 while Hong Kong's Chan Shuk Han rounded up the top 5 with 1620.

"Although I had a great start, I wasn't really very comfortable," said Sharon Limansantoso. "My body is very stiff and I was very awkward with my delivery. But overall I'm quite happy for where I am.

"Tomorrow will be a bigger test and I hope I can maintain better consistency to make the top 8 Round 2 cut.

The women will resume with their second block of sevent matches tomorrow morning at 10.00 when the field will be cut to 8 for the Round 2 one-match knockout stage of the competition. The men will contest their first block later today.

The finals will be telecast on local station, Kuwait TV as well as stations throughout Asia where the ABF Tour 2009 legs were held. For further information and details, please logon to www.abftour.com or contact ABF Tour Committee at Tel: +852-2893-6039 or fax to +852-2893-6290 or Email: hktbc@netvigator.com.