8th May, Manama: Top seed, Stuart Williams of England captured his first Asian crown when he defeated two-time Asia Ranked No. 1, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE in the finals of the 9th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open on Saturday.

Stuart Williams from The Wirral, just outside of Liverpool, started cautiously in the match against challenger, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE but had a split in the second frame as his opponent also had an open frame in the first.

Hussain surged ahead with a turkey thereafter but WIlliams responded with an awesome striking form to reel in seven consecutive strikes as the Emirati was playing catch up.

The Englishman wrapped up the match with a convincing 245-216 to win his first Asian title and the top prize of US$20,000 while Hussain settled for US$10,000.

"The lanes today were much easier to cope with especially when there is only two bowlers to a pair of lanes as opposed to four yesterday during the second round," said Stuart Williams after the finals.

"I felt very comfortable playing from the outside and I notice Hussain was doing this as well. Both our balls travel straigher down the lanes and that account for our better scores. Those who hook a lot didn't have massive games like yesterday.

Hussain had earlier eliminated No. 3 seed and Round 2 leader, Tim Mack of USA, 249-232 to earn a crack at the title but just could not repeat the form he displayed in the semi-finals.

Williams topped the Round 3 with a total of 1921, 53 pins ahead Hussain in second with 1868. Hussain had battled for the lead with Tim Mack in the early stages but Williams finished much stronger than the duo.

Americans, Cassidy Schaub and Patrick Healey Jnr., who finished second yesterday, missed the top 3 stepladder finals in fourth and fifth while defending champion, Remy Ong ended in sixth position.

The top 16 Asian also qualified for the fifth leg of the ABF Tour Bahrain which will be held tomorrow at the same venue, Fun Land Bowling Centre..

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

7th May, Manama: American pro Tim Mack outshone the field of 32 finalists to advance into the next stage of the 9th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open after topping the second round finals ahead of compatriot, Patrick Healey Jnr. and England's Dominic Barrett.

Newly-crowned Sinai Open champion, Shaker Al-Hassan of UAE opened accounts with a scorching 259 in the first game to lead Indonesia's Ryan Lalisang, USA's Patrick Healey Jnr. and Kuwait's Mohamed Kamel tieing in second with 258.

The Emirati shot another massive game of 264 to stretch his lead to nine pins with Healey coming off the trio better with 256 to trail Shaker as American pro, Tim Mack moved up to third with 243 and 265.

An almost perfect game from Mack in the third saw the 38-year-old from Indianapolis, Indiana taking over the lead with local favourite,

Yousif Falah mounting his challenge in second while Healey and Shaker dropped their pace slightly.

Mack was on a hot streak after firing 247 and 277 in his next two games which allowed him to move further away in front. England's Dominic Barrett put in his bid but trailed Mack by 101 pins in second.

The leader was crusing towards the end and despite easing off slightly, Mack ended the 8-game finals with a total of 1976. Healey recovered to clinch second spot with 1947 giving USA a one-two finish.

"I bowled good today and everything was working fine," said the 2009 Samho Korea Cup champion, Tim Mack after the finals. "This is a strong field and to stay on top I've to bowl even better tomorrow.

Barrett settled for third with 1887 ahead of Bahrain's Yousif Falah in foruth with 1843. Three Kuwaitis, Khaled Al-Dubyyan, Fahad Regeeb and Basel Al-Anzi scored massively in their last game to make the top 18 cut while the fourth Kuwaiti, Jassem Darwish progressed in 15th position.

Two-time Asia Ranked No. 1, Hussain Al-Suwaidi was the sole Emirati who made the cut in 12th as his team-mates, Shaker Al-Hassan and Sayed Ibrahim failed to progress. Stuart Williams was the other British to join Barret in the next stage in 14th.

Hameed Taqi was the other Bahraini who advance after taking up 17th position. Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohammad Al-Saud surprised the field with a 13th place finish to advance into Round 3.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

6th May, Manama: Two perfect games by Kuwaitis failed to topple overnight leader, Cassidy Schaub as the American PBA ended Squad C second block of the 9th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open to secure a spot in the top 6.

Cassidy Schaub from Ashland, Ohio underlined his prowess with a sizzling 268 opening game of the second block to remain and streatching his lead to 133 pin ahead of England's Stuart Williams in second.

The 26-year-old ex-Team USA member continued to lead the pack despite Kuwait's Khaled Al-Dubyyan firing the tournament's second 300 in the third game. But the American's lead was drastically reduced when Khaled continued his furious pace in an attempt to close the gap.

Another Kuwaiti and left-hander, Fahad Regeeb rolled the tournament's third perfect 300 to snatch the lead from Schaub after the fifth game and going in front of Schaub by 17 pins.

Fahad held the lead until the final game where he only managed a lowly 179 and Schaub ended with a strong 254 to regain pole with a total of 3691.

Newly-crowned Sinai Open champion, Shaker Al-Hassan's late charge also failed to catch the American and settling for second with 3663 while Khaled took third spot with 3626. Fahad slipped down to fourth with 3621.

Schaub's splendid effort put him second to Squad D leader, Mahmood Al-Attar of UAE and crucially secured a top 2 positions to automatically qualify for the Round 3 finals.

The duo joined Squad A top 2 qualifiers, Remy Ong of Singapore and Ahmed Mohammed Rahimi of Bahrain and Squad B top 2 qualifiers, Paul Moor of England and Mubarak Al-Muraikhi of Qatar.

Squeezing in in 33rd position was Kuwait's Yaqoub Al-Shatti with a total of 3415 and an average of 213.44. The four local Bahraini qualifiers were Mohammed Al-Shawoosh, Aziz Jaffar, Nadia Aqeel and Mohammad Abdulla Al Mannai. Noor Soltan made the cut as the top local women qualifier.

Qualifiers from positions 7 to 33 plus the four local and top women made up the Top 32 who will contest 8-game the Round 2 finals tomorrow. The top 12 plus the top 6 seeded qualifiers will bowl another 8 games in the Round 3 finals on Saturday.

The top 3 after the Round 3 finals will proceed to the stepladder grand finals to determine the champion, who will walk away with the top prize of US$20,000.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

6th May, Manama: Overnight Squad D leader, Mahmood Al-Attar led a UAE one-two finish with compatriot, Sayed Ibrahim at the end of the second block of qualifying rounds of the 9th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open.

Mahmood Al-Attar, who shot the highest 8-game block of the tournament thus far with 1965 yesterday, could not repeat the superb form yet was able to hang on to pole position despite rolling only 1753 in the second block.

His 16-game tally of 3718 allowed the 21-year-old Doha Asian Games silver medalist to lead his compatriot, Sayed Ibrahim by a comfortable margin of 81 pins. Sayed improved one spot from third overnight to second with 3637.

Bahrain's best finisher, Hameed Taqi took third spot with 3631 improving on his earlier attempt of 3245 to secure a place in the Round 2 finals. American, Patrick Healey Jnr., who was ninth overnight mae up grounds to fourth with 3623.

Dominic Barrett, who had a disasterous first attempt in Squad C, was forced to bowl again in Squad D and did well to take up fifth with 3553.

Meanwhile, American PBA pro, Cassidy Schaub and England's Stuart Williams looked the likely challenger to Mahmood's hope of a top 2 finish when both Squad D and Squad C were combined. Schaub led Squad C first block with 1895 ahead of Williams in second with 1862.

The cut at position 33 before Squad C complete their second block was set at 209.69 average. At least ten bowlers from this squad looked to make the cut which would set the cut-off mark at around 214 or above average.

With Squad C contesting their second block later tonight, the top 2 will earn bye into Round 3 finals while positions 7 to 33 plus the top four local and top women qualifiers will make the cut for tomorrow's Round 2 finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

5th May, Manama: Emirati Mahmood Al-Attar shot the highest 8-games series of 1965 so far in the 9th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open to lead Squad D first block, 135 pins ahead of Mohammed Shawoosh of Bahrain in second.

As the final squad took to the lanes at Fun Land Bowling Centre, UAE's Adel Al-Mazooqi scorched the lanes with a sizzling 286 to lead Bahrain national team captain, Hameed Taqi in second.

The Emirati continued his blistering pace with 234 and 256 but managed only 190 to share the lead with compatriot, Mahmood Al-Attar at the halfway point of the 8-game block, 48 pins ahead of Mohammed Al-Shetti in second.

Adel failed to keep up his pace as he continued to slip down the field after another poor 185 in his fifth game. Mahmood took over the running after he shot 278 and 266 in the fourth and fifth games.

The 21-year-old Mahmood ended the block with 248, 217 and 268 to post the highest 8-game series so far in the tournament with 1965. Mohammed Shawoosh did well to finished second with 1830, 135 pins pins behind the leader.

Another Emirati, Sayed Ibrahim stormed home with 279 and 244 to take up third with 1820 while England's Dominic Barrett, who finished 17th in the earlier squad, improved with 1793 to end up fourth.

Bahrain's top female, Nadia Aqeel surprised th field after she finished fifth with 1779 thnaks to a 7 pin handicap which will surely secure the spot allocated to the top female competitor.

Squad D will resume with their second block at 2.30pm while Squad C will completed the final qualifying block at 7.00pm. The top 2 from Squads C and D will earn bye into Round 3 finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

5th April, Manama: American PBA pro, Cassidy Schaub from Ashland, Ohio took pole position at the end of the first block in Squad C of the 9th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open as qualifying resumed at Fun Land Bowling Centre on Wednesday.

The opening game of the third squad saw two Bahrainis, Mohammad Falah and Faisal Abdulmajeed sharing the lead with a splendid 267 with Indonesia's Ryan Lalisang and England's Stuart Williams hot on their heals just one and three pins adrift.

Williams' two opening games of 264 and 268 put the Englishman firmly in control as he took over the running, 18 pins ahead of Lalisang in second as the Bahrainis dropped their pace.

A poor 16 from Williams allowed the Indonesian to move to the front with Saudi Arabia's Prince Abdul Hakim taking over second spot and Williams slipping down to third.

But Williams recovered with 259 to lead the field at the halfway mark and Lalisang trailing in second. Williams' inconsistency cost him pole when the Cassidy Schaub caught up with several superb games to end the block with 1895.

Williams settled for second with 1862 while another Saudi, Prince Mohammad Al-Saud stormed home with 255 and 257 to finish third with 1806.

"This is a good start for my first visit here," said the 26-year-old ex-Team USA member, Cassidy Schaub, who finished fourth in the 209 PBA Tour Trails to earn his first OBA Tour exemption.

"I wouldn;t say the conditions were easy but it suits me well. It's still a long way to go and I'll make sure I put in 110% if I want to end my trip on a high," added Schaub, who bowls with a unique two-handed style from the left.

The final Squad D will take to the lanes later this evening and the top 2 finishers after the two blocks from the combined Squad C and D will automatically advance to the Round 3 finals. Squad D will bowl tomorrow at 2.30pm while Squad C i the evening at 7.00pm.

Photos Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

4th April, Manama: Lefties had a field day when England's Paul Moor ended the second block to top Squad B of the 9th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open ahead of Mubarak Al-Muraikhi of Qatar in second at Fun Land Bowling Centre on Tuesday.

Overnight leader, Jassem Darwish had a poor start in his opening ninth game and slipped down to third allowing his team-mate, Mohamed Kamel to take over the running ahead of perfect gamer, Abdulla Haroon in second.

England's Paul Moor had a sizzling opener of 269 to take up third and shared the lead with Jassem after the tenth game when the Kuwaiti youngster fought back with 224 and Moor downed 208.

Jassem regained the lead after a better 212 in the 11th game as Moor slipped back to second when the Englishman managed only 203 but two superbs games of 269 and 267 allowed Moor to pull away from the field.

The southpaw went on to end the block with 1885 to add to his first block score of 1865 for a 16-game total of 3750. Mubarak Al-Muraikhi, who posted the highest 8-game series of 1861, finished second with 3680.

"This is my first trip here to Bahrain and I'm enjoying it," said Paul Moor after the block. "I've been bowling well these few weeks. I did well also in Cairo last week and although the conditions here is a little bit more difficult, I'm happy with what I've done.

Jassem settled for third with 3657 while UAE's Hussain Al-Suwaidi took fourth spot with 3651. Three-time Bahrain Open champion, Tim Mack of USA, who was second midway through the block, finished fifth with 3646.

Both the southpaws have earned a bye into Round 3 finals after having finishing in the top 2 of this squad. They joined Remy Ong of Singapore and Ahmed Mohammed Rahimi of Bahrain who finished top 2 in Squad A.

Squad C and D will be contested over the next two days and the top 2 finsihers in the combined scores of both squads will also earn bye into Round 3 finals. Positions 7 to 33 plus four local and the top female finisher will battle it out in the Round 2 finals on May 7.

The top 12 plus the six seeded qualifiers from the qualifying rounds will contest the Top 18 Round 3 finals on May 8. The Top 3 will proceed to the stepladder grand finals.

Photos Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

3rd April, Manama: ABF Tour Egypt first runnerup, Jassem Darwish of Kuwait outclassed his more senior fellow competitors to snatch pole position in Squad B of the 9th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open at the end of the first block.

Jassem Darwish had a blistering start with an opening game of 277 to lead Bahraini, Mohammed Al-Jahromi by 19 pins. And despite a decent 214 in his second game, Jassem could not hold on to the lead after Qatar's Abdulla Haroon shor the tournament's first perfect game to take over the running.

Abdulla continued to set a cracking pace with 215, 234, 265, 233 and 224 to maintain his lead trailed by another Kuwaiti, Mohamed Kamel in second as Jassem kept in close company with the leading duo.

Both Abdulla and Kamel only managed to knock down 196 and 192 respectively in their last game as JAssem finished the strongest with a splendid 268 to snatch pole position with 1933. Abdulla settled for second with 1908, 25 pins adrift the Kuwaiti youngster.

Mohamed Kamel claimed third spot with 1876 ahead of England's Paul Moor, who also shot a final game of 278 to take up fourth position with 1865.

2007 Bahrain Open champion and this year's Emir Cup champion, Mubarak Al-Muraikhi finished fifth with 1819.

There was very little separating bowlers from positions sixth to tenth with ABF Tour Kuwait leg champion, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE ahead in sixth with 1810 followed by three-time Bahrain Open champion, Tim Mack of USA in seventh.

The bowlers will resume with their second block tomorrow and the top 2 finishers will earn bye into Round 3 finals. Squad C and D will be held on May 5 and 6 and the top 2 from both the squads will also earn a bye.

Photos Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

2nd April, Manama: Defending champion, Remy Ong of Singapore got off to a hot start to take pole position in the Squad A of the 9th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open after the two blocks ended on Sunday evening.

Ong, who was third overnight in the first block, again did not have the best of start managing only 188 in his opening game as Ahmed Al Bastaki of Bahrain took over the running from compatriot and overnight leader, Mohammed Al-Shetti.

Despite an eratic scoreline in Ahmed's next four games, the Bahraini national bowler was able to maintain his lead but was soon caught up by Remy Ong narrowing the gap from 35 pins to 4 by the fifth game of the second block.

A poor 189 from Ahmed saw him slipping down to third as Ong took over the lead with another Bahraini national bowler, Ahmed Mohamed Rahimi trailing the Singaporean by 55 pins. Overnight leader, Mohamed Al-Shetti ended in a disappointing 11th position.

Ong had as much as 101 pins ahead but a strong 267 from Ahmed Mohamed Rahimi in the final game almost caught up Ong but fortunately, the leader had the cushion and a creditable 203 to end the block in pole position.

The defending champion totaled 3625 from the two blocks with Rahimi in second with 3588. Both Ong and Rahimi will advance into the Round 3 Top 18 finals automatically and skipping the Top 38 Round 2 finals as the top two qualifiers in this squad.

"I thought when I polished my ball for today's squad would help but it turn out to be a disaster," said the 31-year-old Remy Ong. "Fortunately I made a quick adjustment and was able to post better games.

Ahmed Al Bastaki missed the automatic qualification in third with 3544 while Sami Ahmed Noor stromed home to snatch fouth spot with 3534. Ahmed Rashid Al Noaimi rounded the top 5 with 3517.

Squad B will take to the lanes for the next two days and again the top 2 finishers at the end of the two blocks will advance into Round 3 finals automatically. Squad C and D will bowl their two blocks on May 5 and 6.

The top 2 finishers from the remaining two squads will also earn bye in Round 2 finals and directly into Round 3.

Photos Terence Yaw in Bahrain.

1st May, Manama: Bahrainis, Mohammed Al-Shetti and Ahmed Al Bastaki dominated the opening block during the first squad of the 9th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open underway at Fun Land Bowl with a one-two finish.

Last year's finalist, Ahmed Rashid Al Noaimi had a cracking start with an opening game of 266 when 33 bowlers in Squad A took to the lanes for their first block, 16 pins ahead of another Bahraini, Nazer Al-Hussaini.

Bahrain's national bowler, Ahmed Al Bastaki almost shot the tournament's first perfect game when he downed 299 to take over the running albeit only 1 pin ahead of Ali Hussain of Bahrain in second.

Another good game from Ahmed gave him a six pin margin with 699 over Mohammed Al-Shetti with 685 as other early leaders dropped off their pace. Ahmed increased his lead slightly to 30 pins at the halfway mark ahead of Emad Jahromi.

By the fifth game the gap between Ahmed Al Bastaki and Mohammed Al-Shetti was a mere 20 pins. Mohammed took over the lead after the sixth game but gave it back to Ahmed after the seventh. Mohammed ended the block stronger to grab the top spot with 1877 as Ahmed settled for second, just 5 pins adrift.

Defending champion, Remy Ong of Singapore stromed home to take up third spot with 1795 while two more Bahrainis Emad Jahromi and Yousif Al-Awadhi sanwiched the Singapore in fourth and fith with 1762 and 1733.

The bowlers in Squad A will resume with their second block of 8 games tomorrow. The first two finishers will earn a bye directly into the third round finals. Two additional top 2 finishers in Squad B will also earn byes.

The remaining top 2 from Squads C and D will receive byes into the third round finals. Qualifiers from positions 7 to 32 plus the top female qualifier from all the combined squads will battle it out in the Round 2 Top 38 finals.

The top 12 plus the six seeded qualifiers will contest the Top 18 finals in which the top 3 finishers will advance into the stepladder finals.

Photos Terence Yaw in Bahrain.