Korea's Cho Young-Seon earns No. 1 seed for the TV Finals at WBT Thailand

    10/01/12

    2012 World Bowling Tour #10

    Four PBAers, two Korean, one local and one UAE bowler advance to bowl for the title and the USD 30,000-plus top prize

    2011AsCM1ChoYoungSeon.jpg201112PBAChrisBarnes.jpgCho Young-Seon (pictured left) of Korea used a 1421 to beat out 13-time PBA champion Chris Barnes (right), United States, for the top spot in Final Round Three by just one pin en route to earn the No. 1 seed for the TV finals of the World Bowling Tour Thailand event later today at Blu-O-Paragon bowling center in Bangkok.

    Barnes, who won the gold medal in the World Singles Championships last week, beat Cho by 35 pins in the last game (234 to 199) but fell one pin short to land in second place with 1420. As the top seed in the stepladder finals, Cho has the advantage that he must be defeated twice to win the title.

    201112PBARyanCiminelli.jpg201112PBAMikaKoivuniemi.jpgQualifying leader Ryan Ciminelli (left), United States, who climbed from eighth to third place in last year's stepladder finals, finished in third place this time to grab the No. 3 seed with 1401.

    Two-time PBA Player of the Year Mika Koivuniemi (right) of Finland was fourth with 1396 and targets his 10th career PBA title. Jang Dong-Chul was the second Korean bowler, who survived the third cut, in fifth place with 1352.

    Rounding out the top 8 were local bowler Annop Arromsaranon (6th, 1349), Chris Loschetter, United States (7th, 1348) and Naif Oqab, UAE (8th, 1341).

    Reigning PBA player of the year Sean Rash, United States, missed the cut by just five pins to finish ninth with 1336. Also eliminated was Thailand's No. 1 bowler, Yannaphon Larpapharat, Thailand; last year's runner-up Mike Fagan, United States; Round Two leader Choi Bok-Eum, Korea; 13-time PBA champion and WSC runner-up Tommy Jones, United States; the best woman in the field, Diandra Asbaty, United States; Three-time PBA champion Osku Palermaa, Finland, and fellow two-hander and defending WBT Thailand champion Jason Belmonte, Australia; European Bowling Tour point ranking leader Dominic Barrett, England; Round Two leader Dan MacLelland, Canada; Kim Bolleby, Sweden; and three-time WTBA World Champion Bill O'Neill, United States.

    WBTLogo.jpg The World Bowling Tour Thailand 2012 will be held from Sept. 24 through Oct. 1, 2012 at Blu-O-Paragon bowling center in Bangkok, Thailand. The tournament is the 10th stop of the 2012 World Bowling Tour and offers total prize fund of 4.215 million Baht or approx. 132,000 USD with 1 million Baht ($32,250) going to the winner and 500.000 Baht to the runner-up.

    The World Bowling Tour Thailand 2012 will also award a PBA Tour title if won by PBA member or a PBA international member.

    Women receive eight pins handicap each game throughout the entire tournament. Qualifying ran from Tuesday, Sept. 25 through Saturday, Sept. 30 with 42 of the 72 players from 16 countries advancing to the finals. Eight players received two byes and another 16 got one.

    Final Round Two, Three and Four each featured a six-game series from scratch. Ties in Round 1-4 were broken by a one-ball roll-off. The field was trimmed to 34, 20 and eight players, who will determine the champion in the TV finals.

    The eight finalists will be placed into an eight-player stepladder, with the No. 6, 7 and 8 seeds meeting in the first match and the winner facing the No. 4 and 5 in the second match. The survivor will face the No. 3 seed, with that winner taking on No. 2. The winner earns the right to bowl the No. 1 seed for the title. The top seed has the advantage that he must be defeated twice to win the title.

    After the Bahamas Classic has been postponed and the Daejeon International Open 2012 in Korea has lost its WBT status, the 2012 World Bowling Tour consists of 12 tournaments in America, Asia, Europe and Australia - five in the United States and one each in Australia, Austria, Finland, France, Japan, Kuwait and Thailand.

    Players earn ranking points based on how they finish in each event. The current points system is based on a continuous two-year cycle, so points earned in 2012 will be added to points earned in 2011 to determine the points list.

    The top three men and top three women will be invited to compete in the World Bowling Tour Finals presented by the Professional Bowlers Association at the end of 2012 featuring total prize fund of $70,000.

    The World Tenpin Bowling Association, which is made up of 115 bowling federations, governs the sport throughout the world. For more information on WTBA and the World Bowling Tour, visit WorldTenpinBowling.com.

    Results courtesy of Asian Bowling Federation.

     


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    Final Round Three (fourth round overall)


    The top 8 advance to the stepladder finals. Places 9-20 eliminated, earn $2,258. F indicates female bowler, receive eight pins handicap each game.

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