Portuguese bowler is the first leader in men's 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup
11/04/07
Paulo Lopes (left) from Portugal is the surprise leader after Men Squad B has completed the first of four six-game qualifying blocks at the 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Lopes stunned the favorites when he finished his block with 257 and 279, the high game thus far, to shoot into the lead with 1385 pinfall total and an average of 230.83. Picture QubicaAMF/LLC Hero Noda.
Mohamed Al-Qubaisi, UAE, and Remy Ong, Singapore, who were atop the 43-player field until the final game, ended up in second and third place, respectively. Al-Qubaisi, who won the World Cup back in 1988, had high games of 237, 247 and 256 and a 1349 pinfall total.
Ong (pictured right), 2-time gold medalist in the 2006 Men's World Championships, started with five games between 219 and 244 but finished with 185 for 1333.
Marcelo Suartz, Brazil, was fourth with 1306 including a 273 game, followed by Luis Rodríguez, Puerto Rico, who used a 278 in the fifth for 1305. Sixth place belonged to Mikael Andersen (left), Denmark, with 1297. Rounding out the top 8 were Paulo Valdez, Philippines, and Tony de Leon , Guatemala, with 1281 and 1256, resp.
Some of the favorites for the men's title had a slower start into the tournament. Mexico's Daniel Falconi (right) is 11th with 1221. 2005 BWC champion Michael Schmidt, Canada, is 13th with 1207.
Malaysian national team member Daniel Lim sits in 17th with 1184.
Places 20 to 22 belong to 2006 World Championship Masters runner-up Achim Grabowski (left), Germany (1159); multiple European champion Petteri Salonen, Finland (1158) and 3-time European ranking champion Paul Moor, England (1153).
The rest of the men's field takes on the lanes at Continent Bowling Center at noon. The players from Squad B are done for today and will return on Monday at noon for the second block.
Men's Division Block 1
All players will bowl 24 games of qualifying (4 blocks of six games from Sunday, Nov. 4 through Wednesday, Nov. 7) to cut to the top 24 men and top 24 women. Those 24 will bowl eight games with the qualifying pinfall being carried forward. The top 8 men and the top 8 women after 32 games will bowl another 8-game block to cut to the top 3 for the TV stepladder finals.
Bowlingdigital will cover the event live from St. Petersburg commencing November 3 all the way through to the finals on Sunday, November 10.
2007 QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup
Continent Bowling Center in St. Petersburg, Russia (November 3-11, 2007)
Paulo Lopes (left) from Portugal is the surprise leader after Men Squad B has completed the first of four six-game qualifying blocks at the 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia. Lopes stunned the favorites when he finished his block with 257 and 279, the high game thus far, to shoot into the lead with 1385 pinfall total and an average of 230.83. Picture QubicaAMF/LLC Hero Noda.
Mohamed Al-Qubaisi, UAE, and Remy Ong, Singapore, who were atop the 43-player field until the final game, ended up in second and third place, respectively. Al-Qubaisi, who won the World Cup back in 1988, had high games of 237, 247 and 256 and a 1349 pinfall total. Ong (pictured right), 2-time gold medalist in the 2006 Men's World Championships, started with five games between 219 and 244 but finished with 185 for 1333.
Marcelo Suartz, Brazil, was fourth with 1306 including a 273 game, followed by Luis Rodríguez, Puerto Rico, who used a 278 in the fifth for 1305. Sixth place belonged to Mikael Andersen (left), Denmark, with 1297. Rounding out the top 8 were Paulo Valdez, Philippines, and Tony de Leon , Guatemala, with 1281 and 1256, resp. Some of the favorites for the men's title had a slower start into the tournament. Mexico's Daniel Falconi (right) is 11th with 1221. 2005 BWC champion Michael Schmidt, Canada, is 13th with 1207. Malaysian national team member Daniel Lim sits in 17th with 1184.
Places 20 to 22 belong to 2006 World Championship Masters runner-up Achim Grabowski (left), Germany (1159); multiple European champion Petteri Salonen, Finland (1158) and 3-time European ranking champion Paul Moor, England (1153). The rest of the men's field takes on the lanes at Continent Bowling Center at noon. The players from Squad B are done for today and will return on Monday at noon for the second block.
Men's Division Block 1
All players will bowl 24 games of qualifying (4 blocks of six games from Sunday, Nov. 4 through Wednesday, Nov. 7) to cut to the top 24 men and top 24 women. Those 24 will bowl eight games with the qualifying pinfall being carried forward. The top 8 men and the top 8 women after 32 games will bowl another 8-game block to cut to the top 3 for the TV stepladder finals.
Bowlingdigital will cover the event live from St. Petersburg commencing November 3 all the way through to the finals on Sunday, November 10.