Kim Kyung-Min takes over second round lead in Daejeon International

    08/24/11

    Korea

    PBA champions Koivuniemi, Smith in second and third heading into the final round before the cut to top 48

    2011DeajeonMikaKoivuniemi2.jpgKim Kyung-Min of Korea averaged 241 in the second round of the finals to overtake the lead in the Daejeon International Bowling Tournament Tuesday at Daejeon World Cup Stadium Bowling Center in Daejeon, Korea.

    Starting the day in fifth place, the Squad B leader rolled games of 258, 223, 300, 226, 215 and 224 to lead the field of 225 players with 2926 total and an average of 243.83 over twelve games. The 300 game was the fourth perfecto in the main event.

    2011DeajeonRobertSmith.jpg Overnight leader Mika Koivuniemi (pictured left), Finland, added 1402 to his 1515 first-round series but slipped to second place with 2917 (243.08). Playing in Squad A, the reigning PBA Player of the Year and World Bowling Tour men's ranking leader had five games between 226 and 264 and a low game of 188 which cost him the lead.

    Fellow PBA champion Robert Smith (right) jumped from 29th to third place behind a 1512 series (252 average) in Squad B, the second highest block of the day. The American, who lives in Hong Kong and won the Hong Kong Open last month, had games of 264, 278, 247, 279, 216 and 228 and a 2905 total (242.08).

    2011DeajeonKimJunSoo.jpg Squad C leader Kim Jun-Soo (left), Korea, added 1418 to the 1481 series from Monday to maintain fourth place with 2899. Kim Hyun-Bum is the best player of the Korea Professional Bowlers Association (KPBA) in fifth place with 2891.

    Jeon Gui-Ae is currently the best of 32 Korean women in the field in 11th place with 2842 including 8 pins handicap each game, a 229.83 scratch average. Sasaki Tomoyuki rolled a 1502 series yesterday to become the best player of the Japan Bowling Congress (JBC) in 14th place with 2829.

    27th place Lim Dong-Sung is the best bowler of the Korean men's national team (KNT) with 2777.

    2011EBT04ZulmazranZulkifli.jpg2011DeajeonJasonBelmonte.jpgWith 12 of 18 games before the next cut in the books, another two international bowlers are above the cut line. Zulmazran Zulkifli (left) of Malaysia, who was in 188th place after the first round with 1210, posted the highest series in Round Two with 1513 (252.17 average) to rocket into a tie for 44th place with 2723 pinfall total. Zulkifli had five games between 245 and 265 and a low game of 200.

    Jason Belmonte (right), the 2008-2009 PBA Rookie of the Year and one-time PBA champion, slipped from 42nd to 46th place with 2717 behind a 1347 series on Tuesday. The two-hander from Down under is just two pins above the cut for 48th place, held by Kim Hee-Jung and pro bowler Kim Young-Hwan with 2715 or an average of 226.25.

    The other seven of the eleven international players who were invited to the main event, have some work to do in the third and final six game block Wednesday to survive the cut.

    2011KSAORemyOng2.jpgF2011DeajeonYannaphonLarpapharat.jpgormer World and Asian Games champion, Remy Ong (left), Singapore, moved from 97th to 69th place with 2680 and is followed by Brian Valenta, United States, who leaped 83 places from 159th to 75th behind a 1406 series and a 2656 total.

    PBA champion Osku Palermaa, Finland, leaped from 116th to 83rd place with 2649. Badin Lerdpiriyasakulkit, Thailand, fell from 69th to 87th place with 2641 after a 1299 set, while his compatriot Yannaphon Larp-apharat (right), Thailand, who rolled a 300 game in the first block, slipped three spots to 110th place with 2609.

    Asian Games champion Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia, lost 39 places during the second round (1269) falling from 83rd to 122nd place with 2593. Two-time PBA champion Mike Machuga, United States, is 133 pins off the pace for 48th place with 2582, good for 128th place.

    All players will return Wednesday to bowl the third and final block of six games before the cut to the top 48.

    2011DeajeonOpenLogo2.jpg WBTLogo.jpgThe Daejeon International Bowling Tournament, the sixth stop of the inaugural World Bowling Tour, will be held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium Bowling Center in Daejeon, Korea, from Aug. 8-26, 2011.

    Daejeon, located in the center of the country, is South Korea's fifth largest metropolis with a population of over 1.5 million in 2010. The Stadium was constructed in preparation for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

    The tournament organized by the Korea Professional Bowling Association (KPBA) offers total prize money of 200 million South Korean Won (KW) or approximately 186.720 U.S. Dollar. 30 million Won will be distributed in the preliminaries and the remaining 170 million are the payout for the main event.

    The winner will walk away with the 50 million KW top prize or approx. $46.680. The first runner-up receives 25 million with 12 million going to the third-place finisher, while fourth and fifth place are worth 9 and 7 million won, resp.

    The top 125 qualifiers joined a group of one hundred players made up from members of KPBA, Korean National Team, DBC, Japan Professional Bowlers Association (JPBA), Japan Bowling Congress (JBC) and invited international players, who were automatically seeded into the finals.

    Those 225 players will bowl three blocks of six games over three days on a 44 feet oil pattern to cut to the top 48 who will advance to semifinal round to bowl another six game block with the previous pinfall total being carried forward.

    The top 12 after 24 games advance to twelve games round robin match play to determine the top six players who will make the TV stepladder finals.

    The No. 4, 5 and 6 seed will square off in the opening shoot-out match. The winner takes on the No. 3 seed; the winner of that match bowls the No. 2 seed for the right to bowl the tournament leader for the title.

    The top 50 men and the top 50 women will also earn points for the World Bowling Tour ranking (current standings).

    Results and some photos courtesy of Asian Bowling Federation.

     


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    Standings after Final Round Two


    The top 48 after 18 games will advance to round robin. Women's scores (F) including seven pins handicap each game.

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