Current European Bowling Tour women's point ranking leader Joline Persson Planefors (pictured left) of Sweden took over the pole position in the qualifying of the 1st Abu Dhabi World Bowling Tour at Khalifa International Bowling Center in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Fresh off her victory in the Sofia International Open in Bulgaria last Sunday, the two-time European champion rolled blocks of 747 (220, 288, 239), 763 (210, 266, 287) and 768 (267, 257, 244) including eight pins handicap each game to lead the field of 87 players into the final qualifying day with 2278 total and an average of 245.11 scratch.

Previous leader Thomas Larsen (above right) of Denmark slipped to second place with 2268 including high three-game series of 807, 756 and 705. Benshir Layoso (left) of the Philippines leaped into third place with 2260 including a high series of 827.

UAE's Hussain Al-Suwaidi and Mohamed Al-Marzooqi slipped two spots to fourth and fifth place with 2259 and 2239, respectively.

Sixth place belongs to current European Bowling Tour men's point ranking leader Dominic Barrett (right) of England with 2238. Naif Oqab, UAE, holds seventh place with 2231.

The next two local bowlers outside the top 7, Hassan Alzaabi (2209) and Mahmood Al-Attar (2184) are seeded in eighth and ninth place. At the end of the qualifying, the top 8 will receive two byes, while players in 9th to 22nd place earn a first-round bye.

Swede Martin Larsen (left) sits in 10th place with 2230 and leads the group of players, who will earn one bye. Wicky Yeung (pictured right with team mate Rickly Kam, left) of Hong Kong currently holds the 38th and last place to qualify for the finals with 1993 or an average of 221.44.

Qualifying continues Wednesday with qualifying squads starting at 11.30 a.m. 1, 2.30, 3.30, 5, 6.30, 7.30, 8.30 10 and 11.30 p.m. Gulf Standard Time (CET -3 hours; EST -9 hours) and concludes with the Desperado Squad on early Thursday morning.

The 1st Abu Dhabi World Bowling Tour tournament the second event of the 2014 World Bowling Tour.

Due to an agreement between the World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA) and the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), the Abu Dhabi World Bowling Tour tournament will award a PBA international title if won by a PBA member.

Players will compete for total prize fund of 441.800 Dirham (AED) or approximately $120,000. The champion receives the $29,945 top prize, the runner-up earns $19,055 and the third and fourth-place finishers get $10,890 and $5,445, respectively.

Qualifying (9 games in three-game blocks; unlimited re-entries) runs from Nov. 24-30 (for local bowlers only) and Dec 1 thru 4 (for local and international bowlers). Qualifying concludes with the ultimate one-game Desperado Squad slated for Thursday, Dec. 5 at 1 a.m. Women receive eight pins handicap each game.

A total of 42 players will qualify for the finals on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 5 & 6 and will be seeded as follows:

• Places 1-7: Top 7 qualifiers
• Places 8 & 9: Two highest UAE bowlers outside the Top 7
• Places 10-38: Next 29 qualifiers
• Places 39 & 40: Top 2 UAE bowlers from local qualifying
• Places 41-42: Top 2 from the Desperado Squad.

Bowlers ranked 1-8 receive two byes, while bowlers ranked 9-22 bypass Round Two.

The remaining 20 bowlers (places 23-42) bowl 6 games scratch with the top 10 advancing to Round Three. After another six games scratch, the top 12 will join the top 8 qualifiers in Round Four.

Those 20 will determine the eight players (top 7 bowlers from Round 4 plus the next UAE bowler), who advance to the stepladder finals, in a final six-game block. The No. 1 seed must be defeated twice to win the title.