The 26th Storm Irish Open Tenpin Bowling Championships got underway with Wednesday night's overflow squad at Leisureplex Stillorgan in Dublin, Ireland. Northern Ireland's Ryan Press (picured left) fired games of 221, 247, 204, 223, 247 and 277 to take the lead in the men's division with 1419 and an average of 236.50 for six games.

Ireland's Alan Gibbons and Karl Doherty sit in second and third place with 1385 and 1348, respectively. Giancarlo Ragusa of Belgium and Gareth Williams, Ireland, were in fourth and fifth place, both on 1325.

Another two players, PBA Hall of Famer Brian Voss (right; 1310) and Tony O'Hare (1304), Northern Ireland, cracked the 1300-bar, good for sixth and seventh place in the men's standings.

Theresa Watts of Ireland set the early pace in the women's division with 1135 (189.17 average).

Qualifying continues Thursday with Squads 1-4 scheduled to start at 10 a.m., 1, 4.45 and 8.30 p.m. local time (CET +1).

The 26th Storm Irish Open Tenpin Bowling Championships run from January 15-19 at 18-lane Leisureplex Stillorgan in Dublin, Ireland. Men and women bowl in separate division. The tournament offers total prize fund of 17.500 Euro. The men's champion receives the 4.000 Euro top prize, while the women's champion gets 1.000 Euro.

Qualifying (six games, unlimited re-entries) started on Tuesday, Jan. 15 and runs through Saturday, Jan. 18. Once all qualifying squads have been completed, 86 men and 23 women will qualify for the finals on Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

The field will be trimmed to 16 men and 16 women, who will determine the champions in single-elimination match play over two games, total pin fall.

 

2014 Irish Open - Women's Division after Wednesday's Overflow Squad

Pos	Player	Country	G1	G2	G3	G4	G5	G6	Pins	Avg.
1.	Theresa Watts	Ireland	184	213	162	191	195	190	1135	189.17
2.	Anita Watts	Ireland	172	187	163	141	245	188	1096	182.67
3.	Kay Lyons	Ireland	150	143	144	196	188	205	1026	171.00
4.	Dymphna Kestell	Ireland	177	185	152	182	149	177	1022	170.33
5.	Emma Dungan	Ireland	193	180	173	168	143	159	1016	169.33
6.	Anne Cullen	Ireland	106	171	159	168	201	191	996	166.00

 

2014 Irish Open - Men's Division after Wednesday's Overflow Squad

Pos	Player	Country	G1	G2	G3	G4	G5	G6	Pins	Avg.
1.	Ryan Press	N. Ireland	221	247	204	223	247	277	1419	236.50
2.	Alan Gibbons	Ireland	232	228	239	244	258	184	1385	230.83
3.	Karl Doherty	Ireland	263	204	225	245	155	256	1348	224.67
4.	Giancarlo Ragusa	Belgium	209	205	201	237	236	237	1325	220.83
5.	Gareth Williams	Ireland	178	225	268	204	249	201	1325	220.83
6.	Brian Voss	USA	193	215	223	206	249	224	1310	218.33
7.	Tony O'Hare	N. Ireland	220	200	203	215	217	249	1304	217.33
8.	Paddy Dunne	Ireland	230	200	200	257	214	198	1299	216.50
9.	Craig Farr	England	181	202	194	268	242	173	1260	210.00
10.	Barry Foley	Ireland	224	181	215	169	247	222	1258	209.67
11.	Paul Chandler	Ireland	178	225	220	247	182	204	1256	209.33
12.	Mathew Kestell	Ireland	207	266	236	169	160	202	1240	206.67
13.	Chris Sloan	Ireland	157	168	247	223	222	183	1200	200.00
14.	Paul McCauley	N. Ireland	175	222	193	215	193	194	1192	198.67
15.	Marius Kryzanallsks	Lithuania	153	178	185	275	190	202	1183	197.17
16.	Craig Grattan	Ireland	190	190	182	213	239	159	1173	195.50
17.	Dave Noonan	Ireland	177	190	170	185	203	201	1126	187.67
18.	Victor Rock	Ireland	212	203	170	182	188	164	1119	186.50
19.	Maarawan Aernoudt	Belgium	179	169	182	200	187	170	1087	181.17
20.	Osmund Birkeland	Norway	182	175	203	146	154	178	1038	173.00
21.	David Keogh	Ireland	184	195	179	161	153	146	1018	169.67