England's Paul Moor wins qualifying in 12th Kingdom of Bahrain International Championship

    03/06/14

    Bahrain

    Moor averages 229.83 to lead a field of 30 players into the finals on Thursday and Friday

    2014BAHPaulMoor.jpg2014BAHJohnSzczerbinski.jpgPaul Moor (pictured left) of England averaged 229.83 for twelve games to win the qualifying of the 12th Kingdom of Bahrain International Bowling Championship at Ozone Entertainment Center in Sitra Mall, Bahrain.

    Moor, a 13-time European Bowling Tour titlist and three-time EBT men's point ranking leader (2004-06), had six game series of 1365 and 1393 to lead the top 30 of 128 players into the finals on Thursday and Friday.

    Team USA member John Szczerbinski (above right), World Champion in Doubles (with Chris Barnes) in 2013, was 44 pins behind in second place with 2714. Bahrain national team member Yousif Falah was the top local bowler ion third place with 2697.

    2014BAHTommyJones.jpg2014BAHDominicBarrett.jpgPBA champions Tommy Jones (left), United States, and Dominic Barrett (right), England, were fourth and fifth with 2696 and 2666, respectively. The next Bahraini, 21st place Sami Noor (2555), was seeded sixth. The top six players received three byes and cannot fall lower than 12th place in the finals standings.

    Thursday features Final Round Two and Three with Rounds Four and Five to follow on Friday. The stepladder finals will follow immediately afterwards.

    The 12th Kingdom of Bahrain International Bowling Championship will be held from March 1-7 at Ozone Entertainment Center in Sitra, Bahrain. The tournament is the eighth stop on the 2014 World Bowling Tour and offers a PBA international title if won by a PBA member. Players competed for total prize money of US$105,050.

    Qualifying (two 6-game series) ran from February 23 through March 1 for local bowlers and March 2 through 5 for international bowlers. Women and youth bowlers receive seven pins handicap each game.

    Total 30 players advanced to the finals on Thursday and Friday including the top 27 qualifiers, the next two Bahrainis and the top-ranked woman.

    Players 1-6 (top 5 plus the next Bahraini) received three byes. Players 7-12 will receive two byes and players 13-18 earn one bye. The other 12 players advance to Final Round Two.

    Final Rounds 2-5 consist of six games scratch with the top six players advancing to the next round with the exception of Round 5, where the top three players will advance to the stepladder finals.

    The No. 2 seed bowls the No. 3 seed in the semifinal match. The winner of that game takes on the top-seeded player for the title and the US$25,000 first-place check. According to the tournament rules, the No. 1 seed must be defeated twice to win the title.

    WBTLogo_small.jpg The 2014 World Bowling Tour, which actually got underway in November 2013 with the PBA World Championship, consists of 15 tournaments in Arabia (6), Asia (3), United States (3), Europe (2) and Australia (1).

    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 some points earned in 2012 and all points from the 2013 and 2014 are added to determine the points list.

    The top three men and top three women in the WBT Point Ranking will be invited to compete in the 2014 World Bowling Tour Finals, which will be held in conjunction with the PBA World Series of Bowling VI from Oct. 24 through Nov. 2 at South Point in Las Vegas.

    The World Tenpin Bowling Association, which is made up of 111 bowling federations, governs the sport throughout the world. For more information on WTBA and the World Bowling Tour, click here.

    Photos courtesy of Asian Bowling Federation.

     


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    12th Kingdom of Bahrain Championship - Standings after Qualifying


    The top 30 advance to the finals. Players 1-6 (top 5 plus the next Bahraini) receive three byes; players 7-12 receive two byes and players 13-18 earn one bye. Players 19-30 advance to Final Round Two.

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