Twenty-three Professional Bowlers Association players who traveled to Tokyo to compete in the 28th Round1 Japan Cup have advanced to the field of 64 match play finalists at Minami Suna Round 1.

Round of 64 Results

After 10 qualifying games by the field of 176 players from around the world on Thursday, Japan's Shigenori Sakata led the 32 players who advanced out of A Squad with a 10-game total of 2,483 pins and a 248.3 average, while two-time PBA Tour titlist Tom Smallwood (pictured) of Saginaw, Michigan, paced the B squad qualifiers with a 2,437 total (243.7 average).

The tournament field was split into two squads of 88 players, with PBA Tour players divided between the two squads. Among those who failed to advance to match play was defending Japan Cup champion Yuya Kato, who became the first Japanese player in 25 years to win the event in the 47th edition of the tournament held last December.

Under the Japan Cup format, the top 32 qualifiers from A squad and the top 32 from B squad will begin best-of-five-game, single-elimination play Friday. Winners will remain in their respective brackets into the Round of 8, which will be nationally-televised in Japan.

 

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28th Round1 Japan Cup - Final Qualifying Standings

Players with position, hometown/country and 10-game total; top 32 of A and B Squad advance to Round of 64 best-of-five-game single-elimination match play

A Squad:
1, Shigenori Sakata, 2,483
2, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 2,379
3, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 2,369
4, Kim Young Kwan, 2,358
5, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 2,349
6, Katsuhito Itoyama, 2,324
7, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 2,323
8, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 2,316
9, Choi Won Young, 2,304
10, Takuya Saitoh, 2,288
11, Akio Harada, 2,288
12, Parker Bohn â…¢, Jackson, N.J., 2,286
13, Stuart Williams, England, 2,266
14, Park Kyung Shin, 2,262
15, Masanori Satoh, 2,257
16, Takuya Miyazawa, 2,239
17, Hayato Hijikata, 2,239
18, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 2,234
19, Takahiro Satoh, 2,231
20, Shota Kawazoe, 2,228
21, Shigeo Saito, 2,228
22, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 2,216
23, Shunsuke Miyata, 2,206
24, Yoshihiro Gima, 2,204
25, Takashi Kudoh, 2,203
26, Tamiki Miike, 2,198
27, Nobuaki Takahashi, 2,197
28, Kengo Tagata, 2,188
29, Shinya Ishida, 2,187
30, Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., 2,185
31, Joji Takabuchi, 2,182
32, Jason Sterner, Covington, Ga., 2,181

PBA bowlers failed to advance:
33, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 2,177

50, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 2,089

 

B Squad:
1, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 2,437
2, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 2,347
3, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 2,330
4, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 2,293
5, Seo Jeng Hwan, 2,280
6, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 2,276
7, Jeong Tae Hwa, 2,275
8, Fumihiro Yoshida, 2,273
9, Yugo Imakita, 2,260
10, Jo Nam Yi, 2,260
11, Mike Fagan, 2,260
12, Nobuhito Fujii, 2,256
13, Dom Barrett, England, 2,245
14, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 2,238
15, Akio Ishihara, 2,226
16, Scott Norton, Mission Viejo, Calif., 2,226
17, Hiroyuki Kuretake, 2,225
18, Kenichi Kadokawa, 2,221
19, Park Sang Pil, 2,220
20, Hiroki Takada, 2,213
21, Makoto Kawakami, 2,205
22, Shinichi Horie, 2,204
23, Toshifumi Kojima, 2,201
24, Shuichi Heki, 2,199
25, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 2,195
26, Takeo Sakai, 2,181
27, Eisuke Miyazaki, 2,171
28, Craig Nidiffer, Trenton, Mich., 2,167
29, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 2,166
30, Yoshimi Kitaoka, 2,166
31, Makoto Endo, 2,157
32, Kaname Yamamoto, 2,155

PBA bowlers failed to advance:
47, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 2,110
50, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 2,101
68, Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., 2,033

 

28th Round1 Japan Cup - Round of 64 Bracket Pairings

Best of five games; winners advance to Round of 32

Round of 64 Results

A Squad:
No. 1 Shigenori Sakata vs. No. 32 Jason Sterner
No. 2 Wes Malott vs. No. 31 Joji Takabuchi
No. 3 Jason Belmonte vs. No. 30 Brian Voss
No. 4 Kim Young Kwan vs. No. 29 Shinya Ishida
No. 5 Osku Palermaa vs. No. 28 Kengo Tagata
No. 6 Katsuhito Itoyama vs. No. 27 Nobuaki Takahashi
No. 7 Marshall Kent vs. No. 26 Tamiki Miike
No. 8 Ronnie Russell vs. No. 25 Takashi Kudoh
No. 9 Choi Won Young vs. No. 24 Yoshihiro Gima
No. 10 Takuya Saitoh vs. No. 23 Shunsuke Miyata
No. 11 Akio Harada vs. No. 22 Tommy Jones
No. 12 Parker Bohn III vs. No. 21 Shigeo Saito
No. 13 Stuart Williams vs. No. 20 Shota Kawazoe
No. 14 Park Kyung Shin vs. No. 19 Takahiro Satoh
No. 15 Masanori Satoh vs. No. 18 Pete Weber
No. 16 Takuya Miyazawa vs. No. 17 Hayato Hijikata

 

B Squad:
No. 1 Tom Smallwood vs. No. 32 Kaname Yamamoto
No. 2 Bill O'Neill vs. No. 31 Makoto Endo
No. 3 Norm Duke vs. No. 30 Yoshimi Kitaoka
No. 4 Chris Loschetter vs. No. 29 Sean Rash
No. 5 Seo Jeng Hwan vs. No. 28 Craig Nidiffer
No. 6 Ryan Cimielli vs. No. 27 Eisuke Miyazaki
No. 7 Jeong Tae Hwa vs. No. 26 Takeo Sakai
No. 8 Fumihiro Yoshida vs. No. 25 Mika Koivuniemi
No. 9 Yugo Imakita vs. No. 24 Shuichi Heki
No. 10 Jo Nam Yi vs. No. 23 Toshifumi Kojima
No. 11 Mike Fagan vs. No. 22 Shinichi Horie
No. 12 Nobuhito Fuji vs. No. 21 Makoto Kawakami
No. 13 Dom Barrett vs. No. 20 Hiroki Takada
No. 14 Walter Ray Williams Jr. vs. No. 19 Park Sang Pil
No. 15 Akio Ishihara vs. No. 18 Kenichi Kadokawa
No. 16 Scott Norton vs. No. 17 Hiroyuki Kuretake