Craig Nidiffer emerges as Day 3 champion in 8th Kingdom International Open

    12/02/14

    Saudi Arabia

    U.S. bowlers paces the 93-player field after 18 games of qualifying with an average of 235.67; leads the top 36 players into Tuesday's Masters finals

    2014KIODay3Top4.jpgCraig Nidiffer, United States, defeated four-time PBA champion Mike Fagan, 239-228, to win the Day 3 Shootout in the 8th Kingdom International Open Sunday at Universal Bowling Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Nidiffer earned $5,000 for the victory and Fagan received $3,500 for second place.

    L-R Larsen, Fagan, Nidiffer and Jones.

    2014KIODay3CraigNidiffer.jpgNidiffer (right with his $5,000 check), who entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed, flew past Martin Larsen of Sweden in the semi-finals, 278-222. Fagan, who took the fourth and last place in the finals with 1396 (232.67 average), ousted Day 3 qualifying leader and fellow Team USA member Tommy Jones, 215-186.

    Jones received $2,500 for third place and Larsen got $2,000 for fourth place.

    Nidiffer led Day 1 qualifying (Shootout was delayed to Tuesday due to the late ending) with 1469, was 11th on Day 2 with 1357 and third on Day 3 with 1416, finished qualifying atop the 93-player leaderboard with 4242 total and an average of 235.67 for 18 games to lead the top 36 into Tuesday's Masters finals.

    The winner will receive the World Bowling Tour and a PBA title, if won by a PBA member, and the $10,000 top prize.

    2014KingdomOpenLogo.jpg The 2014 Kingdom International Open is the fourth stop of the 2015 World Bowling Tour and runs over four days from Nov. 29 thru December 2 at 30-lane Universal Bowling Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The tournament is open to male bowlers only.

    The tournament offers total prize fund of USD141,100 with separate prize pool of $75,900 for the three qualifying days ($25,300 per day) and $65,200 for the Masters event. Each daily winner gets $5,000 while the Masters champion takes home the $10,000 top prize.

    Qualifying of the Kingdom Open features six-game blocks with unlimited re-entries. Only the highest series counts. The first day will be played on short oil, the second day on long oil and the third day on combined oil (one lane on short oil, the other on long oil).

    The top 24 players each day will cash. Players 5-24 will be ranked according to the highest six-game total. The top four players advance to the playoffs (one-game matches). No. 1 bowls No. 4 and No. 2 takes on No. 3. The winners bowl for the $ 5,000 first prize. The losers will be ranked third and fourth according to their scores.

    The top 30 players after 18 combined games advance to the Masters event on Tuesday, Dec. 2. They will be joined by the top six Saudi bowlers outside the top 30.

    Those 36 will bowl nine games scratch, three games each on short, long and combined oil, to cut to the top four players, who will bowl for the title and the $10,000 top prize in the playoffs. The same format as in qualifying applies. The higher seeded player will determine the lane conditioning pattern. All 36 finalists will cash.

    Click here for full tournament information.

    WBTLogo_small.jpg The 2015 World Bowling Tour, which got underway in October with the PBA World Championship, consists of 15 tournaments in Arabia (6), United States (5), Asia (2) and Europe (2).

    Players earn ranking points based on how they finish in each event. The current points system is based on a continuous two-year cycle. The top three men and top three women in the points list will compete in the season-ending World Bowling Tour Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.

     


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    8th Kingdom International Open - Overall Qualifying after 18 games (final)


    Players with position, country and 18-game total. Top 30 plus the next six bowlers from Saudi Arabia (places 31-36) advance to the finals.

     


    8th Kingdom International Open - Day 3 Playoffs


    2014KIODay3CraigNidiffer.jpgChampionship Round:
    1. Craig Nidiffer, United States, 517 (2 games), $5,000
    2. Mike Fagan, United States, 443 (2 games), $3,500
    3. Tommy Jones, United States, 186 (1 game), $2,500
    4. Martin Larsen, Sweden, 222 (1 game), $2,000

    Playoff Results:
    Semi-final Match 1: No. 4 Fagan def. No. 1 Jones, 215-186
    Semi-final Match 2: No. 3 Nidiffer def. No. 2 Larsen, 278-222
    Championship: Nidiffer def Fagan, 239-228.

     


    8th Kingdom International Open - Day 3 Qualifying


    Top 4 advance to the playoffs.

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