Marshall Kent wins Masters event in 8th Kingdom International Open

    12/02/14

    2015 World Bowling Tour #4

    Kent earns his first PBA title with 257-206 victory over Swede Martin Larsen; Craig Nidiffer wins his second 5,000 Dollar in check in Day 1 Shootout

    2014EBT19MarshallKent2.jpg2014EBT19MartinLarsen2.jpgHeading into its first adult World Championship, PBA rookie Marshall Kent (pictured left), United States, defeated three-time World Champion Martin Larsen (right) of Sweden, 257-206, to win the Masters event in the 8th Kingdom International Open Tuesday at Universal Bowling Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

    Kent, who owns two European Bowling Tour titles, earned $10,000 for the victory. Larsen, an 8-time EBT champion who was also looking for his first PBA title, received $7,000 for second place.

    In the first semi-final match, Kent, who averaged 240.11 for nine games (three 3-game blocks on different oil pattern) to earn the No. 1 seed, edged four-time PBA champion and fellow Team USA member Mike Fagan, 243-237.

    Larsen seeded second, flew past No. 3 Khaled Al Dubyyan of Kuwait, 224-174, to get his second shot at his first PBA title in a week. Larsen finished third in the 14th Qatar Open losing to eventual champion Dom Barrett of England in the semifinals.

    Fagan earned $5,000 for third place and Al Dubyyan received $4,000 for fourth place.

    2014KIODay1Top4.jpgThe final day of competition started with the Day 1 Shootout, which was postponed due to the late ending of the qualifying squads on Saturday. In a high-scoring title match, Craig Nidiffer, United States, defeated England's Dom Barrett, 278-269, to win his second 5,000 Dollar check after his victory in the Day 3 Shootout yesterday. Barrett pocketed $3,500 for second place.

    L-R Al Ameeri, Barrett, Nidiffer and Al Shaikh.

    2014KIODay3CraigNidiffer.jpgNidiffer (right), who was the No. 1 seed after averaging 244.83 for six games, topped Saudi Arabia's Bader Al Shaikh in the semifinal round, 234-198. Barrett won a low-scoring encounter against Rakan Al Ameeri, Kuwait, 169-166, to earn a shot at the $5,000 top prize.

    Al Shaikh received $2,500 for third place and Al Ameeri took $2,000 for fourth place.

    2014KingdomOpenLogo.jpg The 2014 Kingdom International Open ran over four days from Nov. 29 thru December 2 at 30-lane Universal Bowling Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The tournament was open to male bowlers only.

    The tournament offered 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 got $5,000 while the Masters champion too home the $10,000 top prize.

    Qualifying of the Kingdom Open featured six-game blocks. The first day was 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 cashed. Players 5-24 were ranked according to the highest six-game total. The top four players advanced to the playoffs (one-game matches). No. 1 bowled No. 4 and No. 2 took on No. 3. The winners bowled for the $ 5,000 first prize. The losers were ranked third and fourth according to their scores.

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

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

    Click here for full tournament information.

    WBTLogo_small.jpg The 8th Kingdom International Open was also the fourth stop of the 2015 World Bowling Tour and awarded a PBA international title as the winner was a PBA member.

    The 2015 World Bowling Tour, which got underway in October with the PBA World Championship, currently 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 November in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.

     


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    8th Kingdom International Open - Day 1 Playoffs


    Championship Round:
    1. Craig Nidiffer, United States, 512 (2 games), $5,000
    2. Dominic Barrett, England, 438 (2 games), $3,500
    3. Bader Al Shaikh, Saudi Arabia, 198 (1 game), $2,500
    4. Rakan Al Ameeri, Kuwait, 166 ( game), $2,000

    Playoff Results:
    Semi-final Match 1: No. 1 Nidiffer def. No. 4 Al Shaikh, 234-198
    Semi-final Match 2: No. 3 Barrett def. No. 2 Al Ameeri, Kuwait, 169-166
    Championship: Nidiffer def. Barrett, 278-269.

     


    8th Kingdom International Open - Masters Playoffs


    Championship Round:
    1. Marshall Kent, United States, 500 (2 games), $10,000
    2. Martin Larsen, Sweden, 430 (2 games), $7,000
    3. Mike Fagan, United States, 237 (1 game), $5,000
    4. Khaled Al Dubyyan, Kuwait, 174 (1 game), $4,000

    Playoff Results:
    Semi-final Match 1: No. 1 Kent def. No. 4 Fagan, 243-237
    Semi-final Match 2: No. 2 Larsen def. No. 3 Al Dubyyan, 224-174
    Championship: Kent def 2. Larsen, 257-206.

     


    8th Kingdom International Open - Masters Finals


    Players with position, country and 9-game total; first three-game block on medium oil, second block on long oil, and third block on dual lane condition. Top 4 advance to the playoffs.

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