Bahrain's Yousif Falah takes early lead in H.H. Emir Cup 2015

    02/23/15

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    Falah averages 246.33 in the first six-game block of Squad A to lead a field of 47 players from 11 countries

    2014ABFT07YousifFalah2.jpgYousif Falah (pictured left) of Bahrain averaged 246.33 over six games and toppled 1478 pins to take the early lead in the qualifying of the H.H. Emir Cup 2015 as the 47 bowlers of Squad A have completed the first of two six game blocks Sunday at Qatar Bowling Center in Doha.

    2014EBT19DanielleMcEwan.jpgFalah came out of the gates quickly posting three consecutive games in the 250s (258, 254 and 259) followed by 226, 202 and his high game of 279 to take a 133-pin lead into the second block on Monday.

    Team USA member Danielle McEwan (right) averaged 30 pins less than Falah (216.17) and knocked down 1297 pins to sit in second place with 1345 total including eight pins handicap each game.

    2014HHEmirCupKhaledAlDubyyan.jpgGhanim M Aboujassoum was the top local bowler in third place with 1298 (216.33). Aboujassoum improved every game, posting scores of 184, 190, 204, 230, 234 and 256. Places four and five belonged to Kuwaitis Salem Al-Hajras and Khaled Al-Dubyyan (left), who had 1285 and 1274, respectively.

    Rounding out the top 6, who will earn a first-round bye for the finals at the end of the qualifying, was Naif Oqab of the United Arab Emirates with 1272 and an average of 212.

    The bowlers of Squad A will return Monday, February 23, at 4 p.m. Arabia Standard Time (AST) for the second block of six games. B and C Squad bowlers will bowl their qualifying blocks on Tuesday and Wednesday.

    2015EmirCupLogo_small.jpg The H.H. Emir Cup 2015 is the eighth tournament on the 2015 World Bowling Tour and the qualifying event for the Qatar leg, the opening event on the 2015 Asian Bowling Federation (ABF) Tour.

    The Emir Cup will be held from Sunday, February 22-27 at the Qatar Bowling Center, a 32-laner in Doha, Qatar. Players will compete for total prize money of US$102,000 with $25,000 going to the winner, $12,500 to the runner-up and $6,000 each to the third and fourth place finishers.

    According to an agreement between World Bowling and the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), the Emir Cup will award a PBA title, if won by a PBA member.

    Qualifying runs over four days featuring three squads (A, B and C). Each squad bowls two six-game blocks (Squad A on Feb. 22 & 23; Squad B and C on Feb. 24 & 25). Women receive eight pins handicap each game.

    Total 32 players including the top 24 players after 12 games plus the next two Qatari youth players, the next two Qatari bowlers and the top four players from the Desperado Squad, advance to the finals on February 26 and 27. The top six qualifiers earn a first-round bye.

    The other 26 players bowl 6 games scratch with the top 10 advancing to the next round. Those ten and the top six qualifiers roll another six-game block scratch to determine the top four players who advance to the playoffs.

    The No. 1 seed meets the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed takes on the No. 3 seed over two games with the total pin fall to determine the winners, who bowl for the title and the $25,000 top prize in the two-game total pins championship match.

    WBTLogo_small.jpg The 2015 World Bowling Tour, which actually got underway in November 2014, currently consists of 19 tournaments in the Middle East (8), United States (7), Asia (2) and Europe (2) including seven "majors" and 12 regular tournaments.

    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 2013 and all points from the 2014 and 2015 are added to determine the points list.

    The top three men and top three women in the WBT points list will be invited to compete in the 2015 World Bowling Tour Finals in the beginning of 2016.

    World Bowling provides governance to international bowling and is made up of 134 bowling international federations. For more information on the World Bowling Tour, click here.

     


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    Top 24 players plus the next two Qatari youth players (places 25-26), the next two Qatari bowlers (places 27-28) and the top four players from the Desperado Squad (places 29-32) will advance to the finals.

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