PBA bowlers dominate B Squad after the first block of qualifying at H.H. Emir Cup 2015

    02/24/15

    Qatar

    Finn Mika Koivuniemi leads the 53-player field with 1407, an average of 234.50; Squad C and B will complete qualifying Wednesday at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. AST

    2014PBAMikaKoivuniemi.jpg2014ABFT07YousifFalah2.jpgSeven PBA bowlers from Finland, Sweden Colombia and USA paced a field of 53 players in the first qualifying block of B Squad in the H.H. Emir Cup 2015 Tuesday afternoon at Qatar Bowling Center in Doha.

    Mika Koivuniemi (pictured left) of Finland, a 15-time PBA champion who owns four World Bowling Tour titles and has won two WBT finals (2011 and 2014), posted a 1407 series, an average of 234.50, to position himself atop the leaderboard of the squads (B and C), which have completed six out of 12 qualifying games.

    Koivuniemi had games of 237, 288, 207, 223, 222 and 230. All the "Big Finn" needs is a repeat performance in his second six-game block on Wednesday afternoon to overtake Yousif Falah (above right) of Bahrain, who leads the 47 players of Squad A who have completed qualifying with 2755 12-game total and an average of 229.58.

    201213PBAMissyParkin.jpg2014PBARyanCiminelli.jpgSquad C leader Missy Parkin (left), United States, and Singapore's Cherie Tan sit in second and third place with 1404 and 1349 including 48 pins women's handicap.

    Only 13 pins separated the PBA players who sit in fourth to eighth place Ryan Ciminelli, USA (right; 1338); Bill O'Neill, USA (1336); Martin Larsen, Sweden (1336); Andres Gomez, Colombia (1333); and Osku Palermaa, Finland (1325).

    Squad B's New Hui Fen of Singapore and Mohannad Ebrahim of Kuwait slipped to 9th and 10th place with 1294 and 1290. Two-time PBA titlist Brad Angelo was seventh in Squad C to sit in 11th place with 1287.

    Naif Oqab, United Arab Emirates, was the best of the rest with 1269, good for 12th place. Khaled Al-Dossari was the best Qatari in squads B and C in 13th place with 1262.

    The bowlers of Squad C and B will complete qualifying Wednesday at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Arabia Standard Time (AST).

    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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    H.H. Emir Cup 2015 - Qualifying Standings after 6/12 games (Squad C and B only)


    Players, who bowled in both squads (C and B) are listed twice.

     


    H.H. Emir Cup 2015 - Standings after Qualifying (Squad A only)


    Top 24 players in the overall qualifying standings 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.