Cameron Weier remains unchallenged, wins qualifying at Qatar Bowling Open

    12/02/15

    2015 European Bowling Tour #16

    JR Raymond shoots into second place on Tuesday: Americans lead a field of 43 players, including three women, into the finals on Wednesday; Aaron Lorincz (USA) hits the cutoff number for 34th place with 1355 (225.83 average)

    2015EBT16CameronWeier.jpg2015EBT16JRRaymond.jpgCameron Weier (pictured left), United States, remained unchallenged on Tuesday en route to win the qualifying of the Qatar Bowling Open and to lead a field of 43 players, including three women, into Wednesday's finals at Qatar Bowling Center in Doha.

    Weier, who averaged 254 in squad 9/17, was the only player who surpassed the 1500-mark, a 250 average, to lead the 156-player field from 26 countries after the six-day qualifying portion with 1524.

    His compatriot JR Raymond (right) paced the penultimate squad on Tuesday afternoon with 1471 (245.17), including games of 220, 267, 289, 235, 259 and 201, to shoot into second place in the overall standings. He earned a 250 Dollar bonus.

    2015EBT16RyanLalisang.jpg2015EBT16WuSiuHong.jpgRyan Lalisang (left) of Indonesia slipped to third place with 1467 and was followed by World Cup champion Wu Siu Hong (right) of Hong Kong and Daniel Fransson of Sweden in fourth and fifth place, both on 1448.

    Places six and seven belonged to U.S. bowlers Tommy Jones and Ronnie Sparks Jr. with 1432 and 1428, respectively. Rounding out the top 10 were PBA champions Andres Gomez of Colombia (1416), Stuart Williams of England (1414) and Marshall Kent, USA (1414). The top 10 received a first-round bye.

    2015EBT16DominicBarrett.jpg2015EBT16VictoriaJohansson.jpgMohammed Al-Merekhi, the best bowler from the host country Qatar, missed the top 10 by just 1 pin in 11th place with 1413. Two-time defending Qatar Open champion Dom Barrett (left) of England hit 1400 on the nose in the first squad on Tuesday, 15th overall, to qualify in 15th place.

    Victoria Johansson (right) of Sweden led the last squad (#17) with 1388 total including handicap, an average of 223.33, to jump into 18th place. Johansson was the best of nine women in the field. Joining her in the finals are Danielle McEwan, United States (21st; 1387) and Jenny Wegner, Sweden (36; from the squad 6-8 bracket).

    Aaron Lorincz, United States, who won his first PBA Regional title in November, hit the cutoff number for 34th place with 1355 (225.83 average). The top 34 will be joined in the finals by an extra six players from the early qualifying squads (1-8) and the top 3 of the Desperado Squad.

    60 players took to the lanes Tuesday night for one last game and it was Hassan Abdul Rahman of Qatar who led the desperados with a huge 267 game. Ammar Tarrad of Saudi Arabia took the second spot with 256 while Hong Kong's Eric Tseng grabbed the third and last spot to advance with 247.

    2015EBT16QatarOpenLogo_small.jpg The 2015 Qatar Bowling Open is the 16th and last stop of the 2015 European Bowling Tour and also the 16th event of 2015 World Bowling Tour. The EBT "Platinum" tournament, the highest of four categories, will be held from Nov. 26 - Dec. 2, 2015, in Doha, Qatar.

    The tournament offers total prize fund of 161,000 U.S. Dollars with $40,000 going to the winner, $20,000 to the runner-up and a last-to-cash payout of $1,300 for 43rd place.

    Qualifying (6 games, unlimited re-entries) ran from Thursday, Nov. 26 through Tuesday, Dec. 1. Total 43 players including the top 34 in the overall qualifying standings, the top 2 each of the Nov. 26 (#1 & 2), Nov. 27 (#3-5) and Nov. 28 squads (#6-8) and the top 3 of the Desperado Squad advanced to the finals on Wednesday, Dec. 2. The top 10 qualifiers received a first-round bye.

    The other 33 finalists will bowl six games scratch with the top 18 advancing to the second round. Those 18 and the 10 qualifying leaders will roll another six-game block scratch to cut to the top 4, who will advance to the semifinals.

    The No. 1 bowls No. 4 and the No. 2 bowls No. 3 with the two-game total pinfall determining the winner. The two semifinal winners will bowl for the title in the championship match over two games total pins.

    2015EBTLogo_small.jpg The 2015 European Bowling Tour consists of 16 tournaments in 12 countries featuring three "Platinum" events, three "Gold", three "Silver" and seven "Satellite" events. All 16 tournaments together offer total prize fund of 850.000 Euro.

    The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event receive ranking points. Those points will be tabulated throughout the season to determine the top 12 men and top 12 women, who will compete in the 9th EBT Masters July 25, 2016 at Rose'n Bowl in Serravalle, San Marino following the 12th San Marino Open.

    WBTLogo_small.jpg The 2015 World Bowling Tour, which actually got underway in November 2014, consists of 19 tournaments in 12 countries, eight in the Middle East, seven in the U.S., and two each in Asia and Europe, including seven "majors" (double ranking points) and 12 regular tournaments.

    If a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) wins a World Bowling Tour event, it counts as a PBA title.

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

    The top three men and top three women in the points list will compete in the season-ending WBT Finals in Indianapolis on Feb. 13, 2016. The qualifying standings for the World Bowling Tour Finals are different to the WBT Ranking as they include all WBT events since Nov. 1, 2013.

    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.

    Photos courtesy of Asian Bowling Federation (ABF)

     


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    2015 Qatar Bowling Open - Standings after Qualifying and Desperado Squad


    Total 43 players including the top 34 in the overall qualifying standings, the top 2 each of the Nov. 28 (places 35 & 36), Nov. 27 (places 37 & 38) and Nov. 26 squads (places 39 & 40) and the top 3 of the Desperado Squad (places 41-43) advance to the finals on Wednesday, Dec. 2; top 10 receive a first-round bye

    300 games (4) - Zakareya Al-Zoqari, Martin Larsen, Osku Palermaa, Kamron Doyle.

    Tie Rule (Qualifying)
    The highest positioned player will be the player scoring the highest total of all counting qualification games minus the score of the lowest game. If a tie still exists, the highest positioned player will be the player with the highest total of all counting qualification games minus the score of the two lowest games etc.

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