It's down to 16 at 9th Kingdom International Open in Saudi Arabia

    12/06/15

    Saudi Arabia

    Singapore's Ong leads 12 bowlers into a final round clash with the top 5 qualifiers

    2015SEAGYannaphonLarpapharat2.jpg2015SinaiOpenFrederikOhrgaard2.jpgRemy Ong of Singapore averaged 236.13 for eight games to lead the semi-final round at the 9th Kingdom International Open Sunday at Universal Bowling Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ong toppled 1889 pins to lead the top 12 players into a final round clash with the top 4 qualifiers, who received a first round bye.

    Yannaphon Larp-apharat (pictured left) of Thailand was 82 pins behind in second place with 1807 and was followed by Hong Kong bowler Rickle Kam in third place with 1774.

    Image2015KIOAbdulHakimAlSaud.jpgFrederik Øhrgaard (above right) of Denmark, who barely made the qualifying cut, was fourth on 1762. Eric Tseng (left) of Hong Kong took the 11th and last spot to advance for an international bowler with 1657 (207.13 average).

    The 12th spot was reserved for the next Saudi bowler. This spot went to Prince AbdulHakim Al Saud (right), who finished his set with a 134 game to slip out of the top 11 to 13th place with 1642 (205.25).

    12th place Basel Alanzi of Kuwait (1647) was ranked 13th and was the first player to miss the cut.

    Those 12 players will clash with Wu Siu Hong, Hong Kong; Ryan Lalisang, Indonesia; Lau Kwun Ho, Hong Kong; and Yasser Abulreesh, Saudi Arabia, in another eight-game round starting Monday at 1 p.m. Arabia Standard Time (AST) before the cut to the top 5 for the stepladder finals.

    2015KingdomOpenLogo_small.jpg The 9th Kingdom International Open Saudi Arabia, the 17th event of the 2015 World Bowling Tour, will be held December 3-7 at Universal Bowling Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

    Players will compete for total prize fund of roughly 110,000 US Dollar with $25,000 going to the champion, $12,000 to the first runner-up, $7,000 to the third, $4,500 to the fourth and $4,000 to the fifth place finishers. Last-to-cash payout is $1,000 for 32nd place.

    Qualifying (12 games in six game blocks) runs from Dec. 3-5 (Day One: first block; Day Two: second block; Day Three: Optional re-entry - maximum one six-game block).

    Total 32 players will qualify for the finals on Sunday and Monday, Dec. 6 & 7 and will be seeded as follows:
    • Places 1-3: Top 3 qualifiers
    • Place 4: Highest Saudi bowler
    • Places 5-28: Next 24 qualifiers
    • Place 29-32: Four highest Saudi bowlers
    Bowlers ranked 1-4 will bypass the semi-final round. Players ranked 5-32 will bowl eight games scratch to cut to the top 11 plus the next bowler from Saudi Arabia, who will meet the top 4 qualifiers in the final round.

    After another eight-game block scratch, the top five players will advance to the stepladder finals. Players ranked 3-5 will clash in the opening match. The winner takes on the No. 2 seed and the winner of that match meets the No. 1 seed in the championship match. The top seeded player must be defeated twice to win the title.

    The top 16 Asian men will advance to the ninth and final leg of the 2015 Asian Bowling Federation (ABF) Tour which will be contested on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at Universal Bowling Center in Riyadh.

    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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    9th Kingdom International Open - Standings after Semi-final Round


    Top 11 plus the best Saudi bowler (12th place) advance to the second round.

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