No. 1 seeded Nick Froggatt from England and Kerena Dykes, Ireland, the No. 4 seed, won the men's and women's titles in the 19th Irish Open Championships at Leisureplex Stillorgan in Dublin. In an All-English affair, Froggatt cruised to a 226-165 victory over team mate Stuart Williams. Picture courtesy of Paddy Kilduff. 

Froggatt earned the 5.000 Euro top prize while Williams, the 2004 IO champion, pocketed 3.000. Williams, seeded third, ousted defending champion Svein Roger Olsen, Norway, in the opening match, 226-201, before he flew past Stewart Meadus, Canada, in the semi, 256-221. Meadus received 1.600 Euro and Olsen garnered 1.200 .

Dykes took a different route to the title as she defeated Nina Flack, Sweden, in the opening match, 225-193, then topped Nikki Ainge, England, in the semi, 247-226, for the right to bowl tournament leader Kirsten Penny, England, for the title.

Dykes was on fire and won the match, the title and 1.800 Euro, 258-216. She is the first Irish Winner of either the men's or women's section since the event started in 1989. Penny was consoled with 1.350, while Ainge and Flack received 650 and 400 Euro, resp.

Kirsten Penny, England, finished the women's Round Robin match play with 279 and 268 to secure the top spot in the stepladder final. Penny, who already won the side event at ALSAA Bowl, averaged 230.09 for 23 games and totaled 5427 pins.

Her compatriot Nikki Ainge was second with 5343. Nina Flack (right), Sweden, who led the top 8 women after five of seven match play games /21 games overall) finished third with 5290. She will meet Kerena Dykes, Ireland, in the opening match.

Dykes beat out Dutch Ghislaine Van Der Tol for the final spot by twenty pins, 5275 to 5255. Dykes defeated Van Der Tol in the penultimate match, 264-217, to overtake the Dutch international by 18 pins. Van der Tol won her last match with a 265-game but Dykes countered with a 267-198 victory over Kamilla Kjeldsen to secure the fourth place.

Kjeldsen, Denmark, who led the women's division since the qualifying, slipped all the way out of the finals in a span of seven games to finish sixth with 5242.

No changes among the top four in the men's division as Nick Froggatt and Stuart Williams (l-r), both England, Canadian Stewart Meadus and defending champion Svein Roger Olsen, Norway, reached the final.

Froggatt won six of his nine matches in round robin and widened his lead to 112 pins. The lefty finished with 7018 pinfall total and an average of 235.97 over 29 games. Meadus was second with 6906.

Williams won five matches including a 251-250 vs. Froggatt to overtake Olsen (right) and finish third with 6875. He will, however, face the Norwegian in the opening match as the 2006 Irish Open champion secured the final spot with 6796, five pins ahead of Ireland's Graham Turner, who had to settle for fifth place with 6791.

Nick Froggatt, England, and Kamilla Kjeldsen, Denmark, rolled four-game series of 968 and 957 to lead the top 10 men and top 8 women into Round Robin match play in the 19th Irish Open Championships at Leisureplex Stillorgan in Dublin.

Alan Gibbons, Ireland, and Nina Flack, Sweden took the final spots with 4547 20-game total (227.35) and 3485 (217.81).

After nine (men) and seven games (women) of match play, the field will be cut to the top 4 men and the top 4 women, who will determine the champions in a traditional stepladder format.

The men's champion will receive the 5.000 Euro top prize, while the Ladies winner will pocket 1.800 Euro.

Nick Froggatt, England, and Kamilla Kjeldsen, Denmark, lead the top 18 men and top 18 women into the final day at the 19th Irish Open Championships at Leisureplex Stillorgan in Dublin.

Froggatt overtook the lead in the men's division in Round 2 with a 929 four-game total, while qualifying leader Stephen O'Connor fell to 11th behind a 754 series including a 130-game. Froggatt rolled another 937 set in Round 3 to lead the remaining 18 players with 3781 16-game total, and an average of 236.41.

Canadian Stewart Meadus is second with 3742, with 2004 IO champion Stuart Williams, England, in third at 3674 and defending champion Svein Roger Olsen, Norway, in fourth, 3663.

American Tim Mack is in 9th place with 3599 and three-time European ranking champion Paul Moor from England, IO winner in 2005 and last year's runner-up, is 13th at 3547. Thomas Fagerström from Norway took the 18th and final spot with 3533 and an average of 220.81.

On the women's side, Kjeldsen continued to lead the field after 12 games with 2740 total and an average of 228.33. The former European ranking champion targets to improve on two runner-up finishes in Dublin in the past two years.

2003 and 2004 IO champion Kirsten Penny, England, leaped one spot into second place with 2682. Her compatriot Nikki Ainge slipped from second to third with 2663. Next are Swedes Nina Flack and Ǻsa Wetterlund with 2645 and 2626, resp.

Defending champion Laura Rhoney, Scotland, leaped seven spots due to a 910-series to sit in to sixth place with 2583. Swede Helene Stighall rolled the highest series in Round 2 (927) to move up from 19th to 8th place with 2573. Christine Van Boom, Belgium, hit the cutoff number with 2446, an average of 203.83.

The top 18 men and the top 18 women return on Sunday morning to bowl another four-game block to cut to the top 10 men and the top 8 women for Round Robin. After nine (men) and seven games (women) of match play, the field will be cut to the top 4 men and the top 4 women, who will determine the champions in a traditional stepladder format.

First block leaders Stephen O'Connor, Ireland and Kamilla Kjeldsen, Denmark, held onto the lead in the 19th Irish Open Championships at Leisureplex Stillorgan in Dublin after the completion of the second four-game block.

O'Connor, who had an outstanding 1058-series in the first block, added 880 to lead the men's division with 1938 eight-game total and an average of 242.25. His compatriot Alan Gibbons jumped from 17th to second behind a 1005-set in the second block. Gibbons has totaled 1917 (239.63). Nick Froggatt, England, leapfrogged from 23rd to third behind the field-best 1022 series, 1915 (239.38). Barry Foley, Ireland, hit the cutoff number for 72nd place with 1628 (203.50).

Kjeldsen, who outaveraged the women's field by at least 23 pins in the first block (1014/253.50), had a 860 series on day two to finish atop the leaderboard with 1874 (234.25). Nikki Ainge, England, used the highest series of 938 to leap from 12th to second place with 1801 pinfall total (225.13). Third place belonged to Kirsten Penny, England, with 1792 (224.00). Irene Kragh-Eckell, Norway, took the 36th and final post with 1464 (183.00).

Ireland's Stephen O'Connor and Kamilla Kjeldsen, Denmark, have positioned themselves atop the men's and women's qualifying leaderboard after four of eight games at Leisureplex Stillorgan in Dublin.

O'Connor had games of 269, 276, 258 and 255 for 1058 four-game total, a 264.50 average to hold a comfortable 62-pin lead over Canadian Stewart Meadus (996).

Kjeldsen, a two-time European ranking champion, felled 1014 pins (253.50) and outaveraged her nearest competitor, Priscilla Maaswinkel (NED, 922), by 23 pins.

The top 72 men and the top 36 women will advance to the next round. The men's winner will receive 5.000 Euro, while the women's champion will walk away with 1.800 Euro.