Team USA member Derek Eoff (pictured left) holds a comfortable 131-pin lead after both men's squads have completed 12 out of 24 games of qualifying in the 44th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup at Bol 300 in Hermosillo, Mexico.

Eoff started with a 287 game and never looked back on the way to 1450 six-game effort and 2790 total overall, an average of 232.50 for 12 games.

"My scores were definitely better today, and I feel like I bowled better overall, but I did get a few breaks along the way, too," Eoff said. "The lanes ended up being a little bit different, but I was able to make the right ball change, and things worked out pretty well."

While most bowlers wouldn't consider switching balls after shooting 287, one of Eoff's goals for the week is to recognize what is happening on the lanes and stay ahead of the transition. When he saw the lanes starting to hook early, he switched to a ball that was a little cleaner through the front part of the lane.

Now, at the halfway point, he's right where he wants to be and has bowlers from 81 other countries chasing him.

"Besides making quality shots, it is important to make good decisions and try to stay ahead of the changes out there," Eoff said. "There's still a long way to go, so I am going to keep the same mindset and focus on what I need to do each frame to throw a strike. You obviously want to put up big numbers and have everyone else trying to catch you, and that puts all of the pressure on them. That's the advantage of being on top."

Hussain Al Suwaidi, bronze medalist in All Events at the 20th Asian Championships earlier this year, led Squad B on Monday afternoon behind a 1369 block to leap into second place with 2659 (221.58).

Jack Guay, Canada, remained in third position and is tied with Luis Rodríguez (left), Puerto Rico, at 2656, just three pins behind Al Suwaidi.

Zulmazran Zulkifli, Malaysia, runner-up in the 2008 World Ranking Masters and the Asian Championships Masters, held on to fifth place with 2653.

Block One leader Martin Larsen slipped from first to sixth place with 2631 after a 1259 set today. Seventh place belongs to Paul Stott (right), Ireland, with 2622. Rounding out the top 8 is Zilvinas Perminas, Lithuania, with 2611 or an average of 217.58

Russian Nikita Koshelev (pictured left) set the highlight in Squad B when he posted the second 300 game of 2008 QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup and the first by a man in the fourth game of the day and his 10th overall. To watch our video, click here.

The Russian finished the day with 1211 due to low games of 146 and 168 en route to sit in 20th place with 2521 (210.08).

The men will continue on Tuesday with the third qualifying block, Squad B at noon and Squad A at 4.pm.

All competitors will bowl four six-game blocks (24 games overall) over four days before the field is cut to the top 24 on Wednesday. Advancing players will bowl an additional eight games on Thursday, Nov. 13 before the field is cut to the top 8. The remaining players will bowl eight games of round robin match play with bonus points on Friday morning to determine the top 3 for Friday's stepladder finals.