2006 World Masters champion Biboy Rivera (pictured left), Philippines, fired games of 191, 279, 245, 207 and 259 to lead the men's division after the first day of qualifying in the 46th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup at Bowling de Provence in Toulon, France with 1181 five-game total and an average of 236.20.

Squad B leader Kwan Harn-Chieh (right), Switzerland, fell one spot to second place with 1159 (231.80). The 25-year-old lefthander had games of 269, 214, 234, 226 and 216.

1988 World Cup champion Mohammad Al-Qubaisi, UAE, started his series in Squad A with 702 after three games (237, 253, 212) but had to settle for third place after closing out the set with 234 and 209 for 1145.

Alejandro Reyna (left), Costa Rica, used a 289, the highest game in the tournament so far, to overtake fourth place with 1118. Squad B runner-up William Ching, Venezuela, slipped to fifth place with 1107.

Billy Nimick (right), Northern Ireland, moved into sixth place behind an 1103 series including a 277 opening game. John Szczerbinski, United States, was the last player who surpassed the 1100-mark in seventh place with 1101.

Roberto Silva, Mexico, was eighth with 1090 followed by Nicolas Forestier, representing the host country France, in ninth place with 1086. Rounding out the top 10 was Matt Miller, England, with 1081.

Stephen O'Connor (left), Ireland, and Mubarak Al-Muraikhi (right), Qatar, are currently tied for the 24th place and final spot to advance at 1025 or an average of 205.00.

The men are done for today and will return Tuesday morning for the second block of five games.

Record 167 players (91 men and record 76 women) from 92 countries will bowl for the coveted World Cup titles. Men and women bowl in separate divisions each split into two squads.

The total number of participants broke the previous record of 166 set in the 40th BWC in Singapore in 2004. The number of females bowlers broke the previous record of 73 set in Singapore, Caracas (2006) and St. Peters burgh (2007) .

To view the complete list of participating countries and players click here .

All photos will be published on Bowlingdigital's Facebook account.
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The preliminaries consist of 4 blocks of 5 games with the top 24 men and the top 24 women after 20 games advancing to the intermediate round. The top 24 players bowl another 8 games with the pinfall total from the preliminaries being carried forward.

The top 8 men and the top 8 women after 28 games will bowl a further 7 games round robin match play plus 1 game position round total 8 games) with 30 pins bonus per win and 15 for a tie. The top 3 men and the top 3 women after 36 games including bonus pins will determine the champions in a stepladder final in best-of-three games format on Saturday Oct. 23.

Bowlingdigital.com will cover the event live from Bowling de Provence with stories and results after each round, high quality photos and high definition videos commencing Sunday Oct. 17 with the Opening Ceremonies all the way through to the stepladder on Saturday Oct. 3.

Bowlingdigital will also simulcast all broadcast coverage provided by BOWL.com.