Doha: Kim Bolleby of Sweden maintained his leading position with a score of 2174, while Eric Tseng of Hong Kong climbed two spots to secure second place in the qualifying standings of the H.H. Emir Cup Bowling Championship 2023 on Wednesday.
Tseng, who was ranked fourth the previous day with a score of 2084, improved his lowest series of 652 to 728 in Squad 28, bringing his total score to 2160 and solidifying his position in the second overall spot. The overnight leader and 2012 champion,
Mostafa Al-Mousawi of Kuwait, who initially took the lead, also improved his score to 2147 and briefly moved back up to second place before settling for third. Ivan Tse, the 2023 IBF World Championships Trios gold medalist, dropped from third to fourth with a score of 2121.
Defending champion Tomas Kayhko of Finland impressed with a score of 2085, securing fifth place, while Ali Al Rashdi of UAE finished sixth with 2083. The top 6 players in the general standings will receive a bye and automatically advance to the Step 2 finals.
Timmy Tan of Malaysia dropped out of the top bracket and now leads the second bracket in seventh place with a score of 2082. Three Qataris, Yousef Al-Jabir, Ahmed Al-Ruwaili, and Mansour Al-Hajri, completed the top 10, securing eighth to tenth positions.
Jasem Al-Saqer of Kuwait secured the 26th position with a score of 1981. The qualifiers from the 7th to the 26th position, along with the top 2 Qatari youths, the top 2 qualifiers from the first two days, and the top 2 from the one-game Desperado Squad, will compete in the Step 1 finals.
With two days remaining for qualifying, it is expected that the cut will increase to 220 or more. The top 10 players with the highest scores in the Step 1 finals will then be joined by the top 6 seeded qualifiers from the general standings for another 8 games in the Step 2 finals.
In the Step 2 finals, the top 5 players with the highest scores will advance to the next stage. Players positioned 3, 4, and 5 will compete in one game in Step 3. The winner of that game will then face the second seed from Step 2 in a one-game match in Step 4.
The winner of Step 4 will then face the top seed from Step 2 in the title match in Step 5. The ultimate champion will be determined in Step 5. The qualifying rounds will conclude on December 7, followed by the Desperado Squad.
