TWO WORLD BOWLING TOUR QUALIFYING EVENTS LEFT AS TOP 3 RANKED PLAYERS REMAIN UNCHANGED

LAUSANNE, September 30– Following the completion of the WBT Thailand this weekend, the top three ranked male athletes and the top three ranked female athletes for the World Bowling Tour Finals remain unchanged after the tier 2 event. Whilst the top six places are currently occupied by 5 athletes from the USA and one from Indonesia, the last two events of the series, the US Open and the Kuwait Open, are tier 1 events meaning athletes can earn the maximum number of WBT points. Those currently ranked in the World Bowling Tour top 10 rankings still have a chance to qualify for the WBT Finals.

The Top 10 WBT Rankings for Men & the Top 10 WBT Rankings for Women after the WBT Thailand

The WBT Thailand was very much an international field and being labelled as a tier 2 event meant that the top 100 athletes won 4 times the base line points towards the WBT Rankings. However, these points were not enough to shake the top three WBT places for the men, where Jacob Butturff remains in top position even though he did not compete at the Thai event. For the women, the top three all competed in the WBT Thailand and further solidified their positions in the top 1, 2 and 3 positions. However, Liz Johnson’s position as the number one ranked female in the WBT Thailand was not enough to knock Danielle McEwan out of the top spot in the WBT Rankings.

Top 10 male athletes and top 10 female athletes from the WBT Thailand

Whilst Australia’s Jason Belmonte didn’t compete at the WBT Thailand and has been knocked from 4^th position down to 9^th on the WBT Rankings, the previous WBT Winner and many time WBT Finalist, is expected to be at the US Open, an event which has previously seen him finish in the top ten. If he succeeds at the event, this may place him in good standing to finish the year in the top 3 of the WBT Rankings. The same can be said for England’s Dom Barrett, who currently is placed 6^th on the WBT Rankings but is the reigning Champion for the US Open. Viewers can watch the US Open on bowl.com from October 23-30.

The Kuwait Open, which is again a tier 1 event, will serve as the last chance for athletes to qualify for the next day’s World Bowling Tour Finals. The Kuwait Open boasts a lucrative prize pool and offers athletes the chance to compete in the new Kuwait Bowling Centre, a first for any WBT event. Viewers can watch the event from October 31^st to November 6^th on dailymotion.com/world_bowling

The season finale of the 12-month series, the 2019 World Bowling Tour Finals, will take place on November 7^th in Kuwait City. The WBT finals will feature the top three male and top three female athletes from the 2019 World Bowling Tour rankings list after the completion of the 2019 Kuwait Open. For the first time in the history of the series, one male and one female athlete from each of the three Zones (Asian, European and Pan American) will also be invited to take part in the final making the field of contenders six for men and six for women.

About the World Bowling Tour: The World Bowling Tour is sanctioned by World Bowling, the governing body for the sport of bowling. The tour is the premier international bowling series that is hosted in numerous, unique cities around the globe. Men and women compete for points to earn places on The World Bowling Tour rankings, the points system that awards the top 100 male and top 100 female players from each WBT event. The top three men and the top three women athletes from the current year cycle qualify for a head to head finals which takes place annually. For more information see www.worldbowling.org/worldbowlingtour

About World Bowling: World Bowling is the governing body for the sport of tenpin bowling and heads 114 national federations from five confederations. Bowling is played in the Asian Games, the Pan American Games, The World Games and the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.

For more information on World Bowling, visit WorldBowling.sport or please contact: Megan Tidbury, PR & Marketing Director, Telephone: +41 78 830 3651; Email: [email protected]