Ireland's Stephen O'Connor made it to the quarter-final stage of this year's World Cup in Toulon before finally finishing in 17th place.
O'Connor was in 12th place going into the quarter-finals, but fell back five spots in the eight-game round of 24 bowlers after shooting 1628 for his eight games (an average of 203.5).
The quarter-final round started off well for O'Connor, shooting opening games of 235 and 220. Unfortunately things went downhill from here, with the Irishman bowling two 180's and a 190 in his next six games, along with three games only just over 200.
However, O'Connor can be very proud of his performance in France, given the fact that he has not had much bowling over the last few months and the pressure that comes with playing in such a prestigious event.
Canada's Michael Schmidt eventually came out victorious, defeating the number one qualifier, England's Matt Miller, in the final match.
Schmidt had had a slow start to the tournament, but had gone from strength to strength as the tournament progressed to make the last three.
He then defeated Biboy Rivera of the Phillipines in the semi-final match 2-0, the scores being 247-215 and 252-202.
Momentum can be everything in bowling, and perhaps this was an advantage to Schmidt going into the final match.
If it was it didnt immediately seem that way. England's Miller took the first game 246-205, and it seemed as if maybe Schmidt had used up all his big games in defeating Rivera in the previous match.
However, a ball change in the tenth frame of the first game would prove a masterstroke by Schmidt, as he started the second game with three strikes to take an early lead in the game. Despite two consecutive splits in frames four and five, Schmidt was able to hold on to the second game with another three strikes in-a-row to shut out Miller before the Englishman could even finish his tenth frame.
Schmidt then started the decider in familiar fashion, with another three strikes. However, the balance swung back in Miller's favour again as Schmidt left a 7-10 split in the fourth frame and a solid four-pin in the fifth.
This final match was becoming a classic, and the drama continued in frame six as Miller opened the frame after leaving the 3-6-9-10 combination and failing to carry the nine pin.
Schmidt took full advantage of Miller's slip up with a double in frames six and seven. Miller then opened his second frame in-a-row in frame seven to leave the door wide open for Schmidt to take his second World Cup crown (Schmidt won the competition previously in 2005).
Schmidt obliged with a strike in the ninth frame, but hit light in the pocket in the tenth to leave a seven-pin and keep Miller in the match. However, he would not be in it for long.
Miller failed to come up with the vital strike in the ninth frame and the title was gone. Schmidt eventually won the deciding game comfortably, 224-118.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
O'Connor makes top 24 cut in World Cup
Ireland's Stephen O'Connor has qualified for the quarter finals of the World Cup in Toulon, France. The top 24 bowlers made the cut after 18 games of play.
Friday's (October 22nd) quarter finals consist of 8 more games,after which the top 8 bowlers will participate in a 7-game round-robin semi-final plus a 1-game position round.
Ireland's O'Connor lies in 12th place going into the quarter-finals with an average of 214 and is just 15 pins off the coveted eighth spot to make the semi-final round robin stage. This spot is held by Canada's Michael Schmidt going into the eight-game quarter final.
O'Connor has only encountered a couple of slip-ups over his 18 games so far, with only 3 games under 200. The high point so far for the Irishman was his 267 in game , which came on the back of a disastrous 128 in game 3. This harden resilience to come back from such a huge low to produce his best bowling thus far in the tournament should stand him in good stead in terms of confidence going into the quarter-finals.
You can watch Stephen's attempts to make the semi-finals through the live streaming facility at http://www.bowlingdigital.com/. The website aalso features up-to-date news and scores from the tournament.
Im sure the entire bowling community in Ireland is waiting keenly to see if Stephen can push on to the semi-final stage, and I wish him the best of luck in his attempt to do just that.
Friday's (October 22nd) quarter finals consist of 8 more games,after which the top 8 bowlers will participate in a 7-game round-robin semi-final plus a 1-game position round.
Ireland's O'Connor lies in 12th place going into the quarter-finals with an average of 214 and is just 15 pins off the coveted eighth spot to make the semi-final round robin stage. This spot is held by Canada's Michael Schmidt going into the eight-game quarter final.
O'Connor has only encountered a couple of slip-ups over his 18 games so far, with only 3 games under 200. The high point so far for the Irishman was his 267 in game , which came on the back of a disastrous 128 in game 3. This harden resilience to come back from such a huge low to produce his best bowling thus far in the tournament should stand him in good stead in terms of confidence going into the quarter-finals.
You can watch Stephen's attempts to make the semi-finals through the live streaming facility at http://www.bowlingdigital.com/. The website aalso features up-to-date news and scores from the tournament.
Im sure the entire bowling community in Ireland is waiting keenly to see if Stephen can push on to the semi-final stage, and I wish him the best of luck in his attempt to do just that.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Y.A.C. Triple Crown 2010
This year's Y.A.C. Triple Crown event took place in Leisureplex, Tallaght, from Friday October 8th-Sunday October 10th. The three-day event saw four countries competing in the men's section and three in the women's. Team Ireland were joined by teams from England, Wales and Guernsey in the men's section, while the women's team welcomed England and Guernsey to the event. The tournament was broken down into five sections: singles, doubles, trios, five-man team and mixed doubles events. All of these events, apart from the mixed doubles, were used to decide the top 8 bowlers in both the men's and women's sections. These bowlers would then compete over six games to decide the indivdual Masters champion for the tournament.
It was a mixed weekend for the home teams. The men took the gold medal in the doubles, the silver in the mixed doubles and the bronze in the five man event, while the women won both silver and bronze in the doubles, as well as bronze in both the trios and five man events.
Overall it was the English men and women who stole the show, with both winning out in the medals table and the overall standings. The 8-person Masters event was also won by England in both sections, with Richard Teece and Katrina Maciver winning out after the six game fiinal.
As a competitor in the event myself, I must say that it was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend (despite the disappointment on the lanes personally). The atmosphere that you get from playin in an international tournament is something I have yet to fins in any previous endeavours in my bowling career so far, and I am very lucky and honoured to have now represented my country twice in the last month. Hopefully I will do so many more times in the future, and let's hope future events mat be more successful on the lanes, both personally and on a team level.
It was a mixed weekend for the home teams. The men took the gold medal in the doubles, the silver in the mixed doubles and the bronze in the five man event, while the women won both silver and bronze in the doubles, as well as bronze in both the trios and five man events.
Overall it was the English men and women who stole the show, with both winning out in the medals table and the overall standings. The 8-person Masters event was also won by England in both sections, with Richard Teece and Katrina Maciver winning out after the six game fiinal.
As a competitor in the event myself, I must say that it was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend (despite the disappointment on the lanes personally). The atmosphere that you get from playin in an international tournament is something I have yet to fins in any previous endeavours in my bowling career so far, and I am very lucky and honoured to have now represented my country twice in the last month. Hopefully I will do so many more times in the future, and let's hope future events mat be more successful on the lanes, both personally and on a team level.
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