FAWAZ Abdulla won the Bahrain Bowling League Men's Master title after narrowly defeating Mohammed Al Jahromi by nine pins, 224-215, in the championship game of the step-ladder final at the Adhari Park bowling centre.
Abdulla was the top seed after the eight-bowler round-robin which followed the tournament's preliminary stage, earning him the direct berth in the title-decider. Jahromi was second while Aref Saad was third.
Each of the qualifying participants had to play each other for the right to make it through to the step-ladder.
In the opening step, Jahromi beat Saad 215-183 and earned the right to face off with Abdulla for the crown.
The five other bowlers who competed in the top eight but did not make it through were Hameed Taqi, Hussain Al Shehabi, Mohammed Shawoosh, Yousef Falah, and Hashem Abu Zahra.
Abdulla topped the round with 1,649 pins in seven games for an average of 235.6. Jahromi followed with a 1,613 total and 230.4 average, while Saad had a 1,568 total and 224.0 per-game count.
Taqi followed in fourth with a 213.3 average, and Al Shehabi was fifth in 209.3. Shawoosh (208.9), Falah (204.3) and Abu Zahra (193.7) rounded out the standings.
Earlier in the Masters, Falah had topped the 20-bowler preliminary round with a strong performance that saw him register a 232.0 average in five games. Abdulla and Abu Zahra followed with similar 210.2 averages, and Al Shehabi was fourth on a 210 mark.
Taqi (209.8), Saad (209.0), Jahromi (206.6) and Shawoosh (204.4) rounded out the best eight.
Meanwhile, Batelco remained in first place at the end of the first round in the final stage of the league after defeating Awali team 6-2 (2,515-2,351).
Batelco's aces were Jahromi scored a 670 series in the tie, while Ahmed Al Noaimi went for 643, Abdulla 605 and Shawoosh 597. Awali, meanwhile, had their best performances from Falah who had a 623, Sami Noor who played a 617, Hussain Al Shahabi's 591 and Mohammed Al Shetti's 520.
In another match, Manama defeated Um Al Hassam 8-0 (2,403-2,187).
Manama were paced by Aziz Jaffar's 650 series, while Emad Jahromi contributed 598, Mahdi Assad 592 and Taqi 563. Um Al Hassam were led by Mohammed Fulad's 619.
Meanwhile, Muharraq beat Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) 6-2 (2,472-2,324).
Ahmed Fareed spearheaded the victors with a 662 total, as Mohammed Sultan added 658, Ahmed Bastaki 619, and Osama Khalfan 533. Nasser Salem led BDF with a 626 series.
At the end of the first round of play, Batelco lead the standings with 76 points, followed by Muharraq with 74. Awali are third place with 65 points while Manama are in fourth place on 60.
