SUNDAY, APRIL 23

SEMIFINALS & FINAL

ALL TOTAL PINFALL OVER TWO GAMES

SEMIFINAL 1 - 19:00:

JENS NICKEL (Germany) vs PAUL MOOR (England)

	Game 1	Game 2	Total	Game 1	Game 2	Total
	160	211	371	265	250	515

Revenge was very, very sweet for local lad and strikemaster Paul Moor. He only had to come the 25-odd miles from Hull to take on the world's best players at the World Tenpin Masters and he worked his way through to the semifinals, there to face Germany's Bremen Assassin, Jens Nickel, the guy that beat him in the final of this prestigious event last year.
Forecasts of a close match, fighting frame for frame, were dispelled when Moor started off with four strikes in a row to establish a 47 pin advantage in the fifth frame. when Nickel hit a big split in the eighth frame it was a call for 'game over'. It was game, set and match as Moor finished the first game, 265-160.
Nickel's hopes of a big comeback went awry, despite Moor starting with a split. He followed with a couple of spares and then strung eight strikes. He threw a fun ball for the final shot, rolling a huge backup to down just three pins to round off an even 250.
Nickel brought the game to a standstill in the fifth frame, pointing out something he thought to be wrong on the lane to Bernie White, the BTBA referee. There seemed to be nothing of importance wrong, so the defeat of the German continued.

SEMIFINAL 2 - 20:00:

ALEX LIEW (Malaysia) vs CHRIS BARNES (United States)

	Game 1	Game 2	Total	Game 1	Game 2	Total
	234	185	419	259	256	515

Leftie Alex Liew's bid for stardom on the single lane installed in the Barnsley Metrodome came to a shuddering halt by the sheer professionalism of American PBA pro bowler Chris Barnes.
The Malaysian did get his nose in front over the opening frames but from thereon it was a case of playing catchup as Barnes powered to an opening 259 to establish a 25 point lead.
Liew opened the second game by converting the 5-10 split but faded from view with another split in the sixth frame, the 4-10, which he failed to hit. Barnes settled the issue with a string of six strikes and lives to fight England's Paul Moor in the final.
"I did feel the underdog going into the match, but I thought I could do well against the American," said Liew after the match. "The first game was really tough and I just couldn't find a good line to score enough to wipe out the deficit.
"I'm really pleased to have made the semifinal on my debut and hope that I am invited back next year."

FINAL - 21:30:
PAUL MOOR (England)  vs CHRIS BARNES (United States)

	Game 1	Game 2	Total	Game 1	Game 2	Total
	211	226	437	226	232	458

A gritty fightback from Paul Moor was thwarted by missing the 7-pin in the fourth frame of the final game and was maybe the turning point of what could have been an English surprise victory.
Moor tagged along on the coat tails of the talented American but never hit the strikes he enjoyed earlier in the day.
Barnes rolled a very strong ball that set well into the 1-3 pocket and kept his nose in front of Moor, a man desperate for a win after suffering at the hands of Jens Nickel last year.
"We've got a great sponsor in partypoker.com and I hope to get an invite to come back next year," said Barnes at the presentation.
"I found the lane tougher than earlier in the evening," he added. "But we were both bowling well. When Moor missed that 7-pin it was a great gift to me and I was able to carry the advantage.
"I watched the Moor vs Nickel match and wondered which I would rather play in the final. If against Nickel I knew that I would have to handle a lot of lane changes as being a right-hander he would change my track. But the way Moor was bowling playing him looked to be suicidal. I think I was lucky to emerge as the champion.
"Although I have never bowled in such a tight environment as this and on one lane, I have watched the Weber Cup on TV and so knew what I was going to have to face. This was a great experience and the other players and the crowd were absolutely great.
"I thoroughly enjoyed coming to the World Tenpin Masters, especially as my wife Lynda and I could play in the same event. I wonder if I would have won if we had played against each other. That made it really special. I hope we both are invited back next year."
Paul Moor was, of course, really disappointed to lose yet another WTM final. "It just didn't flow for me tonight and the occasion got to me," he commented. "I was pulling too many shots and I found the lane a lot tighter.
"I didn't feel a lot of pressure, in fact there was more in the match against Nickel," he added. "The constant re-racks that Barnes took didn't worry me at all. The American pros do that a lot. I'm happy to pocket $10,000."
 

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For further information, contact Keith Hale: keithhale679@aol.com