SESSION 2: Saturday April 19 14:00

Another UK hope, the improving Dom Barrett (pictured, left) takes on Biboy Rivera in Saturday afternoon’s first game, and having made the lengthy journey from Manila, the Filipino will need to be at his very best to progress.

After a wonderful start to the year, Barrett is on the crest of a wave, holding third place at the moment on the European rankings list.

We forecast a very tight finish in this encounter of Europe versus Asia.
That statement was made before the match began but it certainly rang true.

"Being 38 pins adrift going into the second game was not too much of a penalty on such a high scoring situation as this," commented Barrett after his win. "After changing balls halfway through the first game I found a better line and that worked well for me in the second game. I've seen Rivera bowl in Asia and I know that he is a very talented player, so I could not relax."
It is a little unfortunate now that Barrett has Paul Moor as his next opponent in the quarterfinals.

Match 4:

Former AMF Bowling World Cup winner Michael Schmidt of Canada (pictured, left) will be making his third Masters appearance and will be hoping to make better progress than previous years. His opponent Osku Palermaa (Finland), the 2006 WBW Bowler of the Year and winner of the World Cup in Venezuela in 2006, is one of the rising stars of European bowling and will surely have something to say about that.

"I'm really pleasantly surprised to be invited back to Barnsley this year," stated Schmidt. "This is about the best and most exciting tournament bowling that you could ask for and to experience it three times now is fantastic."

Palermaa, with his unique two-handed delivery, is the archetypal shy Finn, but once on the lane his delivery is dynamite.

"This was a fairly easy ride," commented the lithe Finn. "I didn't have to move my line at all through the two games. The lane condition is a little bit drier than it has been before and that makes it much easier for me. But we all have to bowl on it and you can't relax."

"This was a little unfortunate for me," remarked Schmidt. "Whilst Palermaa could stau almost on the same line, I had to fish around a bit. After the first game I knew I had to do something to stay with him so I made the ball change and did the best I could do with it."

A much-anticipated clash closes out Saturday afternoon as England’s top-ranking Stuart Williams (pictured, left) faces crowd-favourite Diandra Asbaty (USA), the 2006 and 2007 WBW Bowler of the year. Both bowlers are on form and in the short format either could advance.

Burly, bulky, stocky Stuart Williams, call him what you will, looked good and confident in his match against the American champion. His confidence was probably boosted by the fact that this lane is a little drier and therefore needs a more powerful ball, and he certainly has that in his arsenal.

"I gave my all," said Asbaty, "so I was disappointed to fall behind in the first game. I had my chance in the tenth frame of the last game and struck with the first ball. The next was good but the 10-pin stood, so I lost by five pins.
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 "I was just trying to survive," added Williams after his grueling match. "I stood in the middle of the approach and that got very slippy, and that was a problem for me. I didn't have any problems with the approach in practice but it was severe through the match. I was trying to stay relaxed and I blame myself for missing a 7-pin in the ninth frame. I'll play better when I come up against Palermaa in the quarterfinals.

"The crowd here in Barnsley is fantastic and I would have loved to have given them another match. They can see just how passionate I am about the game and now I hope I will be invited back next year."