SWEDEN SET THE PACE:
At the conclusion of the opening squad of the 2004 Malta Open, Swedish bowlers Peter Sainio and Ellinor Heneskar top the leader board, both over the 200-mark.
Sainio, 40, from Sundyberg, a suburb of Stockholm, is competing in his fifth Malta Open and is determined to beat his previous best finish of ninth place. He is a big fan of Malta, "I like the climate difference," he said, "you can be sure of some nice sunny days here.
"The SuperBowl lanes are very comfortable for my shot," he added. "I just had to focus on the speed of my delivery."
Heneskar, from Bro, also a Stockholm suburb, is very happy to be bowling so well on her debut to international bowling. She bowls on the same team as Sainio, the Sundybergs.
Flo Copley, 18, of another famous island, Jersey, in the Channel Islands, hit the early headlines by hitting a career best game of 280.
Pic: Sainio & Heneskar by Eric Hayton.

SWEDEN STILL SUPREME
Peter Sainio was knocked off his perch by the contenders in squad C, but the tournament leader is still a Swede, and yes, he's also a member of the ubiquitous Sundyberg team. Tobias Karlsson, 27, (pictured) a bowling center mechanic in Stockholm, hit three good 200-plus scores in games three to five and ended his first six-game series 108 pins over par and 17 sticks ahead of the field. Karlsson, bowling in his seventh Malta Open with a best finish of third place in 2002, and normally in the top ten, said, "The Malta Open is a good vacation and a lot of bowling fun but, of course, I want to win. I'm finding the lanes a little tricky this year with more carry down, so I'm not getting a lot of room to play."
Despite strong challenges from fellow Swede Susanne Olsson and Finnish professional bowler Pauliina Aalto, Ellinor Heneskar still tops the ladies' field, but now only seven pins clear of Olsson, with Aalto dangerously a further six adrift.

Our apologies for the late posting of these standings. This was due to a fault at the local server in Malta.

SW IS THE KEY
The leader in the clubhouse, so to speak, as just Squad B finish their stint of 12 games, is Robert Andersson of Gothenburg, Sweden. The young Swedish national team player tops the table with a slim 23-pin buffer over England's talented lefthander Paul Moor, and Paul Stott of Ireland lags back on 2,429.

The ladies have a new leader, again a nation beginning SW, a Bigi Manico of Zurich, Switzerland (pictured) swept through the distaff field to take the lead as the sole player with a 200 average. Manico, 46, a part-time receptionist, is the current Swiss National Champion. This is her third Malta Open, "I just love coming here," she commented. "You get to see all the top players and get the bonus of plenty of sunshine and a nice vacation." Eager to see further progress will be her two children, aged 11 and 21.
The men's high game so far, a 278 by Mattias Moller of Sweden remains unbeaten. The ladies fare better as Flo Copley of Jersey rolled a 280 in her first session yesterday, a personal best.
Later today, Squads C and A complete their dozen games, whilst Squad D comes onto the scene for their first six. Several of the Italian entries were injured in a coach crash last weekend in Italy, so the entry list and lane assignments have had to be shuffled around for Squad E, the total number of competitors therefore reduced to around 280.

TOBIAS STILL RULES
Squad C have now also completed their 12 games and still the figure at the top of the tree is Sweden's Tobias Karlsson, the leader after six games. "I had a lot more trouble on the lanes today," he said. "I just couldn't get the carry today, but finding a good line in the fifth and sixth games of this squad saved my skin, so I'm happy now."
Bigi Manico's score was not seriously challenged, so she will stand on the concourse and watch as Squad D take to the lanes, a set featuring such famous names as Bettina Lund and Iben Tchu of Denmark and Germany's Martina Beckel, to name just a few.

SUE MAKES HER MARK
Local heroine and a leading tournament favorite for the ladies' title, Sue Abela of St. Julian's, Malta, (pictured) champion in 1998 and 2002, signaled her intentions of making it a trio of titles by hitting 1,251 in her first set of six games in Squad D this evening. "I won my last title from D Squad two years ago, so I always enter that squad now," said the 38-year-old pro shop assistant. "I like the pace better with three players per lane, that suits my style."
Only Nina Flack from Sweden joined Abela on the privileged over 200 average mark, coming in just 13 pins behind the Maltese on 1,238.
In the men's division, Yahav Rabin from Israel is 122 over after his first six games, so might be 200+ over after his full stint of 12 games, but that is all in the future.
Now Squad A are completing their second set and all will be revealed later.

WELLS IS SWELL
Mark Wells, 28, a baker from Peterborough in England looks like being in the dough after a fantastic 12-game series of 2,636 to take over pole position after squads A, B and C completed their qualifying scores. Wells celebrated his engagement to Helen two days ago with a strikefest, hitting the high men's game of the tournament so far, a 279.
"This is my second Malta Open. This is a very nice island and I love coming here," he said, adding, "The SuperBowl lanes here suit my game, I hardly had to move tonight as I crossed lanes."
Bigi Manico's score of 2,402 has been eclipsed  by early leader Ellinor Heneskar of Sweden.
Squads E and F take to the lanes Friday and qualifying will complete early Saturday morning. Then the top 72 men and 36 women will progress through the next rounds.

THE BAKER DOUBLE
The Squad D platoon has now completed the obligatory twelve qualifying games and a very interesting picture of tournament leaders is on display at the top of the leader board. But bear in mind that Squads E and F have yet to bowl, so it could be a case of 'all change' when some of Europe's top stars come into contention.
There were many strong challenges from the bowlers in D, rolling their final six games this morning. Local heroine Sue Abela looked in good form and was on course to take over the lead, but slumped in the home straight. The same happened to Denmark's Iben Tchu and German champion Martina Beckel, but Christel Carlsson 47, of Gothenburg, Sweden (pictured, right) took the bull by the horns and slipped into first place on the ladies' leader board with 2,494. Manico is now tied in fourth place with Nina Flack of Sweden.
Carlsson was a member of the silver medal winning Swedish team in the World Championships last year in Malaysia. She has bowled in the Malta Open more times than she can remember, with a high finish of fourth place. "I always take a ten day vacation when I come to Malta," she said, "and then enjoy day trips around this fantastic island."
Some fantastic bowling in the men's division by Dom Barrett, 18, from Essex (pictured, left), saw him zoom into second place, 20 pins aback of fellow countryman Mark Wells, the current tournament leader. Barrett equaled the high men's game to date, a 279 in his ninth game and only missed hitting 200 games twice.
Both tournament leaders, Wells and Carlsson, are bakers by profession, so they are very used to being in the dough.
Pics by Eric Hayton.

JASON COMES FORTH TO TAKE FOURTH
Talented Australian player Jason Belmonte, the bowler with the unique two-handed delivery, endured his initiation to the Malta Open among a mixed bunch in Squad E, taking a humble fourth place with 1,249 on the squad which was led by Ron van den Bogaard of the Netherlands on 1,300. However, Belmonte did give a taste of things to come by finishing his last two games with 267 and 258, so could well be in contention for honors after his second squad later tonight.
Russia's roving bowling ambassadress, Tatiana Smirnova, topped the E Squad ladies, but will have to fight hard to get into the top 36 for round two when she takes to the lanes for the second shift.

IT'S THE VAN DAMME SHOW AGAIN!

Belgium's superstar Chris van Damme (pictured) is still, at the tender age of 45 (46 on Monday), the center of attraction when he takes to the lanes. Tonight was no exception as the Knokke executive taxi company director got a good line from the off and took the lead on F squad with a 1,333 for his first six games. "I feel bad," he commented, "I was very lucky in the last game."
This is about the tenth time the stocky Belgian has competed in the Malta Open and his best finish is second, runner-up to European champion Gery Verbruggen, also a Belgian, on the Eden SuperBowl lanes last year. "I will win this tournament," emphasised Van Damme. "I might have to wait until I can bowl in the Senior Open, but I am determined to win."
Commenting on the lane condition, which have so far been classed as rather difficult, Van Damme added, "The longer you play, the easier the lanes seem to get. I didn't get at all worried by any carry-down tonight."
The Squad F players can now relax overnight and return first thing in the morning to complete the qualifying session for the whole field, the top 72 men and 36 women advancing to Round Two.
As all squads have now taken to the lanes, the final count for entries is 187 men and 71 women.

THE YOUNG ONE TAKES OVER
It all came down to youth versus experience as the final qualifying squad took to the lanes Saturday morning. Veteran Chris van Damme of Belgium was leading the pack, absolutely determined to win this year, but he faltered in the home straight and allowed 20-year-old Dutch star Peter Smits (pictured) to take over the running and top the leader board after the completion of the twelve qualifying games.
Smits, from s'Hertegenbosch in the south of Holland, is very much enjoying his second foray into the Malta Open. Last time he only just made the cut to round two, the top 72. "I got involved in too many parties then, so I've focused on bowling this time," he joked. "The lane condition here is tough for a lot of the bowlers as the new pins are hard to carry."
Among the notches in Smits' belt is the gold medal for the European Youth Masters, staged in Rome last year. He has been existing on a government grant to improve his bowling, but that has now been dropped as the Dutch team did not finish in the top five in the recent European Cup Teams.

QUALIFYING ROUND SCORES:
Top 72 men qualify for Round Two.