The trio of previous medallists have all progressed to the elimination rounds to fight for glory on tomorrow’s final day of the World Bowls Champion of Champions Singles in Auckland, New Zealand.
Over 50 champion bowlers from 30 nations have descended on Auckland for the 22nd World Bowls Champion of Champions Singles at the Browns Bay Bowling Club.
American Anne Nunes topped her section to go through to the quarterfinals tomorrow, with the opportunity to press claims to become the first player to successfully defend their title at the World Bowls Champion of Champions.
She is joined in the knockout rounds by World No.2, Izzat Dzulkepie from Malaysia, the silver medallist in New Zealand in 2022, who topped his section with seven wins, while Australian Lee Schraner, the champion in 2019 in Adelaide, headed qualifiers in section three, seeking to become the first male player to win the world championship twice.
“Nine wins out of nine is exceptional in section play. But with this format whether you have won nine games or got through with six is no difference in that we start again,” said Schraner.
“We are back to a new tournament with three games to go. I am pleased that I have been able to play big bowls at the right time. When I have needed to find one big shot, I seem to be able to pull it out. That is got to keep going if I have any chance.”
Meanwhile Nunes finished top of her section with six wins moving into the quarterfinals.
“I was much more focussed this afternoon, so if I can keep at that level going into tomorrow, I should be in decent shape,” said the women’s defending champion. “I am most pleased with getting the draw weight right. We did a lot of practice time figuring the pace of these fast greens.
“The trick in this competition going into elimination rounds is not to change. At the US Championships, a Canadian bowler gave me some advice, which was to stop thinking and start bowling. I wrote it on my hand today.”
The teams to advance to the women’s quarterfinals tomorrow comprise Tonga, Ireland, Cook Islands, Australia, India, USA and South Africa, with the final place to England after a playoff.
In the men’s competition, teams to advance to the quarterfinals comprise Malaysia, South Africa, England, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The final spot went to Wales in the playoff.
The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals are all on Saturday.
Caption: Australian 2019 world champion, Lee Schraner in action at the Browns Bay Bowling Club today. (Credit: David Allen, Inside Bowls Magazine)
WORLD BOWLS SERIES:
The World Bowls Champion of Champions event is sanctioned by the World Bowls Series (WBS). The WBS is the official year-long calendar of sanctioned events connecting to the official world rankings. It is a joint venture between World Bowls and Tier 5 Ventures.
WBS currently has 29 sanctioned events. Each WBS event will belong to a different tier having different ranking points based on the size, location, and stature it presents for the sport.
The purpose of WBS is to build the profile and brand of bowls, showcase the best players in the game, accelerate the legitimacy of the sport on the global stage and launch world rankings that will help create clarity and interest in the sport of bowls.
For more information regarding the World Bowls Series, contact: Neil Dalrymple, CEO, World Bowls, [email protected]