Dydo Japan Cup Set For April 23-26 in Tokyo

[onefrombills]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mike Jakubowski | PR/Media Relations

Professional Bowlers Association | 719 Second Avenue, Suite 701 | Seattle, WA 98104

Tel: 800.903.0930 | Fax: 206.332.9722 | mike.jakubowski@pba.com





Dydo Japan Cup Set For April 23-26 in Tokyo



SEATTLE, Wash. (March 31, 2009) -- What has become a showcase of topflight international professional bowling competition, the 2009 Dydo Japan Cup will be conducted April 23-26 in Tokyo.



Featuring Professional Bowlers Association Tour, Japan Professional Bowlers Association Tour and amateur stars, qualifying and match play will once again take place at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel while the championship round takes place at the Tokyo Metro Gymnasium.



The field will consist of 144 players that will include 20 PBA professionals (including the top 16 on the PBA Tour points list from 2007-08), 90 Japan Professional Bowlers Association players and 34 amateurs. The JPBA entrants will include 49 seeded players and the rest will be determined through a pre-tournament qualifier. The amateur field will include nine seeded players and the rest determined through a qualifier in Japan on April 4.



In September 2007, Mika Koivuniemi of Hartland, Mich., won the most recent Dydo Japan Cup for his eighth PBA Tour title and a tournament championship in 11 different countries. Koivuniemi, a native of Finland, defeated Mike Wolfe of New Albany, Ind., 200-178, in the title match.



The 2007 event had an international flavor as five Japanese bowlers, one Korean, one American and one Finnish bowler made up the final eight. This year the home crowd will hope to see a Japanese bowler win the Dydo Japan Cup for the first time since 1988.



The field will bowl 12 games of qualifying on April 24 with the top 64 bowlers advancing to match play. The Rounds of 48, 32 and 16 feature best-of-five-games match play – all taking place April 25 – with the final eight advancing to the final round on April 26.

Sunday’s competition begins with four single-game Round of 8 matches, followed by two semifinal matches and the championship match, with the winner taking home $50,000.



The 20 PBA representatives competing in the Dydo Japan Cup are as follows:



Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla.

Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas

Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas

Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich.

Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas

Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla.

Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C.

Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio

Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan.

Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan.

Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo.

Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J.

Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y.

Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y.

Danny Wiseman, Baltimore

Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla.

Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind.

Bill O’Neill, Levittown, Pa.

Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill.

Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind.





2009 Dydo Japan Cup Schedule

All times Tokyo time



Thursday, April 23
3:30 p.m. - Official Practice Session

Friday, April 24
9:30 a.m. - Qualifying Round 1* (6 Games)
1:45 p.m. - Qualifying Round 2* (6 Games)
*All 144 entrants will compete in both qualifying rounds.



Top 48 bowlers advance to single elimination match play. Bowlers qualifying 1-16 earn one bye.

Saturday, April 25
9:45 a.m. - Round of 48 (17-48) (best 3 of 5)
11:45 a.m. - Round of 32 (winners join 1-16) (best 3 of 5)
3:10 p.m. - Round of 16 (best 3 of 5)

Remaining eight players advance to arena finals

SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2009
12:30 p.m. - Opening Ceremony
1:16 p.m. - Round of 8 (Match 1, one game)
1:42 p.m. - Round of 8 (Match 2, one game)
2:08 p.m. - Round of 8 (Match 3, one game)
2:34 p.m. - Round of 8 (Match 4, one game)

3:16 p.m. - Semifinal #1 (one game)
3:42 p.m. - Semifinal #2 (one game)

4:08 p.m. - Championship Match (one game)



About the PBA

The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) features the best bowlers in the world competing in National, Regional and Senior Tour events and will award over $4.3 million in prize money during the 2008-09 Lumber Liquidators PBA National Tour. The organization has more than 4,000 members spanning 13 countries, and nearly one million viewers tune-in to watch the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour every Sunday on ESPN throughout the season. PBA sponsors include Bayer, Brunswick, CLR, Denny's, Etonic, Flomax, GEICO, Go RVing, H&R Block, Lumber Liquidators, Motel 6, Pepsi-Cola and the USBC, among others. For more information on the PBA, log on to www.pba.com.

[BXTECH]

thanks for the breakdown, iwas wondering if they were going to have it this season. Its somewhat dissappointing to have it soo late, but better late than never. The 08 Japan Cup championship match was quite interesting, due to the fact that i know that i wouldn't have been able to keep my composure the same way Mike Wolfe did. The carry problems he was experiencing was ridiculus.