Belgium, Sweden lead round one
Anastasi in second place
The 12th Malta Open Championships continue at the Eden SuperBowl, with two of the six qualifying squads completing their 12 round-one games yesterday evening.
The male and female divisions are currently being led by Belgium's Gery Verbruggen and Sweden's Asa Wetterlund respectively.
Malta's Melissa Anastasi is now second and previous men's leader Brian Farrugia dropped to ninth after an awesome day two onslaught, mainly from the Swedish contingent.
After Wednesday's fine 1402 set, Verbruggen was in excellent form yesterday, smashing the previous tournament record of 1422 over six games by shooting an amazing 1456, taking him to first place with a total of 2858 (238.2 average).
Hot on Verbruggen's heels are five Swedes, headed by Martin Blixt in second on 2817, with 2002 champion Martin Larsen in third on 2794 and Robert Andersson following in fourth on 2708. The latter matched Verbruggen's 1456 set in his second session.
Farrugia rolled a 1189 six-set yesterday, giving him a round one total of 2596 and a very good 216.3 qualifying average.
In the ladies' section, it was Swede Wetterlund's day, as she played a 1207 set, on top of Wednesday's 1254 for a qualifying pinfall of 2461 (205.1 ave).
Wetterlund's performance puts her in first place, just seven pins ahead of second-placed Anastasi, who managed a 1190 yesterday to finish round one on 2454 (204.5 ave).
Elsewhere, in the ladies' classification, Doris Camilleri lies sixth with an excellent 2336 (194.7 ave), followed by Jenny Swift in seventh on 2322 (193.5 ave).
After the six squads complete their 12-game qualifying round, the divisions will be split in stages, until the event ends in a step-ladder final on Sunday afternoon.