19th September, Kuala Lumpur: The action was fast and furious in the first block of the prestigious Masters Final at the 15th WTBA World Championships, with the fast-changing lead in both divisions thrilling the capacity crowd at Pyramid Megalanes.

Australia's Jason Belmonte shot to the lead from Game Two of the Men's division until Wu Siu Hong from Hong Kong unseated him briefly in Game 5. All Events Silver medallist, Tim Mack of the USA then stormed into the lead for the last three games with 244, 266 and 268 lines, picking up the precious bonus points for Game wins along the way.

Like Mack, Belmonte lost only one of the first eight games, but had to settle for second place at the break, chasing Mack's 2017 by 48 points. UAE's Mohd Al Qubaisi is currently third at 1902, 115 off the pace.

Gold-medallist from the Trios, Liza del Rosario of The Philippines streaked to the top of the Women's division with an 1854 total, ahead of Sweden's Malin Glendert after the Swede hit the wall in the final game of the block with a 145 game.

Still on a high after anchoring yesterday's stunning Gold medal win in the Teams, Shalin Zulkifli is second, just 22 points off the pace, with Championship dual-medallist Liza Clutario of The Philippines third on 1798.

"I'm feeling better about my shot, but still not warmed up yet" said Shalin smiling, between blocks. "The Gold is what we were aiming for, so anything else is just a bonus" she added.

Play resumes in the Masters second block of eight games at 1.45 pm local time to determine the top three male and female bowlers to proceed to the Grand Final tomorrow.

The stepladder final will be televised live and will commence at 9am for the Women, with the Men's Grand final scheduled for 10.45 am.

For further information, please contact WTBA Media Director, Lynne Clay at lynneclay@wtba.ws, media@mtbc.org.myor via the World Championships Media Room Phone +60 37492 0902.