LONDON, ENGLAND, December 23, 2004 – Shannon Pluhowsky of the USA and Kai Virtanen of Finland sit atop the international bowling world following their recent victories at the record-laden 2004 AMF Bowling World Cup in Singapore.

Pluhowsky, a 22-year-old college student from Phoenix, reclaimed the womenÂ’s title she won in 2002 from the woman who defeated her in 2003, Kerrie Ryan-Ciach of Canada. Pluhowsky plowed through her quarterfinal, semifinal and championship matches at SuperBowl SAFRA Mount Faber with a 242.0 average, dispatching each of her opponents 2 games to 0 in the best-of-three-games knockout format.

The University of Nebraska senior defeated ScotlandÂ’s Laura Rhoney in the quarters, 223-204 and 231-163, then dropped Liza Del Rosario of the Philippines, 259-226 and 269-169. Ryan-Ciach, who advanced with a 2-0 win over qualifying leader Shalin Zulkifli of Malaysia (201-197, 235-225) and a 2-1 victory over Yoselin Leon of Puerto Rico (279-190, 193-257, 208-193), never mounted much of an offense in the title match. Pluhowsky easily dispatched the defending champion 236-200 and 234-185 to become the third woman in history to win the World Cup twice.

The new champion tipped her hat to Ryan-Ciach after the match. “I’ve been in both positions now, and I know how hard it is to defend and to beat a defending champion,” Pluhowsky said. “I learned from my disappointments last season, and used that experience to motivate me this year.”

Virtanen similarly brought the menÂ’s cup back to Finland after a yearÂ’s absence, succeeding 2003 champ C.J. Suarez of the Philippines as the fourth Finn to win the tournament. Virtanen, who slipped into the quarterfinals as the last-seeded player, started his championship drive in spectacular fashion. He fired one of eight perfect games shot during the tournament (the first ever in the knockout brackets) to stun qualifying leader Jason Belmonte of Australia and wrap up a 2-0 quarterfinal victory (300-247, 228-219). Virtanen then ousted IsraelÂ’s Yahav Rabin, 2 games to 1 (200-215, 214-194, 238-220) and delivered the coup de grace to NorwayÂ’s Petter Hansen in the finals, also 2 games to 1 (258-208, 216-233, 258-242). Virtanen averaged 239.0 for his eight knockout games.

It was a Cinderella ending for the 35-year-old engineer from Espoo, who broke with competitive bowling for five years before resuming his career this past spring. “I had to get away for a while,” he explained simply. “Now I am bowling again, as well as building a new house. You can bet it will have a trophy case—no, make that a trophy room!”

Hansen advanced to his showdown with Virtanen by defeating Belgium’s Yves Van Eyken in the quarterfinals, 2-0 (279-203, 257-240) and hometown hero Remy Ong of Singapore, 2-1, in the semis (259-279, 248-214, 257-210). Like Virtanen, Hansen authored a 300 game during the week. He also set new marks for highest two-game and three-game individual series in the men’s top 8 “knockout” format (536 in his victory over Van Eyken and 764 in his match with Ong).

The six other 300 games rolled during the tournament came from Mathieu Berges, Switzerland; Pawel Bielski, Poland; Chester King, Philippines; Andrejus Puskariovas, Lithuania; Yahav Rabin, Israel, and Wendy Bergen, Belgium. Bergen is the fifth woman to roll a perfect game in World Cup competition. The eight 300s –the most ever in a single year -- brought to 27 the number of perfect games scored in the World Cup since Canada’s Jack Guay broke the barrier in 1994 in Hermosillo, Mexico.

Ninety-five countries sent representatives to the 40th AMF World Cup (93 men, 73 women), bettering the previous record of 88 nations set in Lisbon, Portugal in 2000. Other records rewritten in Singapore include:

Top 8 “knockout” format, high single game:
Women - Ann-Maree Putney, Australia and Kerrie Ryan-Ciach, Canada, 279.

Top 8 “knockout” format, high two-game individual series:
Women - Shannon Pluhowsky, USA, 528

Qualifying rounds, high six-game block:
Men - Jason Belmonte, Australia, 1513
Women – Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, 1477

Qualifying rounds, high eight-game block:
Men - Martin Larsen, Sweden, 1938
Women – Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, 1944

Qualifying rounds, high average (32 games)
Men – Jason Belmonte, Australia, 238.72
Women – Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, 234.13

Afghanistan and Tajikistan made their World Cup debuts as Atiq Sikander and Abdugafurov Olimjon competed in the menÂ’s division. Canada won the Bent Petersen Trophy for best combined country performance (Jack GuayÂ’s fifth-place tie in the menÂ’s division paired with Ryan-CiachÂ’s second-place finish), while Sikander and PortugalÂ’s Maria Lucia Marco won the Barry James Sportsman and Jacky Felsenstein Sportswoman of the Year awards, respectively.

The AMF Bowling World Cup is the worldÂ’s largest annual international sports championship in terms of number of participation countries. Additional information on the AMF Bowling World Cup, including archives and bulletins for this yearÂ’s tournament, is available on the Internet at www.amfbowlingworldcup.com.

SuperBowl Management Pte Ltd is part of the SuperBowl Group. More information about the company can be accessed at www.superbowl.com.sg.

AMF Bowling Worldwide Inc., the founder and principal sponsor of the Bowling World Cup, is the worldÂ’s largest owner and operator of bowling centers. AMF is also a leader in the manufacturing and marketing of bowling and billiards products. More information about AMF is available at www.amf.com.

Scores and highlights from the 2004 World Cup can be found here.