Earlier this month, Ross Owen and Danny Davies Jnr competed in the inaugural World Bowls Series in New South Wales, Australia, taking on the top players from around the globe.
Ross qualified for the event after spending much of the last 12 months at the very top end of the World Bowls Series standings, earning his invitation through sustained consistency at the highest level. Danny secured his place following a hugely successful summer of bowls, capped by an outstanding performance at the World Cup in Malaysia, where he claimed gold in the men’s pairs alongside Ross.
That success, combined with qualifying for Potters with Ross in January, ensured Danny’s invitation to the series.
Congratulations to both players on earning their places in such a prestigious competition, which brought together the very best talent from around the world.
The men’s competition was split into two sections, with the top two players from each section progressing to the knockout stages. Ross finished third in his section, narrowly missing out on qualification behind Gary Kelly (Ireland) and Cohen Litfin (Australia).
Ross won three of his five matches, falling just one set short of Litfin to miss qualification - an incredibly fine margin. His two defeats both came against Australian opponents and were decided by the smallest of differences, highlighting just how competitive the section was. Another impressive international showing from Ross.
Ross’ results:
Loss v Australia (Cohen Litfin)
Set 1: 7–8, Set 2: 5–7
Win v Ireland (Gary Kelly)
Set 1: 9–3, Set 2: 5–6, Tiebreaker: 5–1
Win v England (Sam Tolchard)
Set 1: 6–10, Set 2: 7–6, Tiebreaker: 2–1
Loss v Australia (Aron Sherriff)
Set 1: 5–5, Set 2: 5–5, Tiebreaker: 1–2
Win v England (Dom McVittie)
Set 1: 6–4, Set 2: 10–5
As mentioned, Danny’s qualification came on the back of a run of excellent results during the summer, followed by the World Cup gold medal win in Malaysia. Throughout the World Bowls Series, Danny produced some strong individual set wins, but a few narrow defeats made it difficult to climb the standings in a highly competitive field.
Despite the results, this event adds yet another valuable experience to Danny’s impressive run of competitions this year. Congratulations to Danny on another strong international appearance.
Danny’s results:
Loss v Australia (Lee Schraner)
Set 1: 3–11, Set 2: 6–8
Loss v Australia (Corey Wedlock)
Set 1: 5–7, Set 2: 3–8
Win v Malaysia (Izzat Dzulkeple)
Set 1: 4–6, Set 2: 8–2, Tiebreaker: 4–0
Loss v Australia (Jack McShane)
Set 1: 11–1, Set 2: 4–10, Tiebreaker: 0–6
Loss v New Zealand (Aiden Takarua)
Set 1: 4–6, Set 2: 3–7
Danny and Ross will team up once again in the New Year, having qualified for the 2026 Ambassador Cruise Line World Open Pairs Championships. They will take to the rink on Friday 9th January at 7pm, where they face Australian qualifiers Wade Clatworthy and Scott Walker.
Best of luck to both.