Bester and Krizanic have one hand on the silverware
Ryan Bester and Carla Krizanic have a one game buffer going into the final round of the Australian Champion of Champions at Keilor Bowls Club this afternoon. The Australian Champion of Champions title is Ryan Bester’s and Carla Krizanic’s to lose going into the final round of matches this afternoon at Keilor Bowls Club.
Both players have a clear lead over their respective fields and look destined to hoist the trophies aloft, provided they prevail in their last contests by any margin.
Broadbeach’s Bester notched up his fifth victory in the sixth round to retain his one-game buffer over Warilla’s Aaron Teys, after defeating Tasmania’s Jarrod Long 21-16 in the penultimate match.
The Canadian spearhead faces ACT’s Mark Dulihanty in the final match this afternoon, who hasn’t enjoyed things on his terms at the event and remains winless despite his valiant attempts this week.
In the women’s event, Krizanic has found some clear space at the top of the leaderboard at a crucial time in the competition.
Sunbury’s Krizanic established a clear mandate for the silverware when she toppled the only other undefeated player in the field, Western Australia’s Lisa Featherby, 21-17, in their fourth rubber this morning.
With just one round remaining from 12.00pm, Krizanic simply needs to overcome Katherine’s Bronwyn Chandler, who secured her first victory of the event this morning against South Australia’s Renata Callisto 21-12.
If Bester or Krizanic stumble on the final hurdle, and Teys or Cambridge’s Pieter Harris win their last encounters in the men’s event, or Featherby defeats Merryland’s Val Smith in the women’s, the gold medal will be decided by a count-back, with the ranking method decided by shots difference after wins.
The current standings shows Teys equal on shots difference to Bester, but behind by one game, while Harris is a further 10 shots behind that, and in the women’s, Featherby trails Krizanic by one game and eight shots and Smith trails by a further 13 shots.
Click here to view the full results, ladder and fixture for the 2016 Australian Champion of Champions at Melbourne’s Keilor Bowls Club.
