Rafiq Ismail made a dream return to the Professional Bowlers’ Association (PBA) Tour after six years away, storming into the elimination stage of the Scorpion Championship — the opening event of the five-tournament World Series of Bowling (WSOB) XVI. The 27-year-old was in red-hot form, finishing fourth out of 201 competitors with a total of 2,819 pinfalls over 12 games in the qualifying round, which wrapped up on Wednesday at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada. Rafiq’s commendable effort earned him a bye directly into the round of 16, scheduled for March 16. His superb performance earned him a bye into the last 16, where he will face two-time PBA Tour champion Shawn Maldonado in a best-of-five knockout clash on March 16.

Ahmad Muaz Fishol was the only other Malaysian to make the cut, finishing 16th with 2,672 pins, but his campaign ended in the round of 24 after a 3-0 loss (267-209, 218-209, 204-200) to two-time PBA Tour winner David Krol. Four other Malaysian bowlers failed to make the top 24 cut — Tun Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam (54th, 2,570), Timmy Tan (80th, 2,520), Wan Nadzmi Fikri (107th, 2,491) and Airil Amri Suhaimi (193rd, 2,206). The top three qualifiers ahead of Rafiq were Americans Tim Foy Jr. (2,891) and B.J. Moore (2,864), with Australia’s Jason Belmonte (2,835) in third.

Rafiq, competing on the PBA Tour for the first time since 2019, was pleased with his impressive comeback. “I’m pretty satisfied with how things have gone over the past two days. It feels great to get a bye and advance directly to the last 16,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the Viper Championship next. Each event has a different lane pattern, which presents a fresh challenge. “I’ve waited a long time to compete on the PBA Tour again, and hopefully, this trip will be something special.” Rafiq’s career-best PBA Tour finish was third place at the 2018 Greater Jonesboro Open, the highest placement by any Malaysian on the prestigious circuit. The WSOB XVI continues on Thursday with the two-day Viper Championship qualifying rounds, using the same top-24 knockout format.