^{England's Greg Harlow has regained his place at the top of the World Bowls Tour ranking list. The reigning English indoor singles champion from the City of Ely club in Cambridgeshire was confirmed as the new number one following his runner-up spot at last week's Co-operative Funeralcare Welsh Grand Prix at Llanelli, the third and final WBT ranking event of the season.}

^{Scotland's David Gourlay ended a ten-year wait for his fifth World Bowls Tour title when he claimed the Co-operative Funeralcare Welsh Grand Prix at Llanelli following a devastating performance against England's Greg Harlow. During that barren spell, the 45-year-old Scot had lost in no fewer than nine finals, so no wonder he was mightily relieved at his change of fortune. “That's a massive weight of my shoulders,” said Gourlay following a masterful 10-1, 8-4 destruction of a player who will start next season as the new world number one.}

^{Welsh hopes of a home success in the Co-operative Funeralcare Welsh Grand Prix at Llanelli were extinguished with a quarter-final defeat for local favourite John Price leaving England and Scotland to battle it out for the title. Four of the top six in the provisional World Bowls Tour ranking list will contest the semi-finals, with Scotland's David Gourlay, runner-up last year, facing England's Mervyn King, at this stage for the first time, and Scotland's Paul Foster meeting his England rival for the world number one spot, Greg Harlow.}

^{Defending champion Mark Royal and the current world title holder Andy Thomson were both beaten in the second round of the Co-operative Funeralcare Welsh Grand Prix at Llanelli. Royal was beaten 8-9, 10-5, 1-2 by Scottish qualifier Wayne Hogg, while Thomson went out to his old rival from north of the border, record five-time world champion Alex Marshall, 7-11, 7-6, 0-2.}

^{Gourlay, the number eight seed and beaten finalist last year, kept his hopes alive of going one better when he edged out England's Nicky Brett 3-8, 8-6, 2-1, to book his place in the semi-finals. But Brett, the number 15 seed, was left to rue a missed opportunity against the former world number one. After winning the opening set 8-3, Brett led 6-3 in the second with three ends remaining, but left the door open when he dropped a three, and Gourlay didn't need a second invitation, claiming singles on each of the last two ends to take the set 8-6, and then recover from losing the opening tie break end to win the next two.}

^{Canada's Peter Ls Wong caused a major surprise on the opening day of the Co-operative Funeralcare Welsh Grand Prix at Llanelli by defeating young Welsh star Stewart Anderson. The Canadian qualifier toppled the 2010 world indoor singles finalist and 12th seed, 8-7, 2-11, 2-0, to set up last 16 clash with provisional world number one Greg Harlow (England) or the new Welsh indoor champion who will be crowned on Monday.}

^{Home supporters suffered a major disappointment on the second day of the Co-operative Funeralcare Welsh Grand Prix at Llanelli when one of their favourite sons, Robert Weale, was beaten by a young qualifier from England making his debut at this level. Calvin Leuty, a 22-year-old accountant who plays out of the Spalding club in Lincolnshire, certainly got his figures right as he recovered from a set down to topple Wales' top ranked player, 6-8, 10-5, 2-1, to set up a second round clash with England's Mervyn King.}

^{England's Andy Thomson produced one of the best performances of his distinguished career to regain the Fred.Olsen Cruise Lines world indoor singles title at Potters Leisure Resort and collect the top prize in the sport of £40,000. The 56-year-old from London, the oldest player to win a World Bowls Tour title, demolished the long held title dreams of Welshman Jason Greenslade with a masterful exhibition of bowling to underline his status as one of the sport's all-time greats.}

^{England's twice former champion Andy Thomson and Welshman Jason Greenslade, through to the final for the first time, will battle it out today on the famous blue portable rink at Potters Leisure Resort for the Fred.Olsen Cruise Lines World indoor singles title and the richest prize in bowls - £40,000. Thomson's last success was back in 1995 and at the age of 56 he must have thought that his chance of a third title may well have escaped him, while Greenslade, 15 years his junior and beaten three times in the world indoor pairs final, has spent almost two decades in the top flight dreaming of such a moment.}

^{Thomson's tie-break victory over Scotland's number three seed Darren Burnett, playing in his first world semi-final, went right down to the last bowl after a tense and intriguing tactical battle full of twists and turns.}

^{The England captain, whose last final appearance was back in 1997, appeared to be in control of the first set at 6-1, but the 35-year-old Arbroath policeman arrested the slump in form and clawed his way back into the fray to win it 8-6, aided by a piece of good fortune on the penultimate end, which he duly acknowledged, when a slightly off target strike achieved an expected result of two shots to tie the set, which he claimed on the final end.}

^{Burnett certainly went through the gears in the second set to apply more pressure, but, ironically, lady luck went against him on the penultimate end when a clean strike saw the jack rebound from Thomson's back bowl and the Scot ended up dropping a maximum count and the set at 10-5.}

^{Thomson, playing right at the top of his form, had the misfortune to give the shot away on the opening end of the tie-break, but took the next two, with Burnett's final delivery of the match only a fraction of an inch from glory – it was that close!}

^{Greenslade ended the hopes of another former title winner from the 1990's in Scotland's David Gourlay in far more convincing fashion that one might have imagined given the form of the former world number one. The Welshman, seeded 13, ruthlessly exploited the fragility of Gourlay's form on the day with a 9-4, 8-2 victory that will give him every confidence for the biggest match of his distinguished career. He virtually had the first set in the bag after only three ends when he raced into a 7-0 lead , and he was equally dominant in the second when he might have expected the eighth seed rediscover his touch.}