Dave Merklinger (New Westminster, www) finished 1-3 in the 24-team qualifying round. . In their opening game, Merklinger lost 12-8 to Mark Longworth (Vernon, BC), droppimg another game, 8-5 to Dave Boehmer (Winnipeg, MB) where Merklinger responded with a 8-6 win over Japan's Hiro Kashiwagi. Merklinger went on to lose 7-5 against Sean Geall (New Westminster, BC) in their final qualifying round match.
 
. For week of the event schedule, Merklinger did not improve upon their best events, remaining at th place on the World Ranking Standings with total points. Merklinger ranks th overall on the Year-to-Date rankings with points earned so far this season.