HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – Trevor Smith of Moncton, New Brunswick, won the 2007 World Candlepin Bowling Championship knockout singles tournament Monday by three pins in the final match.

Smith rolled a 123 to a 120 by runner-up Mark Ricci of Somerville, Mass., and did it via a 10th frame strike and knocking down eight bonus pins.

Other top qualifiers included Chris Hollett of Halifax with a 728 overall, Tim Carrigan of Halifax with a 725, and Dave Barber (720) of New Hampshire. The top 32 qualifiers from the field bowled five rounds of head-to-head matches to determine the singles champ.

Team competition begins today at 9:15 a.m. and continues each day until 5:30 p.m. through Saturday afternoon’s finals. A+/Pelham Electric will try to defend its 2006 title on its home turf: Halifax Fairlanes. Twenty-three other teams – 14 from the United States – will try to knock off the defending champions.