CANADA'S newly-crowned Pacific pairs champions Billy Boettger and Mark Gilliland head a star-studded field for the revived Hong Kong International Bowls Classic in November at the Kowloon Green Bowling Club.
The tournament, one of the most popular events among the world's top bowlers, was abandoned last year because of a lack of sponsorship. But the Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association has been able to revive it with financial assistance from the Sports Development Board.
Boettger and Gilliland are currently the hottest pairs combination in the world, having won the gold at last month's Pacific Bowls Championships in Victoria, Canada.
But bowlers from Australia, England, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, Scotland, Wales and Hong Kong are expected to give the Canadians a solid run for the prestigious title.
Leading the Australian challenge will be Cameron Curtis, the singles gold medallist at the Pacific tournament, who will play lead with Ian Taylor.
Scotland's Graham Robertson and Alex Marshall must also be a highly fancied combination, winning the 1990 Hong Kong Classic.
They were both double medallists at last year's World Championships, with Marshall a member of the pairs and fours gold medal winning teams while Robertson won a bronze in triples and a gold in fours.