Mika Koivuniemi stole the lead from Walter Ray Williams Jr. after the second round of qualifying in the U.S. Open at Fountain Bowl Friday evening.

Koivuniemi, of Finland, won all but one game in the round including a win in the final game against Williams to take the top spot from the PBA Hall of Famer, who held it for five consecutive rounds. Koivuniemi has compiled an overall 12-4 match play record and a 46-game, 10,222 pinfall total.

“I didn’t pay too much attention to where I placed game-by-game tonight,” said Koivuniemi. “I pretty much was just trying to stay out of trouble. My plan was to try and shoot games in the 210’s and 220’s and try to win a few and that is exactly what I did so I’m pleased.”

The third-year pro won his lone PBA title in another PBA major, the 2000 American Bowling Congress (ABC) Masters, Albuquerque, N.M., by defeating Pete Weber in the title match.

“It’s early to think about winning,” Koivuniemi said. “I’m not really focusing on the majors and I’m not sure why I seem to bowl so well in them but I’m not complaining.”

Williams, of Ocala, Fla., won only three games through the round to fall to second place. The PBA Hall of Famer is searching for his 35th PBA title and his second U.S. Open title. He won the event in 1998, in Milford, Conn., and has a second-place finish (1993) and a fourth-place finish (1996) in the event. Williams, who has two wins in 2001, including the PBA National Championship, Toledo, Ohio, has gathered an 8-8 record and a 10,124 pinfall total.

“I gave away a few matches tonight,” said Williams. “It was very frustrating. In one game, I missed a 4-pin to lose the game – It was inexcusable.”

Slipping one spot to third place with a 10,059 pinfall total was Ritchie Allen. Allen, of Tulsa, Okla., had to face a field that owns a combined 17 PBA titles to go 4-4, good for a complete 8-8 record. The 23-year-old, who joined the PBA in 1999, is competing in his third event of the year and will earn his cash of the year on Tour. The right-hander won his lone PBA regional title in 1999 in Shawnee, Okla.

Fourth place belongs to Ryan Shafer. Shafer, of Elmira, N.Y., won half of his games including two wins against Allen. The three-time PBA titlist, who has been on Tour for 15 years, is aiming toward his first PBA major.

Rounding out the top five is Mike DeVaney. DeVaney, of Escondido, Calif., lost only three matches during the round and has piled up a 10-6 match play record. He has upended 10,038 pins and is looking to make his first career championship round appearance.

Also advancing is three-time U.S. Open champion (1982, ’95, ’96) Dave Husted (8th), Tim Criss (13th) and rookie Tommy Jones (15th, tie).

Defending champion Robert Smith, who plummeted from fifth place to 25th preceding this round, failed to advance and finished in 28th place. Other notables unable to make the top 16 include Norm Duke (19th), Bob Learn Jr. (22nd), George Branham III (30th) and Amleto Monacelli (31st).

The top 16 athletes advance to two additional rounds of head-to-head competition Saturday. Following the two rounds of match play, the top four bowlers will advance to the championship round finals to vie for the title and the $100,000 first-place prize Sunday. ESPN will televise the finals live on Sunday, December 9, from 1 – 2:30 p.m. (ET).