MUNICH, Germany - At the halfway point of qualifying, Team USA holds the lead in the coveted five-player team event at the 2010 World Tenpin Bowling Association World Men's Championships.

The Americans put together a three-game set of 3,314, an average of 220.9, to take the lead Thursday heading into the final round of qualifying Friday. The top four teams after six games will advance to the semifinals, which will be contested Friday night.

Team USA had games of 1,142, 1,122 and 1,050 and leads Finland by 29 pins on the medium oil pattern. Chris Barnes led the Americans with a 692 series and was followed by Tommy Jones (670), Bill O'Neill (663), Patrick Allen (645) and Wes Malott (644).

"I think we are in good shape because tomorrow's long pattern plays to our strengths," Barnes said. "The goal is to get the top seed so you can have choice of lane pattern in the semifinals and final. I like our chances in the semifinals, especially if we can get there and choose the pattern."

Barnes said the team was satisfied with the score, but felt like they could have finished a little stronger in the third game to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the field.

"The last game today was a little disappointing," Barnes said. "I thought the third game we could make up some pins and pull away a little bit. At the end of the day, 1,050 is a good score, but we left some pins out there."

Rhino Page also bowled Thursday, but his 640 series did not count toward the five-man team total. In Friday's second round, Malott's score will not count. Both players scores will be credited toward their all-events score, however.

BowlingDigital.com will provide live streaming of the semifinals and finals of each event and coverage also can be viewed live on BOWL.com. The team semifinals and final are scheduled to begin Friday at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.

In the all-events race, O'Neill maintained the top spot with just three games remaining. He has totaled 4,717 for 21 games, an average of 224.6, and leads Barnes, who has 4,633, by 84 pins. Korea's Jang Dong-Chul is third, 94 pins behind Barnes.

The top 16 players in the all-events standings after 24 games advance to Masters match play Saturday. Allen sits in fifth at 4,489, Jones is ninth with 4,437 and Malott is 12th with 4,406. Page is currently 26th at 4,323.

The 2010 WTBA World Men's Championships features 356 competitors from 65 countries competing for medals in six events - five-player team, trios, doubles, singles, all-events and Masters match play.