Rivera’s dream of winning his first-ever World Cup crumbled after he was swept by Schmidt in two games – 215-247 and 202-252.

Schmidt went on to topple top seeded Matt Miller of England, 2-1 (205-246, 212-207, 224-18 in the finals to capture his second World Cup five years after he triumphed in Slovenia.

Aumi Guerra gave Dominican Republic its first World Cup title by turning back No. 1 seed Gye Min-Young of Korea, 2-1 (203-226, 202-196, 240-196) in the women’s finals.

Guerra earned a shot at the Korean by ousting England’s Fiona Banks, 2-0 (237-223, 246-18 in the first stepladder match.

The match between Rivera and Schmidt was close in the first game with both players going for a potential 247. But Rivera, working for a double in the ninth, left the 3-6 pins standing to give the Canadian the edge.

Rivera actually got the first strike, but he left the 3-6-10 combination on his second shot to open the door for Schmidt to move ahead, 1-0.

Rivera, who needed to win the second game to force a decider, had a disastrous start in three of the first four frames. On the other hand, Schmidt was perfect through the first seven frames before a 4-6-7 split denied his bid for the first perfect game of this year’s World Cup competition.

Schmidt failed to convert the split but though Rivera threw four strikes in frames 5-8, game and match were over when the Filipino left a 2-pin standing on his first ball in the ninth frame.