KING Kelvin Kerkow again reigned supreme in defending his crown and posting his fourth victory in the $20,040 Tweed Prestige Open Mixed Singles title at Tweed Heads Bowls Club yesterday.

It was a case of deja vu for Wodonga's Ashley Bates who was also on the wrong side of the scoreline in last year's final when KKK scored a 25-18 victory.

Kerkow jumped to a 8-0 lead early and from that point was always in control to win the final 25-7.

That pair were the last two standing after 256 men and women bowlers took to the greens in round one on Sunday.

The win earned Kerkow $5000, Bates picked up $2500 plus a wildcard entry into the rich Golden Nugget tournament later this year.

Defeated semi-finalisits, Ryan Bester and Craig Elliott each took home $1000.

Carmen Anderson, who plays out of both Sydney and Tweed Heads, was the last woman standing in the event and gave Kerkow a run for his money in their quarter-final clash before the great man shut her out over the final couple of ends to win 25-18.

While Kerkow comfortably won his semi-final, Bates had to pull out all stops to prevail over Craig Elliott.

Elliott led 23-16 at one stage and looked all over a winner but Bates refused to lie down and kept chipping away to work his way back into the match.

Bates reserved his best effort until the final end, scoring three shots to take out the semi 25-23.