Thomas Gross (l.) from Austria improved on a second-place finish from last year when defeated
Svein Roger Olsen (r.), Norway, 2-1, to win the men's title in the 31st European Champions Cup. In the semifinals, Olsen upset top seeded
Sami Konsteri, Finland, 2-0, while Gross made quick work of Swede
Mathias Årup, 2-0. Konsteri and Årup shared the bronze medal. The top 8 countries, Austria, Finland, England, Germany, Belgium, France, Norway and Netherlands qualified for
2009 World Games in Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei.
Joline Persson Planefors of Sweden continued to lead the women's division of the 34th European Champions Cup while Russia's Ivan Semenov took the pole position in the men's division after the second block of qualifying Thursday at Lahti Bowl in Lahti, Finland. Germany'Janine-Manuela Gabel had the highest eight-game series on the long oil pattern with 1738 and the higher last game (279). Hafthor Hardarson, Iceland, posted the field-best 1841 series, an average of 230.13. 
Norwegian youngster Svein Åke Ek and longtime Finnish national team member Krista Pöllänen captured the men's and women's title in the 33rd European Champions Cup Saturday afternoon at Rollhouse Bowling Center in Ankara, Turkey. Ek defeated Sweden's Dennis Eklund in the deciding third game of the men's finale in best-of-three format, 239-212. Pöllänen,swept Marija Tkacenko, Latvia, two-games-to-none to win the women's crown.
Arturs Levikins (pictured left), Latvia and Nadine Geißler, Germany led the preliminaries of the 33rd European Champions Cup at Rollhouse Bowling Center in Ankara, Turkey and earned the No. 1 seed for Saturday's single-elimination finals in best-of-three game format.. Levikins will take on 2008 ECC champion Thomas Gross, Austria,in the Round of 8, while Geißler meets Shahaf Antin, Israel,in the women's Round of 8. 
Svein Ã…ke Ek (l.), Norway, averaged 224.13 on the 
Ahmet Recep Tekcan, President of the Turkish Bowling Federation, and Sinem Aydın Devrim, CEO of the host Rollhouse Bowling Center, have released the first and final bulletin for the 2010 European Champions Cup to be held in Ankara, Turkey from Oct. 25-31, 2010. The 2010 ECC will be staged at 24-lane Rollhouse Bowling Center, host of the Ankara Open, a European Bowling Tour Gold tournament (Sept. 18-26, 2010). Entry deadline is June 15, 2010.
Giannis Stathatos, from the host country Greece and England's Kirsten Penny
captured the men' and women's title in the 32nd European Champions Cup
Sunday at Mega Place Bowling Club in Chania, Crete, Greece. Penny swept top seeded Ann Louise Haugen Andersen, Norway, in the title match, two-games-to-none. Stathatos went the distance against
Germany's Michael Krämer and emerged victorious, two-games-to-one.
Martin Larsen (l.), Sweden, rolled an 1871 series in the final block on dual lane condition to lead the top 8 men into the
finals in the 32nd European Champions Cup at Mega Place Bowling Club in Chania, Crete, Greece.
Larsen totaled 5534 pins and averaged 230.58 over 24 games to lead Austria's Alexander Rauscher (r.) by 59 pins. The top 8 men will return on Sunday morning for the quarterfinals in single-elimination final in best-of-three games format.
Ann Louise Haugen Andersen (l.), Norway, rolled a 1731 series in the third and final 8-game block on dual lane condition (one lane with short oil, one lane with long oil) to earn the No. 1 seed for the single-elimination finals in the women's European Champions Cup. Haugen will bowl Ivonne Gross (r.), Austria, who beat out defending champion Zara Glover, England,
for the 8th and final spot to
advance by three pins.
Ann Louise Haugen Andersen (pictured), Norway, who led the women's division of the 32nd European Champions Cup after the first block on short oil, widened her lead in the second block on long oil Thursday afternoon. The Norwegian added an 1820 series to the 1888 from yesterday to lead the field of 37 players with 3708 and an average of 231.75 for 16 games. The women will bowl the third and final block on dual lane condition on Friday evening and Saturday morning before the cut to the top 8 for single-elimination match play.
Ann Louise Haugen Andersen (l.), Norway, had an 1888 8-game series on the opening day of the 32nd European Champions Cup to set the pace in the women's division at Mega Place Bowling Club in Chania, Crete, Greece. The Norwegian champion rolled eight games between 201 and 268 to lead the field of 37 women from 36 countries with an average of 236.00. Trailing the Norwegian by mere three pins is Sara Mizrahi (r.), Israel. 
No. 1 seeded Zara Glover (left) from England, won the women's title in 31st European Champions Cup at Treff Bowling in Duisburg, Germany, in two straight games against Krista Pöllänen (right), Finland, two-games-to-none. In the semis, Glover went the distance to win against Germany's Patricia Luoto, 2-1, while Pöllänen came back from an opening game loss to beat Ivonne Gross, Austria, 2-0. Luoto and Gross hared the bronze medal. 
Sami Konsteri (l.), Finland, finished the 24-game preliminaries in the Men's European Champions Cup in Duisburg, Germany, with a 269 game to lead the top 8 men into the single-elimination best-of-three game finals on Saturday. Konsteri felled 1808 pins in the third and final 8-game block on dual lane condition (one lane with short, the other with long oil) and a 5403 24-game total, an average of 225.13, to beat out Dominic Barrett (r.), England for the No. 1 seed by mere four pins. 
Overnight leader Zara Glover (left) posted the second-highest 8-game block on the mixed lane condition (left lane with short oil, right lane with long oil) on the third and final day of the preliminaries en route to lead the top 8 women into the finals of the 31st European Champions Cup at Treff Bowling in Duisburg, Germany. Glover averaged 217.38 on Friday and felled 1739 pins to win the qualifying with 5334 and an overall average of 222.25. The top 8 players after the preliminaries qualified for the single-elimination final in best-of-three games format.Glover will meet No. 8 Olga Tarasove, Ukraine in the quarterfinals on Saturday morning. 