Anders Lousdal breaks into the phalanx of U.S. players at Brunswick Euro Challenge

    03/23/12

    2012 European Bowling Tour #4

    Dane shoots 1439 to jump into fifth place in qualifying; Liz Johnson, Zandra Aziela become top-ranked women; cut for 52nd place is now 1292 (215.33 avg.)

    2012EBT04AndersLousdal.jpg2012EBT04TomHess2.jpgDanish national team member Anders Lousdal (pictured left) led Squad 13 on Thursday afternoon with 1439 six-game total to break into the phalanx of U.S. players atop the leaderboard of the Brunswick Euro Challenge.

    Lousdal started the day (the morning squad 12 has been cancelled) with 289 followed by 220, 257, 208, 233 and 232, an average of 239.83, to become the best non-American player in fifth place.

    PBA champion Tom Hess (right) leads the field of 256 players, 207 men and 49 women, from 23 countries 1533 (255.50) and was followed by Dino Castillo in second place with 1531, Sean Rash in third place with 1488 and Tom Smallwood in fourth place with 1465, respectively.

    2012EBT04LizJohnson.jpg2012EBT04ZandraAsiela.jpgAmericans Josh Blanchard and Tommy Jones slipped one place to sixth and seventh with 1428 and 1420.

    Women's U.S. Open and USBC Queens winner, Liz Johnson, (left) also United States, and Malaysian national team member Zandra Aziela (right) finished Squad 13 with 1417 and 1415 total including handicap to become the best of 49 women in eighth and ninth place, respectively.

    Johnson, who finished second in the WTBA International Open stepladder finals yesterday, had a high game of 263 and five games between 203 and 236, while Aziela had a high game of 276, three games between 230 and 247 and two sub-par games. Both added eight pins handicap each game.

    2012EBT04ShalinZulkifli.jpgAziela's compatriot Shalin Zulkifli (right) was next in the squad with 1387 including a high game of 266 and five games between 200 and 226, good for 15th place overall. Previous women's leader Amandine Jacques remained the top French bowler in 16th place with 1386.

    Alexandre Lepolard, France, holds the 52nd place and last place to advance with 1292 or an average of 215.33. Qualifying continues on Thursday with Squads 14 and 15 scheduled for 4 and 8 p.m. CET.

    Photo Gallery Part 1

    2011EBT17ClaraGuerrero2_small.jpg The Brunswick Euro Challenge is the fourth tournament on the 2012 European Bowling Tour schedule and one of only two "Platinum" events, the EBT's highest category. The BEC is also the seventh event of the 2012 World Bowling Tour and the second of three WBT events in Europe this season. Colombia's Clara Juliana Guerrero (left) is the defending champion.

    The tournament will be held from March 16-25 at 28-laner Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin near Paris, France and offers total prize money of 106.000 Euro, approximately US $140,000 with 15.000 Euro going to the winner, 7.500 Euro to the runner-up and 5.000 Euro to the third place finisher.

    ValckeBowling.jpg BowlingdigitalBanner.gif The 2012 Brunswick Euro Challenge is organized and conducted by Brunswick distributor Valcke Bowling. Bowlingdigital.com will cover the event live from Le Plaza Bowling with stories and results after each round including live streaming, high definition videos and high quality photos.

    Live streaming of the 2012 Brunswick Euro Challenge stepladder finals starts on Sunday, March 25th at 6.30 p.m. Central European Time (12.30 p.m. EST; 12.30 a.m. on the 26th Hong Kong time). The award ceremonies are scheduled for 7.30 p.m. CET.

    The live stream of the stepladder finals of the World Bowling Tour's WTBA International Open, which was contested Wednesday, March 20th at Plaza St. Maximim, can be found here.

    2012BECLogo_small.jpg BEC qualifying runs through Saturday, March. 24 with the final Squad 25 slated for 8 p.m. Qualifying concludes with the ultimate one-game Desperado Squad at 11.30 p.m. Women will receive 8 pins handicap each game throughout the entire event, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour.

    A total of 64 players will qualify for the finals on Sunday, March 25, the top 52 in the overall qualifying standings, the top 8 of a separate leaderboard of the squads conducted March 16-19 plus the top 4 of the Desperado Squad. The top 12 qualifiers will receive one bye.

    The remaining 52 finalists will bowl six games scratch to cut to the top 16 who will join the top 12 qualifiers in Round Two. Those 28 will bowl another six games scratch after which the field will be trimmed to the top 8 players who will carry their pinfall total forward into the match play round.

    After seven games round robin match play (30 for each win; 15 for each tie) the top 3 players will determine the champion in a stepladder final. The No. 3 seed bowls the No. 2 seed and the winner of the semifinal match takes on the No. 1 seed for the title, and the 15.00 Euro top prize.

    2012EBTLogo_small.jpg The 2012 European Bowling Tour is made up of 21 events in 16 countries including two Platinum, four Gold, eight Silver and seven Satellite tournaments.

    The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event earn ranking points based on how they finish in the event. The winner of a Platinum tournament such as the Brunswick Euro Challenge receives 250 ranking points, the winner of a Gold tournament gets 150, the winner of a Silver tournament earns 100, and the winner of a Satellite tournament gets 50 ranking points.

    Those points will be tabulated throughout the season to determine the top 16 men and top 16 women who will compete in the sixth EBT Masters in Bratislava, Slovakia in Sept. 2013.

    2012 European Bowling Tour Rankings
    EBT Women's Ranking
    EBT Men's Ranking

    WBTLogo_small.jpgThe ninth edition of the Brunswick Euro Challenge is also the seventh event of the 2012 World Bowling Tour organized by the World Tenpin Bowling Association. After the Bahamas Classic has been postponed the 2012 WBT consists of 13 tournaments in America, Asia, Europe and Australia - five in the United States and one each in Australia, Austria, Finland, France, Japan, Korea, Kuwait and Thailand.

    Players earn ranking points based on how they finish in each event. The current points system is based on a continuous two-year cycle, so points earned in 2011 are added to points earned in 2012 to determine the points list.

    The top three men and top three women will be invited to compete in the World Bowling Tour Finals presented by the Professional Bowlers Association at the end of 2012 featuring total prize fund of $70,000.

    World Bowling Tour Rankings
    WBT Women's Ranking
    WBT Men's Ranking

    The World Tenpin Bowling Association, which is made up of 115 bowling federations, governs the sport throughout the world. For more information on WTBA and the World Bowling Tour, visit WorldTenpinBowling.com.

     


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    2012 European Bowling Tour Schedule
    2012 World Bowling Tour Schedule

     


    Qualifying Standings after Squad 13/25


    The top 52 in the overall qualifying standings, the top 8 of a separate leaderboard of the squads 1-8 (places 53-60) plus the top 4 of the Desperado Squad (places 61-64) will advance to the finals. The top 12 qualifiers will receive one bye.

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