Heino, Hulsch lead Squads 9 and 10 in Brunswick Ballmaster Open

01/09/10

2010 European Bowling Tour #1

PBA's Mike Fagan continues to lead qualifying with 262 average

2010EBT01MikaHeino.jpg2009BWCTinaHulsch3.jpgPBA champion and two-time EBT winner Mike Fagan, United States, held on to the lead in the qualifying of the Brunswick Ballmaster Open after the conclusion of Squads 9 and 10 Friday at Tali Bowling Center in Helsinki, Finland. Fagan leads the 455--player field with 1572 six-game total and an average of 262.00. Swede Martin Larsen is 67 pins behind in second place with 1505 (250.83).

Places 3-5 belong to Finnish bowlers, Jari Ratia (1469) and brothers Toni Palermaa (1454) and Osku Palermaa (1445).

Their compatriot Mika Heino (pictured left) had six games between 221 and 256 in the 9th qualifying squad to leap into 6th place in the overall standings with 1423 (237.17). German national team member Tina Hulsch (right) led Squad 10 with 1366 including 48 pins handicap, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour, to move into 15th place.

Hulsch is currently one of four women above the cut line. Singapore's Cherie Tan (11th, 1379) is the top-ranked woman in the field. Joining Tan and Hulsch among the top 44 are Rebecka Larsen Jr. and Reija Lundén, both Finland, in 38th and 38th place with 1330 and 1329, resp.

Tournament organizer and 2-time Ballmaster Open winner Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, is the "man on the bubble" in 44th place with 1322 and an average of 220.33.

2010BallmasterOpenBanner.jpg The 40th Brunswick Ballmaster Open will be held from Saturday, Jan. 2 through Sunday Jan. 10 at the 36-lane Tali Bowling Center in Helsinki, Finland. Pasi Uotila, Finland, is the defending champion. Norwegian Tore Torgersen was the last non-Finnish winner back in 1996.

About 500 players will compete for increased total prize money of 105.000 Euro or approximately 150.000 USD. The champion will walk away with the 15.000 Euro top prize. In addition the Ballmaster offers a 10.000 Euro extra prize for a 300-game.

Qualifying continues on Friday, Jan. 7, with 11 and runs through Saturday Jan. 9 with the final qualifying squad 15 scheduled for 8pm. The ultimate one-game Desperado Squad will conclude the qualifying at 11.30pm. Women will receive 8 pins handicap each game.

Squad 1 was reserved youth bowlers, who must not have reached the age of 24 on Jan. 2, and Squad 5 was reserved for senior bowlers, who must have reached the age of 50 on Jan. 6.

A total of 48 players - the top 44 from the overall qualifying standings plus the top 4 from the Desperado Squad - will qualify for the finals on Sunday, Jan. 10. No byes are given in this tournament.

The finals will be contested in a format similar to the old PBA tournaments. All 48 finalists will bowl 8 games starting from scratch to cut to the top 16 who will advance to match play portion. Those 16 will bowl 15 games of round robin match play plus one game position round with the pinfall of Round 1 being carried forward to determine the top 4 players for the stepladder finals.

The No. 4 seed meets the No. 3 in the opening match and the winner takes on the No. 2 seed for the right to bowl the top seed for the title, the 15.000 Euro top prize and 250 ranking points. (Note: The winner of a Satellite tournament gets 50, the winner of a Silver tournament gets 100, and the winner of a Gold tournament gets 150 ranking points.)

 


Related Articles


PBA champ Joonas Huolman cracks top 10 in Squad 8 at Brunswick Ballmaster Open
PBA champ Mike Fagan powers his way into the lead in Helsinki
Toni Palermaa shoots into the lead in Squad 6 at Brunswick Ballmaster Open
No changes atop the leaderboard after the Seniors Squad in Helsinki
Knutar refuses to fall; leads Brunswick Ballmaster Open after first weekend
Knutar holds on to the lead in Brunswick Ballmaster Open after Squad 3
Matti Knutar sets the pace in Brunswick Ballmaster Open after Day One Qualifying
2010 European Bowling Tour season gets underway with 40th Brunswick Ballmaster Open

 


Brunswick Ballmaster Open - Qualifying Standings after Squad 10/15


The top 44 qualifiers plus the top 4 from the Desperado Squad will qualify for the finals on Sunday, Jan. 10.

Â