Adrian Ang wins his third qualifying squad in Brunswick Euro Challenge

03/12/10

2010 European Bowling Tour #5

Cut for 52nd place is currently 1370 (228.33 avg.)

2010EBT05AdrianAng.jpg2010EBT05AnthonyPepe.jpgAdrian Ang (pictured left), Malaysia, has bowled three qualifying squads in the Brunswick Euro Challenge and has led all three squads. Even more impressive is the consistency of the gold medalist in Masters at the 2008 Asian Championships.

Ang felled 1470 pins in Squad 7, improved by 9 pins in Squad 9 (1479) and by another pin in Squad 15 on Friday morning to sit in 6th place in the overall qualifying standings with 1480 pinfall total and an average of 246.67.

Anthony Pepe (right) remained unchallenged atop the leaderboard with 1572 (262 avg.) and is followed by defending champion Mike Fagan (below left), both United States, with 1555 including a 300 game and Nico Joris, Belgium, in third at 1518.

2010EBT05MikeFagan.jpg2010EBT05KimmoLehtonen.jpgYoan Alix, France leads a group of 27 players, who have felled more than 1400 pins with 1495. Kimmo Lehtonen (right), Finland, had the first of two 300 games thus far and sits in 5th place with 1486. Mark Buffa, Canada, is in 30th place with 1401.

The cut for the top 16, who will bypass the first round of the finals, is currently 1437 (239.50) achieved by U.S. Open champion Bill O'Neill, United States. Jason Yeong Nathan, Singapore, is the man on the bubble in 52nd place with 1370 or an average of 228.33.

2010EBT05AdamMichaels.jpgThe penultimate qualifying day of the Brunswick Euro Challenge started on early Friday morning with the Midnight Squad 14. 25 players took to the 28 lanes at Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin, France, but the only player, who moved into the top 52 was squad leader Adam Michaels (left), England. Michaels finished his series with 245 and 265 for 1380 currently good for 42nd place.

2010EBT05TeamMalaysia.jpgNotables above the cut line include World Games champion Krista Pöllänen (7th, 1477), Finland, and 20-time PWBA champion Carolyn Dorin-Ballard (8th, 1459), United States, who are the top ranked women in the field of 366 players, PBA champions Mika Koivuniemi (9th, 1459), Finland, and Parker Bohn III (11th, 1451), United States, 4-time European ranking champion Gery Verbruggen (19th, 1430), Belgium, reigning women's World Cup champion Caroline Lagrange (26th, 1412), Canada, PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke (38th, 1386), United States, 2009 EBT women's ranking winner Nicki Ainge (47th, 1375), England, and two-time EBT women's Masters winner Kamilla Kjeldsen (48th, 1373), Denmark, and total eight players from the Malaysian national team (pictuured right) and two from Singapore.

Qualifying continues on Friday, March 12, with Squads 16-18 scheduled for noon, 4 and 8 p.m. CET.

2010EBT05BECLogo.jpg The Brunswick Euro Challenge will be held from March 5-14, 2010 at 28-laner Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin near Paris, France. The tournament is the fifth event of the 2010 European Bowling Tour and one of the Tour's "Gold" tournaments.

Since the Ankara Open and the Austria Challenge have been cancelled, the 2010 EBT Tour features 2 EBT Platinum tournament (formerly Premier), 6 EBT Gold tournaments (formerly Major), 7 EBT Silver tournaments (formerly Challenger) and 4 EBT Satellite tournaments (new category).

Players will compete for total prize money of 90,000 Euro (currently about US$123,250), which includes special prizes for "Women" and "B Bowlers". The tournament winner will receive the 13.000 Euro top prize.

200910PBA11MikeFagan2_small.jpg2009VOMaiGingeJensen_small.jpg There is also a special side event called "300-Game Pot Play". All players who have paid a 50 Euro entry fee in advance and roll a 300 game during the tournament will determine the winner in a one-ball roll-off at the end of the tournament. The winner is guaranteed a minimum of 2,500 Euro.

2-time PBA champion Mike Fagan (left), United States, is the defending champion. The 29-year-old righthander will be targeting to make his third consecutive BEC title match. Mai Ginge Jensen (right), Denmark, finished third last year to win the women ranking.

ValckeBowling.jpg For the third consecutive year, the 2010 Brunswick Euro Challenge sponsored by Brunswick Bowling will be organized by Brunswick distributor Valcke Bowling.

In addition to sponsoring the event, Brunswick will be conducting seminar and training sessions for bowlers, coaches, center mechanics, center managers and proprietors. Click on the link to view the complete Seminar Schedule (pdf file).

Qualifying will run through Saturday, March 13, with the final qualifying squad 23 scheduled for 8 p.m. and ends with the ultimate one-game Desperado Squad at 11 p.m.

The 2010 Brunswick Euro Challenge will be contested on a 39 feet long sport pattern of medium difficulty (MS Excel file).

A total of 64 players will qualify for the finals on Sunday, March 14. The top 16 players will receive one bye and will seeded 1-16 in Round 2.

The following 48 players will qualify for Round 1:
  • Players positioned 17th-52nd in qualifying
  • the top 6 from a separate standing for the squads 1-5 conducted March 5-7, who are not among the top 52
  • the top 6 from the Desperado Squad.

Those 48 will bowl six games starting from scratch to cut to the top 16, who will meet the top 16 qualifiers in the first match play round. Match play is best-of-three games single-elimination. The No. 1 seed will take on No. 32, No. 2 bowls No. 31, etc.

The field will be cut to 16, 8 and then four, who will determine the champion in a stepladder final.

Eurosport2Logo_mini.jpgThe stepladder finals of the 2010 Brunswick Euro Challenge will be broadcasted live on Eurosport 2 Sunday, March 14 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. CET. Additional to the live broadcast, Eurosport 2 will air at least two more re-broadcasts in the weeks following the live coverage. Eurosport Asia-Pacific will also run the BEC 2010 final several times.

Due to TV requirements the schedule for Sunday, March 14, was adjusted to the following:
07:45 Final Round 1
11:00 Lane Maintenance
11:30 Final Round 2
14:00 Final Round 3
15:15 Final Round 5
16:30 Lane Maintenance
16: 55 Practice for Stepladder final
17:00-18:25 Final Round 5
18:25 TV Award Ceremony
18:30 300-Game Play Pot roll-off
18:45 Awards Ceremony

BowlingdigitalBanner.gif BowlingdigitalFlavioCuvaBeatGrauwiler_small.jpg Once again Bowlingdigital will cover the event live (commencing Thursday March 11) from Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin with results and updates after each round plus our much-anticipated high definition videos produced by Flavio Cuva and high quality photos by Beat Grauwiler (l-r).

Please use the left menu bar to get more information about format, schedule and prize money.

Click here to review Bowlingdigital's Live Coverage from the 2009 Brunswick Euro Challenge or click here to go straight to the video section. You will find more videos here.

 


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2010 Brunswick Euro Challenge - Tournament Preview

 


Qualifying Standings after Squad 15


The top 52 plus the top 6 from the first weekend (places 53-58) and the top 6 from the Desperado Squad will advance to the finals.

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