Tournament leader Nick Froggatt, England, defeated Tony Fransson, Sweden, in the title match of the inaugural Maribor Open Strike Tournament, 227-207, en route to win the title and the 8.000 Euro top prize. Fransson, the No. 4 seed, ousted two compatriots on his way to the title match. In the opening match, Franssen defeated Martin Larsen, 217-205, then eliminated No. 2 seeded Erik Andersin in the semi-final, 228-223.  The 2nd Maribor Open is on the schedule for the 2008 European Bowling Tour and will be held September 6-14, 2008. 

England's Nick Froggatt earned the No. 1 seed for the Live TV Finals in the 1st Maribor Open Strike Tournament at Strike Bowling Center in Maribor, Slovenia. Three Swedes, Erik Andersin (right), qualifying winner Martin Larsen (left) and Tony Fransson will battle it out for he right to bowl Froggatt for the title. The four-player stepladder finals will be broadcasted live on Slovenian television in a two-hour show airing at 6 p.m. local time (GMT +1) from Strike Bowling Center.

Nick Froggatt (left) from England rolled games of 257, 222 and 247 to move up one spot and to overtake the lead in the 1st Maribor Open Strike Tournament after Final Round Four at Strike Bowling Center in Maribor, Slovenia. The lefty averaged 241.17 over the last six games and felled 1447 pins. Luca Osella started the round with the tournament's second 300 game but missed the cut by 29 pins. The top 8 players advanced to the next round and will bowl another three games to cut to the top 4 for the Live TV stepladder finals starting at 6 p.m.

The field is down to 16 in the 1st Maribor Open Strike Tournament at Strike Bowling Center in Maribor, Slovenia. From now on the pinfall will be carried forward until the top four players for the Live TV Finals will be determined. World Ranking Masters champion Stuart Williams (on the right), England, finished the third round with 280 to jump to the top of the leaderboard with 723 three-game total and an average of 241. His compatriot Nick Froggatt (left) is mere two pins behind in second place with 721. 

Multiple Austrian champion Thomas Gross (left), rolled a 732 three-game series in Final Round Two, the highest series of the day thus far in the finals of the 1st Maribor Open Strike Tournament in Slovenia. Gross had back-to-back 250s and finished with 217 to lead Mathias Årup (right) by one pin. The Swede started with 279-255 and closed out his series with 197 for 731.

Erik Andersin (left); Sweden, posted the highest three-game series in Final Round One in the 1st Maribor Open Strike Tournament with 728 pinfall total, an average of 242.66, to lead the top 14 players into the next round. Local bowler Tamaz Krizaj, 64, delighted his friends when he advanced in second position with 684. Third place belonged to the sole woman in the final, Ivonne Gross, Austria, with 683. 

Martin Larsen from Sweden, who led the field since Squad 17, won the qualifying in the 1st Maribor Open Strike Tournament at Strike Bowling Center in Maribor, Slovenia with 1512 six-game total, an average of 252.00. The World Champion in Team (2003) and Doubles (2006) had games of 279, 248, 267, 248, 213 and 257 to become the sole player who cracked the 1500-bar in the tournament. Qualifying ends tonight with the ultimate one-game Desperado Squad. A total of 56 players will qualify for the finals on Sunday, Sep. 16: The top 52 in the overall qualifying standings and the top 4 Desperados.

Nick Froggatt from England started the penultimate qualifying squad in 27 place with 1314 six-game total, an average of 219.00, and was in danger to fall out of the top 28 in the qualifying of the Maribor Open in Slovenia. About three and a half hours later the lefty had positioned himself in second place in the qualifying standings behind a 1490 series, an average of 248.33. Qualifying ends tonight with Squad 26 and the ultimate one-game Desperado Squad. A total of 56 players will qualify for the finals on Sunday, Sep. 16.

Uwe Tscharke (l.) from Germany flirted with perfection in qualifying squad 24 in the Maribor Open, firing 11 strikes to start his six-game series Saturday morning before finishing with a 297 game. His 1427 total propelled him into sixth place in the overall standings. Gianluca Badali (r.), Italy, missed the 1400-plateau by one pin to move into 7th place with 1399. With two more squads to go, Swede Martin Larsen continued to lead the field with 1512 series and an average of 252.00.

Swiss youngster Mathieu Berges (l.) had games of 224, 243, 224, 233, 204 and 193 to lead qualifying squad 22 in the Maribor Open on Friday evening with 1321 six-game total and an average of 220.17. Berges had the highest official pinfall total but wasn't the best player in this squad. Dirk Völkel (r.), who served as a pacer, used high games of 299 and 279 for a 1407 series, a 234.5 average. However, the German remained in 24th place with a 1312 series.

Asgeir Thordarson (l.) from Iceland rolled the first 300 game in the 1st Maribor Open Strike Tournament and the third overall since Strike Bowling Center in Maribor, Slovenia, opened its doors in April 2006. Former European champion Jouni Helminen (r.), currently the president of the Finnish Bowling Federation, checked in with the highest six-game series of Squad 21, 1355, to move into 8th place overall.

Pär Svensson (l.), Sweden, and Jouko Kuossari (r.), Finland led qualifying Squad 20 en route to crack the top 10 in the 1st Maribor Open Strike Tournament in Slovenia. Svensson had high games of 244 and 239, three 220-plus games and a low game of 209 to move into sixth place with 1372 six-game total and an average of 228.67. Finnish veteran Kuossari finished 11 pins behind Svensson in seventh place with 1361.

Finnish international Pasi Uotila closed out his six-game series in the 1st Maribor Open Strike Tournament with back-to-back 249 games to lead Squad 18 with 1467 pinfall total, a 244.50 average, en route to move into third place in the overall qualifying standings. Uotila started Squad #18 at Strike Bowling Center in Maribor, Slovenia, with 269 and 247, then rolled his first 249 game for a 765 3-game series. He added his low game of 204 in game #4 before he finished with two more 249 games. Swedes Martin Larsen and Tony Fransson continued to lead with 1512 (252.00) and 1472 (245.33), respectively.

Martin Larsen, Sweden, had games of 279, 248, 267, 248, 213 and 257 to shoot into the lead in the qualifying of the 1st Maribor Open Strike Tournament at Strike Bowling Center in Maribor, Slovenia. The World Champion in Team (2003) and Doubles (2006) chalked up a 1512 six-game total, an average of 252.00, to become the first player who cracked the 1500-bar in the tournament. Larsen (left) "killed" previous leader "Dynamite Harry" Thomas Tybl (right) from Austria, who fell to fourth with 1431.

The inaugural Maribor Open started on Sep. 8 at Strike Bowling Center. Thomas Tybl and Thomas Gross from Austria lead the qualifying after the first weekend with 1431 and 1330 six-game total, resp. Qualifying continues today at 4 p.m. local time (GMT +1) with Squad 17. Bowlingdigital will cover the event live from Maribor all the way through to the live TV finals on Sunday, September 16. starting at 6 p.m. on Sunday.