Swede Martin Larsen (left) and Dutch Wendy Kok (right) finished 11th and 6th in the men's and women's rankings of the Catalonia Open in Barcelona, Spain, the fourth stop of the 2008 European Bowling Tour, to stay atop the EBT rankings.

Larsen, who won the second stop in Luxembourg, has cashed ranking points in all four events thus far totaling 176 points. Former PBA exempt bowler Tore Torgersen, Norway, narrowed the gap to 15 points after finishing fourth in Barcelona. Dominic Barrett, England, is third with 161 points.

Placed 4-6 belong to the other winners of the 2008 EBT season. Catalonia Open champion Jari Ratia (left), Finland, rocketed from 38th to fourth place due to the 100 ranking points for winning an EBT "major". Ratia has 122 points.

Ballmaster Open champion Jouni Helminen, Finland, and Tilburg winner Mikael Kanold, Sweden, are tied for fifth place with 116 points.

Rounding out the 8 are 3-time European ranking champion Paul Moor, England, with 113 and Thomas Gross, Austria, with 107 points. PBA super star Brian Voss (right), United States, is the top-ranked non European bowler in 9th place (100), with defending ranking champion Osku Palermaa, Finland in 10th place (96).

Kok missed the second cut in the Catalonia Open by 31 pins to finish in 31st place in the overall standings and to receive 48 ranking points. The Dutch national team member, the daughter of former Dutch standout Eric Kok, has totaled 178 points including the victory in the Luxembourg rankings.

Her compatriot Ghislaine van der Tol (left) moved from fifth to second place behind a second-place finish in Barcelona with 165 points. Next is Krista Pöllänen, Finland, who won the Ballmaster rankings, with 150 points.

Defending women's ranking champion Kirsten Penny (right), England, jumped from 24th to fourth after leading the women's rankings in Barcelona.

Rounding out the top 8 are Jenni Mäkelä, Finland (106), Nina Flack, Sweden (104), Nicole Sanders, Netherlands (100) and Zara Glover, England (96).

The top eight men and the top eight women at the end of the ranking season will qualify for the 2009 World Ranking Masters in Naples, Italy. In addition, the top 16 men and the top 16 women will qualify for the EBT Masters in May 2008 in Aalborg, Denmark.

The European Bowling Tour moves to St. Maxim near Paris, France next week for the 2008 Brunswick Euro Challenge, March 7-16 at Le Plaza Bowling St. Maxim.


Bowlingdigital will cover the event live from Paris with updates after each squad and round, respectively, including exclusive video footage commencing Thursday, March 13 all the way through to the finals on Sunday, March 16.


2008 Men's Ranking - Top 8 after Barcelona
1. Martin Larsen, Sweden, 176
2. Tore Torgersen, Norway, 161
3. Dominic Barrett, England, 156
4. Jari Ratia, Finland, 122
5. Jouni Helminen, Finland, 116
(tie) Mikael Kanold, Sweden, 116
7. Paul Moor, England, 113
8. Thomas Gross, Austria, 107

2008 Women's Ranking - Top 8 after Barcelona
1. Wendy Kok, Netherlands, 178
2. Ghislaine van der Tol, Netherlands, 165
3. Krista Pöllänen, Finland, 150
4. Kirsten Penny, England, 140
5. Jenni Mäkelä, Finland, 106
6. Nina Flack, Sweden, 104
7. Nicole Sanders, Netherlands, 100
8. Zara Glover, England, 96

Men's Rankings after four events
Women's Rankings after four events