Luca Osella (second from the left), Italy defeated Hafthor Hardarsson, Iceland, in the championship match over two games total pinfall, 458-450, to win the 3rd QubicaAMF Open at Bowling Center Gladiator in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Osella was down by one pin after the first game, 234-233, but secured the victory and the 5.333 Euro top prize (-25% tax) with a 225-216 win in game #2. Hardarsson pocketed 2.667 Euro for second place. Semifinal losers David Canady and Dirk Völkel received 1.333 Euro apiece. Janine Gabel, all Germany, won the women's rankings.
In a match between two European ranking champions, 3.-time winner Paul Moor (2004-06), left, England, defeated 4-time winner Gery Verbruggen (2000-03), right, Belgium, over two games total pinfall 425-395, to win the 5th Storm San Marino Open and the 10.000 Euro top prize. Verbruggen received 6.000 Euro for second place. Semifinal losers Luca Osella, Italy, and Mads Sandbækken, Norway, received 3.500 for third and fourth place, resp.
2009 European Bowling Tour Masters Paul Moor (pictured left), England, won the qualifying in the 5th Storm San Marino Open. The 3-time European ranking champion posted a huge 1588 series, an average of 264.67, in the 22nd out of 24 qualifying squads Saturday at Rose’n Bowl in Serravalle, San Marino, to lead 48 players into the finals on Sunday. The lefty started his six-game series with 289, 279 followed by 257, 256, 260 and closed out his set with a "low game" of 247 to miss the 1600 by just 12 pins. The top 6 qualifiers will earn two byes, while qualifiers 6-12 will get one. 
Dennis Eklund (l.), who rolled the tournament's first 300 game in the 16th qualifying squad on Thursday evening, carried the momentum into Squad 17 on Friday morning at Rose’n Bowl in Serravalle when he rolled his second perfecto of the 5th San Marion Open. The Swede re-entered in Squad 20 and improved his total to 1440 to move into sixth place in the overall qualifying standings. Canadian Dan MacLelland (r.) became the second player, who cracked the 1500-bar. MacLelland led Squad 18 with 1515 to leap into second place.
Four players overtook previous leader Markus Jansson, Sweden, Wednesday at Rose’n Bowl in Serravalle, San Marino en route to earn an automatic berth into Sunday's finals in the 5th Storm San Marino Open. Luca Osella (l.) from Italy powered his way into the lead with 1542 or an average of 257.00 for six games. Marco Baade, Germany was second with 1472 and Raymond Jansson third with 1457. Rounding out the top 4 players from Squads 6-12, who earned an automatic berth into Sunday's finals was Amedeo Spada (r.), Italy, with 1415 pinfall.
Swede Markus Jansson (left) had games of 212, 213, 280, 254, 238 and 196 in the 8th of 24 qualifying squads Tuesday at Rose’n Bowl in Serravalle, San Marino en route to overtake the lead in the qualifying of the 5th Storm San Marino Open. Jansson felled 1393 pins and averaged 232.17 over six games. Previous leader Dante Didon Francesco, Italy, slipped to second place with 1371. Yoan Alix (right), France, led Squad 9 on Tuesday evening with 1330, good for 7th place overall. The cutoff number for 38th place is currently 1218 (203.00).
Dante Didon Francesco (pictured left) from Italy held on to the lead in the qualifying of the 5th Storm San Marino Open. Francesco's 1371 six-game total, an average of 228.50, remained unchallenged during squads 6 and 7 Monday at Rose’n Bowl in Serravalle, San Marino. Mauro Montanari (right), Italy, led Squad 7 with 1350 and to move into third place in the overall qualifying standings.
Italian bowlers held the top eight spots after the qualifying squads on Saturday and Sunday in the 5th Storm San Marino Open at Rose’n Bowl in Serravalle, San Marino. Dante Didon Francesco (pictured left) led the field of 55 players, 52 men and 3 women, with 1371 six-game total and an average of 228.50. Day one leader Federico Rossi slipped to second place with 1362 with Giuseppe Alleluia (right) in third with 1324. Those three are automatically qualified for the finals.
34 Italian players, 32 men and two women, started the qualifying of the 5th Storm San Marino Open on Saturday. National team member Federico Rossi (pictured) took the early lead in the tournament with 1362 six-game total or an average of 227.00. Rossi had a consistent series with games between 214 and 243. Marco Padovani was second with 1305 and Andrea Gualdi was third with 1294. The 5th Storm San Marino Open is the 8th stop of the 2009 European Bowling Tour and one of the Tour's "Majors".
The title match of the Brunswick Aalborg International was a match between two teammates of multiple Swedish team champion Team Pergamon. Martin Larsen (pictured), Sweden, topped Tore Torgersen, Norway, 457 to 449 over two games total pinfall to win his fifth EBT title and the 10.000 Euro top prize. In the semifinals, Larsen and Torgersen eliminated two Finns on their way to the title match. Larsen defeated top seeded Joonas Jähi, 472-424, while Torgersen took revenge for the World Ranking Masters defeat earlier this month, when he ousted Osku Palermaa, 458-432. Palermaa will receive the EBT exemption of the PBA World Series. 
Dominic Barrett (pictured left) from England won the qualifying in the Brunswick Aalborg International 2009 and a 1.000 bonus with 1504 six-game total and an average of 250.67. Barrett, who won the Australian Open and the World Tenpin Masters in April, beat out Joonas Jähi, Finland (1503), Jesper Agerbo, Denmark (1502), for the top spot by one and two pins. Daniëlle van der Meer (r.), Netherlands, hit the cutoff number for 38th place with 1390, a 231.67 (scratch) average. A total of 48 players advanced to the finals on Sunday. 
Dominic Barrett (l.) from England finished the penultimate qualifying day in the Brunswick Aalborg International 2009 with a 1504 six-game series (250.67 average) en route to overtake the lead in the overall qualifying standings by one pin. Previous leader Joonas Jähi, Finland, and Squad 1 leader Jesper Agerbo, Denmark, slipped to second and third with 1503 and 1502, respectively. Thomas Gross, Austria, is the "man on the bubble" in 38th place with 1376 or an average of 229.33 for six games. 
Thursday's squad leaders averaged between 246 and 250 en route to crack the top 4 in the qualifying for the Brunswick Aalborg International 2009. Joonas Jähi, Finland, had games of 244, 256, 256, 277, 213 and 257 in Squad 6 to overtake the pole position in the overall qualifying standings with 1503 pinfall total and an average of 250.50. Fredrik Tjernes (l.), Norway, used one of three perfect games on Thursday to lead Squad 4 with 1482 (247.00), good for third place overall.
Dutch national team member Danielle van der Meer chalked up 1390 pins in the third qualifying squad Wednesday at Lovvang Bowling Center in Aalborg, Denmark, to move into fourth place in the overall qualifying standings in the Brunswick Aalborg International. Van der Meer, who studies at the University of Nebraska, United States, averaged 223.67 over six games on dual lane condition and added 48 pins handicap, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour. The top three players, however, remained unchallenged and automatically earned a spot for the finals.
Jesper Agerbo (pictured left) started the Brunswick Aalborg International 2009 almost with a 258 triplicate en route to set the pace with 1502 six-game total and an average of 250.33. Agerbo, who won the silver medal in Masters at the 2008 Men's World Championships, had games of 258, 259, 258, 235, 266 and 226 in the first of 14 qualifying squads Monday at Lovvang Bowling Center in Aalborg, Denmark. The Brunswick Aalborg International 2009 is the 7th stop of the 2009 European Bowling Tour and one of the Tour's "Majors".
Csaba Rácz from Hungary and Kristoffer Hagelberg, Sweden, led squads 10 and 11, respectively, en route to jump into the top 10 in the overall qualifying standings of the 3rd QubicaAMF Open in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Rácz (l.) started Squad 10 with 265 and closed out the six-game series with 259 to move into fifth place with an average of 236.50. Hagelberg (r.) overtook 10th place behind a 1393 series (232.17) including a high game of 279.
Dennis Eklund (l.) and Johan Helldén (r.),
both from Sweden, rolled 1460 and 1439 series to move to the top of the leaderboard in the qualifying
of the 3rd QubicaAMF Open Friday at Bowling Center Gladiator in
Ljubljana, Slovenia. Three more players, Hafthor Hardarsson, Iceland, Paul Moor,
England, and Jesper Agerbo, Denmark, also cracked the 1400-bar. Qualifying ends today with the final qualifying squad 13 scheduled for 9pm.
Matej Feguš (pictured left) from Slovenia had five games between
217 and 244 before he finished his six-game qualifying block in the 3rd
QubicaAMF Open 2009 Thursday with a 188 game. His 1340 pinfall total
and 223.33 average however propelled him into fourth place and secured
him a spot for Sunday's finals at Bowling Center Gladiator. Bojan KovaÄ and BoÅ¡tjan Rolk, Slovenia, held on to the lead after three squads with 1399 and 1378 six-game total, respectively. Zoltán Skobrics, Hungary, was third with 1344.
BoÅ¡tjan Rolk (pictured left) from Slovenia and Zoltán Skobrics, Hungary, rolled 1300-plus series Wednesday at Bowling Center Gladiator in Ljubljana, Slovenia to jump into second and third place in the qualifying for the 3rd QubicaAMF Open. Bojan KovaÄ (right), Slovenia, held on to the lead with 1399 six-game total and an average of 233.17. A total of 52 players will qualify for the finals on Sunday, April 19,
the top 46 from the overall qualifying standings plus the top 6 from the combined standings of the first three days. 