Lucas Legnani (pictured left), Argentina, set the pace in the
ninth qualifying squad Wednesday evening at Le Plaza Bowling in Saint
Maximin, France, en route to move into 4th place in the overall
qualifying standings in the Brunswick Euro Challenge 2009. Fresh off his victory in the Catalonia Open in Spain 10 days ago, Legnani had games of 225, 257, 181, 223, 218 and 246 and a 1350 pinfall
total, an average of 225.00 over six games. PBA champion Mike Fagan (right) leads the field of 118 players since Squad 8 with a huge 1473 pinfall total, an average of 245.50, including the tournament's second
300 game.
Zara Glover (pictured left) from England
set the pace in the 15th qualifying squad of the Brunswick Euro
Challenge Friday morning at Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin, France. With 1420 including 48 pins
handicap Glover
jumped into fourth place in the overall qualifying standings. EBT Masters queen Kamilla Kjeldsen
(r.), Denmark, was second with 1373 including handicap,
good for seventh place overall. With 8 qualifying squads to go, the top
10 spots are equally divided among men and women. PBA super star Brian Voss continued to lead the field of now 229 players with 1537.
PBA champions Sean Rash and Brad Angelo, multiple World, American and World Ranking Masters champion Diandra Asbaty and Rick Benoit, coach of the Brunswick pro staff, conducted a youth clinic in conjunction with the Brunswick Euro Challenge Wednesday, March 11, at Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin, France. About 30 kids and youth bowlers from 6 to 18 years of age from Belgium and France enjoyed a 3-hour first-class treatment by the Brunswick pros
organized by Brunswick distributor Valcke featuring 1 hour practice on the BEC oil pattern, 1 hour "obstacle bowling" and 1 hour show bowling and trick shots. To watch Bowlingdigital's video from the BEC Youth Clinic
"Just one more squad," said PBA Hall of Famer Brian Voss (pictured left), who was in 22nd place in the Brunswick Euro Challenge before Squad 13. "I want to make the top 16", who will bypass the first round of the finals on Sunday. The 23-time PBA champion proved that he is still on top of his game. After a slow start (193), Voss posted 828 for the next three games (275, 267 and 286) and closed out the set with back-to-back 258 to shoot into the lead with 1537 or an average of 256.17. Voss overtook previous leader and fellow PBAer Mike Fagan (2nd; 1473) by 64 pins. 
Anja Ginge Jensen (l.) from Denmark averaged 230.33 scratch for her six games in Squad 12 at the Brunswick Euro Challenge and added 48 pins handicap to her 1382 pinfall total to rocket into second place in the overall qualifying standings. Swede Sanna Helldén (r.) had six game between 202 and 247 for 1319 scratch and 1367 including handicap, good enough to move into fifth place overall. Mike Fagan, United States, remained unchallenged atop the leaderboard of the 175-player field with 1473 pinfall total and an average of 245.50.
Thomas Larsen and Michael Bai Ernst, both Denmark, rolled six-game series of 1416 and 1377 to lead Squad 11 in the Brunswick Euro Challenge Thursday afternoon at Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin, France. Larsen (left) had five games between 205 and 245 before he finished with his
high game of 275 to become the second player who cracked the 1400-bar in this year's event with 1416, an average of 236.00. Ernst (right) had a slow start into the tournament with 194 and 179 but rebounded with 276, 268, 247 and a final 200 game to overtake fourth place with 1364 (227.33). Mike Fagan, United States, continues to lead the field of 136 players with 1473 pinfall total and an average of 245.50.
Alain Nicolas, France posted a 1377 six-game total in Squad 5 en
route to lead the qualifying in the Brunswick Euro Challenge 2009 after
the first weekend. Nicolas (l.) had games of 259, 191, 233,
244, 204 and 246, an average of 229.50, to overtake previous leader Marie Gauton by 17 pins. Gauton (r.) slipped to second place with 1360 pinfall total
including 48 pins handicap, a standard for women on the European
Bowling Tour. Another five players from Squad 5 cracked the top 10
Sunday evening at Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin, France. Qualifying will run through Saturday, March 14. A total of 64 players will qualify for the finals.
The Brunswick Euro Challenge 2009 got underway on Saturday afternoon at Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin, France, with 15 players - 11 men and 4 women from France, Belgium, Netherlands and Italy. Yoan Alix (pictured left), France, set the tone in Squad 2 (#1 has been cancelled) with 1322 six-game total and an average of 220.33. The Brunswick Euro Challenge is the fourth stop of the 2009 European Bowling Tour and one of the Tour's "majors". Qualifying will run through Saturday, March 14. A total of 64 players will qualify for the finals on Sunday, March 15. The total prize fund is 90,000 Euro with 16.000 Euro going to the winner. 
The highlight of the winter swing of the 2009 European Bowling is the Brunswick Euro Challenge. As of March 4th 344 players - 264 men and 80 women - from 33 countries are registered for the EBT "Major", which will held from March 6-15 in the state-of-the-art "Le Plaza Bowling" in Saint Maximin near Paris, France. The tournament offers 90.000 Euro total prize money with 16.000 going to the winner. 