Reigning European Bowling Tour ranking champion Dominic Barrett (pictutred left with Osku Palermaa, right), led the penultimate qualifying squad of the 9th Columbia Vienna Open in Singles and Doubles Saturday afternoon at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Barrett had games of 217, 193, 258, 234, 207 and 234 for 1343 six-game total and an average of 223.83 but missed his high score by 22 pins to remain in ninth place in the overall qualifying with 1356, yet one short of the top 8, who will earn one bye for tomorrow's finals.
In front of a large crowd at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria, Osku Palermaa (pictured), Finland, defeated defending Vienna Open champion, Chris Barnes, United States, 192-184, to win his second title in the Columbia 300 Vienna Open after 2005. Palermaa earned 7.000 Euro for his third victory on the European Bowling Tour this season and the 11th of his career.. Barnes recieived 5.000 for second place while Dominic Barrett, England, and Karl Wahlgren, Sweden, got 3.500 and 2.200 Euro for third and fourth place.
Dominic Barrett (pictured) continued hot hand in the 9th Columbia Vienna Open as the Englishman, led the second consecutive round of the finals at Plus Bowling in Vienna. Barrett, who had a 1449 series in Round One, had games of 221, 264, 279, 211, 212 and 268 to lead the top 18 players into the next round with 1455 total and an average of 242.50. Opposite to the first round, Barrett will carry forward his pinfall total into the last round before the cut to the top 4 for the stepladder finals. Rounding out the top 4 were Chris Barnes, United States; Osku Plaermaa and Pasi Uotila, Finland. 
Reigning European Bowling Tour ranking champion Dominic Barrett (l.) of England averaged 241.50 Sunday morning at Plus Bowling in Vienna to lead the top 22 players into the second round of the finals in the 9th Columbia Vienna Open. Among the players, who survived the second cut, were two Austrians, Thomas Gross and Benjamin Kubalek. Juhani Tonteri, Finland, hit the cutoff number for the 22nd place with 1250. As te sole woman in Final Round Two, Clara Juliana Guerrero of Colombia has already won the women's ranking in Vienna. 
The 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open is the 17th stop of the 2011 European Bowling Tour and the last of six EBT "Gold" tournaments this season. 324 players from 28 countries compete for total prize fund of 70.630 Euro (approx. $95,000) - 60.400 € for Singles and 10.230 € for the Doubles event. Bowling fans around the world will be able to watch the stepladder finals on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 5 p.m. CET live on Bowlingdigital.com.
Three-time World Champion Martin Larsen (r.), Sweden, won the qualifying of the 9th Columbia Vienna Open leading a huge field of 324 players - 270 men and 54 women - from 28 countries with 1453 six-game total and an average of 242.17. Larsen, who also had a 1412 series in one of his re-entries, teamed with Perttu Jussila (l.), Finland, to win the doubles portion of the EBT "Gold" tournament with 2823 pinfall total (235.25). The winners shared the 1.600 Euro top prize.
PBA super star Chris Barnes (l.) had games of 222,
225, 236, 226, 214 and 256 to lead qualifying Squad 15/17 with 1379, an
average of 229.83, en route to leap into sixth place in the overall
qualifying standings. Swedish national team members Martin Larsen and Karl Wahlgren remained atop the 319-player leaderboard with 1453 and 1402, respectively. Larsen (r.), who also leads the Doubles competition with Finn Perttu Jussila (2823) reamed with Barnes in Squad 15 to move into second place with 2708. 
Clara Juliana Guerrero (pictured) of Colombia started the 14th qualifying squad of the 9th Columbia Vienna Open at 8 a.m. CET with a 1387 series to jump into third place in the overall qualifying standings. The two-time World Champion, who has won the EBT "Platinum" Brunswick Euro Challenge in March, came out of the gates huge 276 scratch game, then suffered two sub-par games (197, 170) but finished with 265, 220 and 211 for a six-game total of 1339, an average of 223.17. Guerrero added 48 pins handicap to lead Squad 14 by 92 pins.
English national team members Paul Moor (l.) and Stuart Williams (r.) paced the 13th qualifying squad of the Columbia Vienna Open Friday night at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Moor rolled games of 222, 224, 246, 199, 246 and 236 to lead Williams by 61 pins, 1373 to 1312. Moor jumped into fifth place in the overall qualifying standings, while Williams remained in 13th place with his high series of 1323. None of the 20 Doubles managed to get into the top 20 teams, which will cash at the end of qualifying. 
German women's national team member Vanessa Timter (l.) and PBA super star Chris Barnes (r.) led the 12th qualifying squad of the Columbia Vienna Open Friday evening en route to move into seventh and eighth place in the overall qualifying standings. Timter beat out the 13-time PBA champion for the top spot by three pins, 1345 to 1342. Martin Larsen, Sweden, continued to lead with 1453 and an average of 242.17. Qualifying continues Friday with Squad 13. 
Martin Larsen, Sweden, held on to the lead in the 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open. The three-time World Champion, who had a 1453 series, a 242.17 average, in Squad 8, fired the second highest series of the tournament in Squad 11/17 with 1412 (235.33). Jean Marc Samain, Belgium,
was 26 pins behind Larsen to leap into third place with 1386. His compatriot Mats Maggi added 1319 series to propel the duo into second place in Doubles with
2705. 
The Swedish bowlers came out of the gates early in the 10th qualifying squad of the Columbia 300 Vienna Open Friday morning at 9 a.m. as Karl Wahlgren and Matthias Olsson moved into second and sixth place in the Singles qualifying and Wahlgren and his team mate Martin Paulsson overtook fifth place in the Doubles competition. Wahlgren (pictured) started his six-game series with 224, 237 and 215 and closed out strong with back-to-back 245 and 236 to become the second player who reached the 1400-mark with 1402 or an average of 233.67.
Mats Maggi, Jean-Marc Lebon and Jean Marc Samain from Belgium set the tone in Squad 9 of the 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open. Maggi (l.) moved into eighth place in the overall qualifying standings with 1322 six-game total and an average of 220.33. Lebon, who was second in the squad with 1280, teamed with Samain (right, l-r) (1245) to finish the day in 10th place with 2525 (210.42). Qualifying continues Friday with Squad 10-13. 
Thomas Larsen (l.) of Denmark led the seventh qualifying squad of the 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open en route to shoot into the lead in the overall qualifying standings with 1385 total (230.83). As an Ebonite International staffer, Larsen bowled with a bowling ball and in a shirt from the Ebonite family to earn the last "Columbia Early Bird Award" worth $500. Perttu Jussila, Finland, and Stuart Williams, England overtook the lead in Doubles with 2648 (220.67).
Lasse Scherlund (l.) of Denmark was the sixth and last player to earn automatic berth into the finals of the 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open by winning qualifying Squad 6 Wednesday night at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. The Dane closed out the set with 244 and 257 to overtake the lead in the overall qualifying standings with 1322 six-game total. Previous leader Stuart Williams and Tina Stickney are second and third and moved to the top of the Doubles leaderboard. 
Anton Stiel (l.) won the fifth qualifying squad of the 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open Wednesday afternoon at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria en route to earn an automatic berth into Sunday's finals worth minimum 500 Euro. Stiel, who was the winner of the first qualifying in last year's Columbia 300 Vienna Open, started with 701 for the first three games and maintained a slim eight-pin lead over Italy's Marco Parapini. With his 1258 total Stiel moved into eighth place in the overall qualifying standings. There will be one more wild card for the leader of Squad 6. 
Trailing Alexander Medveditskov (r.), Russia, by 88 pins heading into the last game, Stuart Williams (l.), England, posted 289, the highest game in the tournament so far, to overtake Medveditskov en route to win the fourth qualifying squad in the 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open. Williams became the first player who cracked the 1300-bar with 1307 to lead a field of 146 players from 17 countries. Qualifying continues Wednesday with Squad 5 and 6 scheduled for 4 and 8 p.m. CET. 
Alexander Rauscher (l.) became the second Austrian national team member to win a squad on day one qualifying in 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open en route to earn berth into Sunday's finals. Rauscher spared and struck in the final frame of his six-game series to overtake Israeli national team member Or Aviram by four pins, 1271 to 1267. Besides qualifying for the main event, Rauscher, earned the Columbia Early Bird Award worth $500. Qualifying continues Wednesday with Squads 4-6. 
Luminita Farkas (l.) of Romania led the second qualifying squad of the 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open en route to qualify for the finals on Sunday, Oct. 2. Despite starting and finishing her six-game series with 160s, Farkas totaled 1234 pins including 48 pins handicap thanks to games of 215, 231, 2902 and 209, to beat out Lubos Jurinyi, Slovakia, and Zoltan Skorbrics (r.), Hungary, for the top spot by five and nine pins, respectively. 