Swede leads all rounds of the preliminaries and sweeps all three opponents in the best-of-three finals to seal the victory; the top eight countries in a combined point ranking qualify for the 2013 World Games
James Gruffman capped off an outstanding performance at the 35th European Champions Cup in Zoetermeer, Netherlands, by defeating Yoan Alix of France, two-games-to-none, to claim men's title. The Swede, who decided to start on long oil, easily won the game, 265-184, and sealed the victory with a 194-189 win on the short pattern. Raymond Teece, England, and Habib Gogan, Turkey, finished third and fourth, resp. The top eight countries qualified for the 2013 World Games.
Daria Kovalova of Ukraine came back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat Birgit Pöppler of Germany, two-games-to-one, en route to capture the women's title at the 35th European Champions Cup. Qualifying leader Pöppler took a 1-0 lead with a 231-188 win on the short pattern. The Ukrainian, seeded third, rebounded with a 226-199 win on long oil and defeated Pöppler in the decider, 216-211. Alena Korobkova of Russia and Carmen Haandrikman, Netherlands, finished in third and fourth place, resp.
Swede leads all three qualifying rounds to win men's qualifying by 479 pins; veterans Lintilä, Verbruggen and Grabowski take the last three spots; defending champion Thomas Gross misses the cut
James Gruffman (center) of Sweden won the men's qualifying of the 35th European Champions Cup Saturday evening at bowling center Dekker in Zoetermeer, Netherlands and leads the top 8 players into Sunday's single-elimination finals. Also advancing to the finals were Raymond Teece, England; Yoan Alix, France; Mads Sandbækken (r.), Norway; Habib Dogan, Turkey; Lasse Lintilä, Finland; Gery Verbruggen (l.), Belgium; Achim Grabowski, Germany.
German international leads all three rounds of the preliminaries to earn the No. 1 seed for Sunday's single-elimination finals; Pöppler out averages the rest of the field by at least 16 pins; Sandra Andersson of Sweden hits the cutoff number for eighth place
Birgit Pöppler of Germany led the women's preliminaries of the 35th European Champions Cup en route to earn the No. 1 seed for Sunday's single-elimination finals. Joining Pöppler in the finals were Alena Korobkova, Russia; Daria Kovalova, Ukraine; Krista Pöllänen, Finland; Carmen Haandrikman, Netherlands; Helga Di Benedetto, Italy; Marjo Pöntinen, Finland; and Sandra Andersson, Sweden.
Swede leads the 42-player field for the second consecutive block by a huge margin; defending champion Thomas Gross moves into top 8; Finland's Lasse Lintilä is the man "on the bubble" with 209.88 average
James Gruffman (l.) continued hot hand and led Squad A and the entire 42-player field on the long pattern with 1932 series and an average of 241.50. The Swede, who rolled games of 212, 257, 225, 233, 203, 279, 233 and 290, has 3859 total and an average of 241.19 for 16 games. Yoan Alix (r.) of France was 361 pins behind in second place with 3498. The men are done for today and will return Saturday for the third and last block on combined oil.
Shoots second consecutive high series to lead her nearest competitor by 230 pins and to hold a 482 pin buffer to ninth place Marjo Pöntinen, Finland, who led Squad B with the second-highest series of the day
Overnight leader Birgit Pöppler (l.) of Germany, who led the first block at the European Champions Cup in Holland with 1761 eight-game total, also fired the highest women's series on the long pattern Thursday at bowling center Dekker in Zoetermeer, Netherlands, to widen her lead after 16 of 24 games of qualifying with 3575 total and an average of 223.44. Trailing Pöppler by 230 pins to sit in second place was Daria Kovalova (r.) of Ukraine.
Swede shoots first 300 game en route to take a 92-pin lead after eight games on short oil; seven players of Squad B including leader Gery Verbruggen move into top 8
James Gruffman (pictured) led the men's qualifying in the European Champions Cup after the first qualifying round with 1927 pinfall total and an average of 240.88. The Swede, who fired the first 300 game of the Cup in Squad A on Wednesday evening remained unchallenged in Squad B on Thursday morning. Trailing Gruffman by 92 pins to sit in second place was former World and European champion Gery Verbruggen of Belgium, who led Squad B with 1835 (229.38) including high games of 266, 261 and 255.
Swede out averages his nearest competitor by more than 30 pins to take commanding 245-pin lead in the men's qualifying after the first squad
James Gruffman (l.) fired the first 300 game of the European Champions Cup Wednesday evening at Dekker Zoetermeer en route to take a commanding lead as Squad A has completed the first block of qualifying on short oil. The Swede used the perfecto and a pair of 260s for 1927 eight-game total, an average of 240.88, and out averaged the next-closest competitor, Mark McQueen (r.) of Scotland (1682) by more than 30 pins.
German sets the tone with 1761 eight-game series on short oil (220.13 average)
German national champion Birgit Pöppler (l.) led the women's qualifying at the 35th European Champions Cup after the first block Wednesday at Bowling center Dekker in Zoetermeer, Netherlands. Pöppler totaled 1761 pins, an average of 220.13 for eight games on short oil (35ft.). Helga Di Benedetto of Italy was second with 1714. Alena Korobkova (r.) of Russia led Squad B to overtake third place with 1690.
Bowling Center Dekker in Zoetermeer, Netherlands (Oct. 15-22, 2012)
The European Champions Cup 2012 will be held from Oct. 17-21 in the city of Zoetermeer, just 15 km East of The Hague. Including defending champions Thomas Gross of Austria (l.) and Finland's Krista Pöllänen (r.), 42 men from 41 countries and 36 women from 35 countries will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals at bowling center Dekker Zoetermeer, a 16-laner with Funk equipment.
As reported earlier, the organizing committee of the 2012 European Champions Cup had to move the ECC to another center as Bowling Zuiderpark in The Hague, Netherlands, where the event originally should take place, has ceased operations. The Netherlands Bowling Federation has announced today that the ECC will be held at bowling center Dekker (pictured), a 16-laner with Funk equipment in the city of Zoetermeer, just 15 km East of The Hague.
Dutch Bowling Federation looking for an alternative
The Dutch Bowling Federation (NBF), host federation of the 2012 European Champions Cup, has announced that the host center, Bowling Zuiderpark in The Hague, ceased operations due to financial reasons. This means that the ECC 2012 schedule3d for Oct. 15-22 cannot be
conducted at Bowling Zuiderpark as announced by the organizing committee
in the bulletin. 42 member countries had confirmed participation in the ECC.
James Gruffman capped off an outstanding performance at the 35th European Champions Cup in Zoetermeer, Netherlands, by defeating Yoan Alix of France, two-games-to-none, to claim men's title. The Swede, who decided to start on long oil, easily won the game, 265-184, and sealed the victory with a 194-189 win on the short pattern. Raymond Teece, England, and Habib Gogan, Turkey, finished third and fourth, resp. The top eight countries qualified for the 2013 World Games.
Daria Kovalova of Ukraine came back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat Birgit Pöppler of Germany, two-games-to-one, en route to capture the women's title at the 35th European Champions Cup. Qualifying leader Pöppler took a 1-0 lead with a 231-188 win on the short pattern. The Ukrainian, seeded third, rebounded with a 226-199 win on long oil and defeated Pöppler in the decider, 216-211. Alena Korobkova of Russia and Carmen Haandrikman, Netherlands, finished in third and fourth place, resp.
James Gruffman (center) of Sweden won the men's qualifying of the 35th European Champions Cup Saturday evening at bowling center Dekker in Zoetermeer, Netherlands and leads the top 8 players into Sunday's single-elimination finals. Also advancing to the finals were Raymond Teece, England; Yoan Alix, France; Mads Sandbækken (r.), Norway; Habib Dogan, Turkey; Lasse Lintilä, Finland; Gery Verbruggen (l.), Belgium; Achim Grabowski, Germany.
Birgit Pöppler of Germany led the women's preliminaries of the 35th European Champions Cup en route to earn the No. 1 seed for Sunday's single-elimination finals. Joining Pöppler in the finals were Alena Korobkova, Russia; Daria Kovalova, Ukraine; Krista Pöllänen, Finland; Carmen Haandrikman, Netherlands; Helga Di Benedetto, Italy; Marjo Pöntinen, Finland; and Sandra Andersson, Sweden.
James Gruffman (l.) continued hot hand and led Squad A and the entire 42-player field on the long pattern with 1932 series and an average of 241.50. The Swede, who rolled games of 212, 257, 225, 233, 203, 279, 233 and 290, has 3859 total and an average of 241.19 for 16 games. Yoan Alix (r.) of France was 361 pins behind in second place with 3498. The men are done for today and will return Saturday for the third and last block on combined oil.
Overnight leader Birgit Pöppler (l.) of Germany, who led the first block at the European Champions Cup in Holland with 1761 eight-game total, also fired the highest women's series on the long pattern Thursday at bowling center Dekker in Zoetermeer, Netherlands, to widen her lead after 16 of 24 games of qualifying with 3575 total and an average of 223.44. Trailing Pöppler by 230 pins to sit in second place was Daria Kovalova (r.) of Ukraine. 
James Gruffman (l.) fired the first 300 game of the European Champions Cup Wednesday evening at Dekker Zoetermeer en route to take a commanding lead as Squad A has completed the first block of qualifying on short oil. The Swede used the perfecto and a pair of 260s for 1927 eight-game total, an average of 240.88, and out averaged the next-closest competitor, Mark McQueen (r.) of Scotland (1682) by more than 30 pins.
German national champion Birgit Pöppler (l.) led the women's qualifying at the 35th European Champions Cup after the first block Wednesday at Bowling center Dekker in Zoetermeer, Netherlands. Pöppler totaled 1761 pins, an average of 220.13 for eight games on short oil (35ft.). Helga Di Benedetto of Italy was second with 1714. Alena Korobkova (r.) of Russia led Squad B to overtake third place with 1690.
The European Champions Cup 2012 will be held from Oct. 17-21 in the city of Zoetermeer, just 15 km East of The Hague. Including defending champions Thomas Gross of Austria (l.) and Finland's Krista Pöllänen (r.), 42 men from 41 countries and 36 women from 35 countries will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals at bowling center Dekker Zoetermeer, a 16-laner with Funk equipment.
As reported earlier, the organizing committee of the 2012 European Champions Cup had to move the ECC to another center as Bowling Zuiderpark in The Hague, Netherlands, where the event originally should take place, has ceased operations. The Netherlands Bowling Federation has announced today that the ECC will be held at bowling center Dekker (pictured), a 16-laner with Funk equipment in the city of Zoetermeer, just 15 km East of The Hague.
The Dutch Bowling Federation (NBF), host federation of the 2012 European Champions Cup, has announced that the host center, Bowling Zuiderpark in The Hague, ceased operations due to financial reasons. This means that the ECC 2012 schedule3d for Oct. 15-22 cannot be
conducted at Bowling Zuiderpark as announced by the organizing committee
in the bulletin. 42 member countries had confirmed participation in the ECC. 
