Bowling Alley: Katapulta Bowling Center in Moscow, Russia

Petri Mannonen ended the inaugural Men's European Championships at Katapulta Bowling Center in Moscow, Russia, with victory in the Masters event. The tournament leader defeated Lasse Lintilä, 466-413, over two games total pinfall.

In the first game, Lintilä failed to convert two splits in the third and sixth frame, both after a double. Mannonen had a double in frames two and three, then suffered an open frame due to a split, but rebounded with a turkey in frames 5-7. His second split in the 11th frame didn't hurt that much and he took a 23-pin lead, 210-187.

Mannonen carried the momentum into game #2 as he struck on his first six shots. However, the match wasn't over as Lintilä, who suffered an open in the first frame, came back with five consecutive strikes. After both players spared in frame 6, Mannonen put the match away with a turkey.

In the opening match, Lintilä struck on 10 of his 12 shots en route to defeat Kimmo Lehtonen, 278-211. Like in the 2001 European Championships, Lehtonen had to settle for the bronze medal. All three players are from Finland, which won an unprecedented six out of six gold medals in this championship.

2005 MEC 2005 Men's European Championships Masters Finals

Katapulta Bowling Center in Moscow, Russia
June 13, 2005

Championship Round:
1. Petri Mannonen, Finland, 466 (2 games)
2. Lasse Lintilä, Finland, 691 (3 games)
3. Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 211 (1 game)

Playoff Results:
Semifinal Match: Lintilä def. Lehtonen, 278-211
Title Match: Mannonen (210-256) def. Lintilä (187-226), 466-413.

Download the Frame-by-Frame results here....

European Championship Masters final an all-Finnish affair
Finland wins all gold medals in Russia

With the championship-ending stepladder final still to go, Finland already secured all three medals in the Masters competition and will sweep all gold medals in the inaugural 2005 Men's European Championships. Petri Mannonen won all but one match in the final 7-game block, averaging 226,28, to jump from 5th to first place in round robin with 3732.


Lasse Lintilä (l.), who led after the first 8 games had the field-best 226,93 average but a 10-5 won-lost record compared to Mannonen's 12-3 made the difference. Lintilä meets World Ranking Masters champion Kimmo Lehtonen (r.) in the opening match of the TV finals on Monday, starting at noon local time.

European ranking champion Paul Moor had the second-best 225,25´7 average but6 had to settle for 4th place due a 7-8 won-lost record. Germany's Oliver Morig, who started the second block in third position fell ten places to 13th behind a 1350, 7-game series and two victories only.

The Finns, who won 9 medals (4 gold, 2 silver, one bronze) in the 2001 European Championships in Aalborg, Denmark, improved to 10 medals this year, the maximum of 6 gold medals, 2 silver and 2 bronze. And consider that players like 4-time defending champion Mika Luoto, Sami Konsteri, Pasi Uotila and Osku Palermaa are still at home in Finland.

Just five countries shared the rest of the medals:
Norway - 2 silver, 1 bronze
Germany - 1 silver, 1 bronze
Ireland - 1 silver
Austria and Sweden - 1 bronze each

For the first time in the 43-year history of the European Championships, a men's team swept all gold medals. At the inaugural European Championships back in 1962, the women's team from Finland captured all four gold medals. While just eight women teams competed at that time, 4-time champion Petteri Salonen and his teammates dominated a field of 161 players from 25 countries.

2005 MEC Masters - Standings after Round Robin

Players with position, country, 15-game total, average, W-L-T record, bonus and grand total

1. Petri Mannonen, Finland, 3372, 224,80, 12-3, 360, *3732
2. Lasse Lintilä, Finland, 3404, 226,93, 10-5, 300, 3704
3. Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 3329, 221,93, 10-5, 330, 3659
The top 3 advanced to the stepladder finals.

Missed Cut:
4. Paul Moor, England, 3379, 225,27, 7-8, 210, 3589
5. Nicolas Forestier, France, 3313, 220,87, 8-7, 240, 3553
(tie) Magnus Andersson, Sweden, 3313, 220,87, 8-7, 240, 3553
7. Kai Günther, Germany, 3303, 220,20, 8-7, 240, 3543
8. Mikael Braendeskov, Denmark, 3292, 219,47, 8-7, 240, 3532
9. Petter Hansen, Norway, 3258, 217,20, 7-8, 210, 3468
10. Robert Andersson, Sweden, 3259, 217,27, 6-8-1, 195, 3454
(tie) Petteri Salonen, Finland, 3194, 212,93, 8-7, 240, 3434
12. Wim van der Veen, Netherlands, 3239, 215,93, 6-9, 180, 3419
13. Oliver Morig, Germany, 3149, 209,93, 8-7, 240, 3389
14. Jean-Marc Samain, Belgium, 2963, 197,53, 5-9-1, 165, 3128
15. Glenn Morten Pedersen, Norway, 2987, 199,13, 3-12, 90, 3077
16. Lasse Ingebrigtsen, Norway, 2948, 196,53, 4-11, 120, 3068

* Championship Record

Download the complete results here....

No changes at Men's European Championships; Finns lead in Round Robin

Finland has already won the gold medals in five out of six events in the 2005 Men's European Championships in Moscow, Russia. They have four players among the top 16 who will determine the Masters champion.

After 8 games of round robin, there are no changes atop the leaderboard as Lasse Lintilä (pictured), Finland, holds the lead with 2031 pinfall total. Trailing Lintilä by 20 pins is Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, with Germany's Oliver Morig (1979) and Kai Günther (1975) in third and fourth, resp. 6th placed Nicolas Forestier from France (1938) is sandwiched between the two other Finns, Petri Mannonen (1968) and Petteri Salonen (1897).

The top 3 will advance to the stepladder finals on Monday starting at noon local time.

2005 MEC Masters - Standings after 8 Games Round Robin Match Play

Players with position, country, 8-game total, average, W-L-T record, bonus and grand total

1. Lasse Lintilä, Finland, 1851, 231,38, 6-2, 180, 2031
2. Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 1801, 225,13, 7-1, 210, 2011
3. Oliver Morig, Germany, 1799, 224,88, 6-2, 180, 1979
4. Kai Günther, Germany, 1825, 228,13, 5-3, 150, 1975
5. Petri Mannonen, Finland, 1788, 223,50, 6-2, 180, 1968
6. Nicolas Forestier, France, 1818, 227,25, 4-4, 120, 1938
7. Petteri Salonen, Finland, 1747, 218,38, 5-3, 150, 1897
8. Petter Hansen, Norway, 1765, 220,63, 4-4, 120, 1885
9. Mikael Braendeskov, Denmark, 1744, 218,00, 4-4, 120, 1864
10. Magnus Andersson, Sweden, 1730, 216,25, 4-4, 120, 1850
11. Paul Moor, England, 1722, 215,25, 2-6, 60, 1782
12. Robert Andersson, Sweden, 1619, 202,38, 2-6, 60, 1679
(tie) Wim van der Veen, Netherlands, 1619, 202,38, 2-6, 60, 1679
14. Jean-Marc Samain, Belgium, 1579, 197,38, 3-5, 90, 1669
15. Glenn Morten Pedersen, Norway, 1604, 200,50, 2-6, 60, 1664
16. Lasse Ingebrigtsen, Norway, 1573, 196,63, 2-6, 60, 1633