European Bowling News Overview

Danish national team member Frederik Øhrgaard (pictured with Mai Ginge Jensen, right) kicked off the final qualifying day off the 11th Columbia 300 Vienna Open with a 1413 series, an average of 235.50, to leap from 66th to 29th place in the overall qualifying standings. Øhrgaard started the 8 o'clock squad 17 at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria, with games of 232, 256, 225, 222 and 212 and closed out with 266 to become the 32nd player in this tournament, who cracked the 1400-bar.

Norwegian national team member Glenn Morten Pedersen (pictured left) averaged 226.33 in the opening squad of the Norwegian Open 2013 by Brunswick to take the early lead in the EBT Satellite tournament with 1358. Pedersen had games of 214, 258, 236, 200, 227 and 223 to lead a group of 17 Norwegian bowlers who kicked off the tournament Friday at Veitvet Bowling Center in Oslo. As a result of a sponsorship agreement with Brunswick, the NO 2013 has increased the total prize fund to 224.000 NOK (currently 27.625 Euro).

Robin Menacher (pictured with Andre Michow, left) of Germany averaged 248.67 in the last squad Friday night at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria, en route to jump into sixth place in the overall qualifying standings with 1492. The German youth national team member, who has won a silver medal with the German boys' team at the European Youth Championships earlier this year here at Plus Bowling, started his six-game series with 225 and 216 followed by 267, 248, 257 and a final 279 high game.

Martin Larsen (l.) of Sweden rolled games of 237, 253, 258, 236 and back-to-back 268 to lead the 15th squad of the 11th Columbia 300 Vienna Open en route to overtake the fourth place in the qualifying with 1520 or an average 253.33. The multiple world champion lost his European Bowling Tour record for six games (1403) to Finland's Osku Palermaa (r.) yesterday, when the two-hander fired a 1614 series (269 average), which included three 279 games.

Stuart Williams (pictured with Kelly Kulick, left) of England became the fourth player in the 11th Columbia 300 Vienna Open who surpassed the 1500-mark when the Englishman posted a 1511 series in Squad 14 Friday afternoon at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. The former World Ranking Masters champion, who owns six European Bowling Tour titles and one Professional Bowlers Association Tour title, averaged 251.83 for the round including games of 246, 238, 268, 245 and back-to-back 257.

There were no changes atop the leader board in the 11th Columbia 300 Vienna Open after the 13th qualifying squad concluded. Riku Petteri Kivelä (l.) of Finland and Jeroen van Geel (r.), Netherlands, were the only players of the 16-player squad, who averaged over 220 to leap into the top 51, who will qualify for the finals. Osku Palermaa of Finland leads the 232-player field from 21 countries with EBT record 1614 pins and an average of 269.

Martin Paulsson (r.) of Sweden led the last Squad on Thursday (No. 12) with 1409 en route to move into 22nd place in the overall qualifying standings of the 11th Columbia 300 Vienna Open. The World Champion in Doubles in 2010 averaged 234.83 for the six-game block including games of 201, 246, 268, 221, 228 and 245. His team mate Matthias Olsson (l.) added 1297 (58th place) for 2706 total, an average of 225.50, good for 22nd place but six pins below the cut line.

Osku Palermaa (pictured) of Finland set a new record for six games on the European Bowling Tour when the two-hander fired a 1614 series, an average of 269 for six games, in the 11th qualifying squad of the 11th Columbia 300 Vienna Open Thursday at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Palermaa started the strike fest with 279 followed by his low games of 247 and 257 and closed out with 273, 279 and 279. Palermaa teamed with Pasi Uotila (1392) to become the first duo ever which cracked the 3000-bar.

Multiple European Bowling Tour champions Osku Palermaa of Finland and Stuart Williams of England (r-l) averaged 240.92 Thursday afternoon at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria, en route to overtake the lead in the Doubles competition with 2891 as the 11th Columbia 300 Vienna Open has reached the halfway mark. Palermaa toppled 1449 pins to move into 8th place in Singles qualifying and Williams, who contributed 1442 leaped into 11th place. Dominic Barrett of England leads with 1587 (264.50).

Carsten Warming Hansen (l.) of Denmark led Wednesday's squads 7-9 en route to move into the top 9 in the qualifying of the 11th Columbia 300 Vienna Open. Hansen sandwiched four games between 208 and 237 between high games of 289 and 279 to leap into eighth place in the overall qualifying standings with 1448 or an average of 241.33. Dominic Barrett (r.) of England continued to lead the 185-player field from 19 countries with 1587 (264.50).

Dominic Barrett (l.) of England and Dane Mik Stampe (r.) set the tone Tuesday Squads 4-6 en route to move to the top of the qualifying leaderboard in the 11th Columbia 300 Vienna Open at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Stampe started the day with the second 300 game of the tournament and a 1527 series (254.50 average). Barrett topped Stampe by another 60 pins, when he toppled 1587 pins in Squad 5 to take the overall qualifying lead.

Top-seeded Tony Ranta (l.) of Finland and Lisanne Breeschoten (r.) of the Netherlands captured the men's and women's titles and the 4.000 Euro top prize in the 6th EBT Masters, which was held Monday, Sept. 30, at BNC Bowling Center in Bratislava, Slovakia. In the men's finals, Ranta topped defending champion Martin Larsen of Sweden, 253-179, while Breeschoten prevailed by two pins over Ida Andersson, Sweden, 178-176, to claim the women's title.

Local bowler Leo Grundschober (pictured left) took the early lead in the 11th Columbia 300 Vienna Open, a European Bowling Tour and World Bowling Tour event, which got underway Monday at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. The former Austrian national team member sandwiched games between 206 and 228 around high games of 299 and 300 for 1466 and an average of 244.33 to lead a field of 118 players from 17 countries after the first three of 20 qualifying squads. Qualifying continues Tuesday, Oct. 1 with Squads 4-6.

The 11th Columbia 300 Vienna Open is the 15th tournament of the 2013 European Bowling Tour season as well as the 13th event of the 2013 World Bowling Tour. More than 250 players from 28 countries have registered for the popular EBT "gold" tournament, which gets underway today with Squads 1-3 at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. The VO offers total prize fund of 75.130 Euro and a PBA international title. For the 11th year in a row, Bowlingdigital will report live from Vienna.

The Norwegian Open 2013 by Brunswick is the 16th stop of the 2013 European Bowling Tour and the fifth out of seven EBT "Satellite" events this season. The tournament will be held from Oct. 4-13 at Veitvet Bowling Center in Oslo. 176 players from eight countries have registered for the EBT "Satellite" event, which offers increased total prize fund to 224.000 NOK. Bowlingdigital.com will provide Live Coverage commencing Thursday Oct. 10 all the way through to the finals on Sunday, Oct. 13.

Parker Bohn III (l.), a 33-time Professional Bowlers Association Tour champion, won his first career title on the European Bowling Tour when he defeated Joonas Jehkinen (r.) of Finland in all-lefty affair, 255-218, to win the BNC Open at BNC Bowling Center in Bratislava, Slovakia. Bohn, who earned more than 2.8 million Dollars in 29 years on the PBA Tour, received 7.000 Euro or approximately $9.465 for the victory. Jehkinen received 4.500 Euro for second place.

Two-time PBA Player of the Year Mika Koivuniemi (pictured) of Finland averaged 249 Saturday at BNC Bowling Center in Bratislava, Slovakia en route to win the qualifying of the BNC Open and to lead a field of 64 players - 56 men and 8 women - into the finals on Sunday. Koivuniemi, who owns 11 PBA and 7 European Bowling Tour titles, used a high game of 280 and five games between 236 and 259 to lead the field of 216 players from 22 countries with 1494. The 64 finalists will carry their qualifying total forward into Final Round One.

Dane Thomas Larsen (l.), Kevin Karlsson of Sweden and PBA stars Parker Bohn III and Mike Fagan cracked the 1400-mark in Friday's squads 13-16 to move into second thru fourth place in the qualifying standings of the BNC Open in Bratislava, Slovakia. Heading into the final qualifying day, Norwegian Björn Einar Rudshagen (r.) continued to lead the 202-player field from 22 countries with 1457 and an average of 242.83.

Björn Einar Rudshagen (l.) of Norway fired a 1457 series in Thursday's Squad 10 en route to shoot into the lead in the qualifying of the BNC Open in Bratislava, Slovakia. Starting the day in second place, Rudshagen averaged 242.83 and became the first player of the 156-player field from 20 countries who cracked the 1400-bar. Jenny Wegner (r.) of Sweden led Squad 11 with 1371 including  48 pins handicap to jump into second place.

Jaroslav Lorenc (l.) of the Czech Republic led the eighth qualifying squad of the BNC Open Wednesday afternoon at BNC Bowling Center in Bratislava, Slovakia, with 1329, an average of 221.50, en route to move to the top of the leaderboard. Norwegian international Björn Einar Rudshagen (r.), who was second in Squad 8, tied previous leader Karel Kutina, Czech Republic, at 1314 to leap into second place due to the higher last game.