Martin Larsen powers his way into the lead in 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open

    09/30/11

    2011 European Bowling Tour #17

    Leads Squad 8 with 1453; teams with Perttu Jussila to overtake the lead in Doubles; cut for 52nd place is 1225 (204.17 avg.)

    2011EBT17MartinLarsen.jpg2011EBT17PerttuJussila2.jpgMartin Larsen (pictured left) of Sweden and Finland's Perttu Jussila (right) dominated Squad 8 in the 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open Thursday afternoon at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria, leading the 56 players in Singles and Doubles.

    Larsen, a three-time world champion, rolled games of 232, 212, 228, 258, 246 and 277 to become the first player in this year's event, who cracked the 1400-bar with 1453 or an average of 242.17. Larsen overtook previous leader Thomas Larsen of the Denmark by 68 pins. The Squad 7 leader slipped to second place with 1385.

    2011EBT17DominicBarrett.jpg 2011EBT17ErikAndersin.jpgJussila had games of 244, 243, 236, 226, 229 and 192 to move into third place in the overall qualifying standings with 1370 (228.33). Reigning European Bowling Tour ranking champion Dominic Barrett (left), England, was another 14 pins behind with 1356 to overtake fourth place. Barrett had games of 223, 247, 232, 226, 237 and 191.

    Erik Andersin (right), Sweden (1338), Stuart Williams, England (1323) and Lasse Scherlund, Denmark (1322) slipped to fifth, sixth and seventh place, respectively.

    Uwe Blank, Germany, was fourth in Squad 8 with 1319, good for eighth place overall.

    2011EBT17PerttuJussilaMartinLarsen.jpg2011EBT17StuartWillliamsPerttuJussila.jpgWith the help of the highest and third-highest series, Larsen and Jussila (pictured left) easily overtook the lead in the doubles competition. The duo combined for 2823 pinfall total and an average of 235.25, out averaging their nearest competitor by almost 15 pins.

    Jussila also sits in second place with Stuart Williams (right) at 2648 (220.67). Tim Friedrichs and Jens Grieger hold the 20th and last place to cash with 2458 and an average of 204.83.

    With 229 players - 191 men and 38 women - from 22 countries in the books, Zoltan Skorbrics, Hungary, holds the 52nd and last place to advance to the finals with 1225 or an average of 204.17.

    Qualifying continues Thursday with Squad 9 scheduled for 8 p.m. CET.

    2011VOLogo_small.jpg 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. 325 players from 30 countries are expected to compete for total prize fund of 70.630 Euro (approx. $95,000) - 60.400 € for Singles and 10.230 € for the Doubles event.

    The singles champion will receive the 7.000 € top prize, the runner-up earns 5.000 and the third-place finisher gets 3.500 Euro. The doubles winners will split 1.600 €.

    EboniteLogo_mini.jpg In addition, players can earn money for a Perfect Columbia Game ($1,000 for every 300 game bowled in the tournament with a Columbia 300 ball), a Perfect Ebonite Game ($500 for every 300 game bowled in the tournament with a ball manufactured by EBONITE International, including the brands of Ebonite, Track and Hammer) and a Columbia Early Bird Award ($500 for the leader of each of the first seven squads of the tournament. To qualify for this award, the player must be wearing a shirt and must also be using a ball from any of the EBONITE International brands including Columbia 300, Ebonite, Track and Hammer).

    The Vienna Open features a 41 feet Kegel lane conditioning pattern with 26.2ml volume oil total.

    The qualifying is traditionally contested as a Doubles tournament with separate prize money. Each duo rolls at least one six-game block. Unlimited re-entries with different partners are possible but each player can only cash once with the same partner.

    Qualifying runs from Tuesday through Saturday and concludes with Squad 17 Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. and ends with the ultimate one-game Desperado Squad on Saturday night slated for 11.30 p.m. CET. Women receive 8 pins handicap each game, a standard on the European Bowling Tour

    A total of 64 players will qualify for the Vienna Open finals on Sunday, Oct. 2:
    • the top 52 players from the overall qualifying standings
    • the first player each from Squad 1-6, who is not among the top 52 (total 6 players)
    • and the top 6 from the Desperado Squad.

    The top 8 qualifying leaders will bypass the first round of the finals. The other 56 players will bowl 6 games starting from scratch to cut to the top 22, who will join the top qualifiers in Round Two.

    Those 30 players will bowl another 6 games starting from scratch after which the field will be trimmed to the top 18, who will carry their pinfall forward into Round Three. After another 6-game block the top 4 with the highest 12-game total will advance to the stepladder finals.

    The No. 4 seed meets the No. 3 in the opening match and the winner takes on the No. 2 seed for the right to bowl the top seed for the title, 150 ranking points and the 7.000 Euro top prize.

    BowlingdigitalBanner.gif For the ninth year in a row, Bowlingdigital will cover the Columbia 300 Vienna Open live from Plus Bowling in Vienna with stories and results after each round commencing Monday Sept. 27 with the no-tap tournament all the way through to the stepladder finals on Sunday Oct. 2.

    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. The live streaming coverage is a partnership between theAustrian Bowling Federation, Plus Bowling, Columbia 300 and Bowlingdigital.com.

    Since the English Open has lost its EBT status, the 2011 European Bowling Tour consists of 20 tour stops in 16 countries including two Platinum, six Gold, six Silver and six Satellite tournaments.

    The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event receive ranking points. The winner of a Platinum tournament receives 250 ranking points, the winner of a Gold tournament such as the Vienna Open gets 150, the winner of a Silver tournament earns 100, and the winner of a Satellite tournament gets 50 ranking points.

    The top 16 men and the top 16 women at the end of the 2011 season qualify for the fifth EBT Masters to be held at Dream-Bowl Palace in Unterföhring near Munich, Germany on April 30 and May 1, 2012. The event will become the first EBT Masters to be contested on single lane condition.

     


    Related Articles


    Thomas Larsen shoots into lead in Singles after Squad 7 at 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open
    Lasse Scherlund, Stickney/Williams overtake the lead in Singles and Doubles in Vienna
    Anton Stiel repeats as Squad leader in 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open
    Stuart Williams starts second day of qualifying in Vienna with victory in Squad 4
    Alexander Rauscher leads after Day One Qualifying in 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open
    Romania's Luminita Farkas wins second qualifying squad in Vienna
    Austrian national team members take early lead in 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open
    9-pin no-tap tournament Tournament kicks off 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open
    Live Coverage from the 9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open
    2011 EBT Schedule and Champions

     


    9th Columbia 300 Vienna Open - Singles and Doubles Results (pdf files)


    Singles Qualifying - Standings after Squad 8/17
    Singles Squad 8

    Doubles Results - Standings after Squad 8/17
    Doubles Squad 8

     


    Singles Qualifying - Standings after Squad 8/17

     


    Singles Squad 8

     


    Doubles Results - Standings after Squad 8/17

     


    Doubles Squad 8

    Â