Pete Weber wins Squad 8 and takes overall qualifying lead in WTBA International Open

    02/01/12

    2012 World Bowling Tour #3

    Johnathan Bower rolls first 300 game of the tournament; cut for 44th place moves up from 1199 to 1290

    201112PBA05PeteWeber3.jpg201112PBAMikaKoivuniemi.jpgPBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber (pictured left) of St Ann, Mo., led the eighth qualifying squad in the WTBA International Open Tuesday afternoon at Sunset Station's Strike Zone Bowling Center in Las Vegas and is automatically qualified for the finals on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 5, starting at Noon Pacific (3 p.m. EST / p.m. CET).

    "PDW", who ranks third all-time with 35 career PBA Tour titles including eight major titles, struck out in the tenth frame of the last game to overtake previous qualifying leader, Mika Koivuniemi (right) of Finland by two pins.

    Weber had games of 243, 218, 238, 258, 235 and 258 on the WTBA Atlanta oil conditioning pattern for 1450 six-game total and an average of 241.67. Reigning PBA Player of the Year and current World Bowling Tour men's point ranking leader Koivuniemi slipped to second place with 1448.

    2011USBCOCMattMcNiel.jpg201112PBABillONeill.jpg2010 USBC Open Championships All Events winner Matt McNiel (left) of Prior Lake, Minn., is third with 1429 and is followed by Bill O'Neill (right) of Levittown, Pa., and Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, who are tied at 1421.

    Rounding out the top 8, who will receive two byes for the finals, are currently Jonathan Van Hees of Charlestown, R.I., who was second to Weber in Squad 8 with 1419, Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y. with 1416 and Mike Wolfe of New Albany, Ind., with 1391.

    201112PBANormDuke.jpg201112PBAAmletoMonacelli.jpgWith eleven PBA titlists, Squad 8 tied Squad 7 for the most PBA champions in one squad.

    Spearheading those eleven were PBA Hall of Famers Weber, Norm Duke (left) and Amleto Monacelli (right) of Venezuela.

    Others were Dominic Barrett of England, Tommy Jones, Michael Haugen, Tom Hess, Anthony LaCaze, Rhino Page, Tom Smallwood and Mike Fagan, who won the USBC Masters here at Sunset Stations Strike Zone last Sunday.

    201112PBARhinoPage.jpg2012IntlOpenJohnatha Bower.jpgPage (left, 12th, 1370) of Clovis, Calif. as well as Eddie Van Daniker Jr. (13th, 1355) of Essex, Md. and P. J. Haggerty (15th, 1359) of Roseville, Calif. moved into the top 16, who will earn one bye for the finals.

    The cut for 44th place moved up from 1199 to 1290. Rob Gotchall of Lincoln, Neb., is the man on the bubble.

    Johnathan Bower (right) of Middletown, Pa., rolled the first 300 game of the tournament in the fourth game of Squad 8 followed by 259 in game five. As the other four games were under 200, Bower finished the day with 1251. He sits in 43rd place with his high series of 1291.

    Qualifying continues on Wednesday, Feb. 1, with Squad 9-11 scheduled for 9 a.m., 1.30 and 9 p.m. Pacific.

    2012LVInternationalOpenLogo2_small.jpg The WTBA International Open, the first World Tenpin Bowling Association owned and operated event, is the third stop of the 2012 World Bowling Tour and runs concurrently with The International Mini from Jan. 28 through Feb. 5.

    BowlingdigitalBanner.gif Bowlingdigital will cover the WTBA International Open and The International Mini live from Sunset Station's Strike Zone Bowling Center in Las Vegas all the way through to the finals on Feb. 5, 2012.

    The third event, the USBC Masters, concluded on Sunday morning. Jan. 29. All three events, which offer a total combined prize fund of approximately $500,000, have a special additional prize fund of $30,000 available to those who compete in all three events.

    The WTBA International Open features a European-style re-entry format. There will be 19 qualifying squads and bowlers may compete on any squad to try to post their best six-game total. The 20th and last squad to qualify for the finals is the ultimate one-game Desperado Squad on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 4. Women receive six pins handicap per game.

    Remaining Squad Times
    Tuesday, January 31 at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
    Wednesday, February 1 at 9 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 9 p.m.
    Thursday, February 2 at 9 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 9 p.m.
    Friday, February 3 at 9 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 6 p.m.
    Saturday, February 4 at 9 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. (Desperado Squad)
    New: Sunday, February 5 - Finals starting at Noon.

    After the conclusion of the qualifying, total 48 players will qualify for the finals - the top 44 qualifiers including the squad leaders from all Monday and Tuesday squads (two each; earn automatic berths into the finals) along with four bowlers from the one-game Desperado Squad at the end of qualifying.

    Qualifiers in positions 1-8 get two byes, while qualifiers 9-16 will bypass the first round of the finals. All qualifying pinfall will be dropped.

    The remaining 32 players (qualifiers 17-48) bowl 6 games scratch across 12 lanes with the top 16 based on total pinfall advancing to Round 2. The top 16 high qualifiers from Round 1 plus qualifiers 9-16 bowl another six-game block. The top 8 meet the top 8 qualifiers in Round 3.

    Those 16 bowl a final six-game block to cut to the top 3, who will advance to the stepladder finals to be held in St. Maximin near Paris, France, on March 25, 2012.

    The three finalists earn an expenses-paid trip to suburban Paris for the stepladder finals, which will be held in conjunction with the Brunswick Euro Challenge, the seventh stop of the 2012 World Bowling Tour, which takes place at Plaza Saint Maximin from March 16-25. Bowlingdigital will cover the BEC live from Plaza Bowl.

    The WTBA International Open features a guaranteed prize fund of $100,000 with $20,000 going to the winner and $10,000 and $8,000 to the second and third place finishers, resp.

    For more information on the WTBA 2012 International Open please click here
    WBTLogo.jpg The 2012 World Bowling Tour consists of 14 tournaments in America, Asia, Europe and Australia - five in the United States and one each in Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Finland, France, Japan, Korea, Kuwait and Thailand.

    Players earn ranking points based on how they finish in each event. The current points system is based on a continuous two-year cycle, so points earned in 2011 are added to points earned in 2012 to determine the points list.

    World Bowling Tour Rankings - Complete Standings as of January 29, 2012
    WBT Women's Ranking
    WBT Men's Ranking

    The top three men and top three women will be invited to compete in the World Bowling Tour Finals presented by the Professional Bowlers Association at the end of 2012 featuring total prize fund of $70,000.

    The World Tenpin Bowling Association, which is made up of 115 bowling federations, governs the sport throughout the world. For more information on WTBA and the World Bowling Tour, visit WorldTenpinBowling.com.

     


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    Standings after Qualifying Squad 8/19

    300 Games (1) - Johnathan Bower

    * indicates leaders of squads 5-8, who earn automatic berths into the finals.

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