Jähi, Wells and Duke move into top 52 in Squad 19 in Brunswick Euro Challenge

    03/24/12

    2012 European Bowling Tour #4

    PBA superstar Chris Barnes is on the bubble with 1333 and an average of 222.17

    2012EBT04JoonasJahi.jpg2012EBT04TomHess2.jpgJoonas Jähi (pictured left) of Finland had a strong finish in his six-game series in Squad 19 at the Brunswick Euro Challenge, a World Bowling Tour and European Bowling Tour event, en route to move into 19th place in qualifying with 1398 and an average of 233.

    The Finnish international got off to a great start with games of 245, 223 and 247, but then suffered a 194 game. Jähi rebounded from the sub-par game with a huge 268 game and finished the last game with three strikes for 221 to sit 65 pins above the cut line with another six squads to go.

    Tom Hess (above right) leads the field of 362 players, 289 men and 73 women, from 32 countries since Squad 9 with 1533 and an average of 255.50.

    2011EBT04JohnWells2.jpg2012EBT04NormDuke.jpgJohn Wells (left) of England was second to Jähi with 1382 and should have also locked up his spot in the finals on Sunday. Wells had high games of 269 and 245 plus two games in the 230s. Perttu Jussila, Finland, was next with 1345 but was unable to improve on his high series. Jussila currently sits in 45th place with 1351.

    36-time PBA champion Norm Duke (right) had five consistent games between 215 and 244 but a sub-par game in the second cost him a better position. Duke, who is one of just two players who have completed the “Grand Slam” including USBC Masters, Tournament of Champions, U.S. Open and PBA National/World Championship (Mike Aulby is the other) moved into 49th position with 1338, one spot behind fellow PBA Hall of Famer, Deö Ballard, who is 48th with 1341.

    2012EBT04YoanAlix.jpg2012EBT04ChrisBarnes.jpgNico D'Achille, Italy, was in 50th place with 1338 but the lower last game than Duke (215 to 212 in Duke's favor). Yoan Alix (left), France, was 51st with 1336 and holding the 52nd and last place to advance to the finals was PBA super star Chris Barnes (right), who totaled 1333 pins, an average of 222.17 for six games.

    Qualifying continues on Friday with Squad 20 scheduled for 8 p.m. CET followed by Squad 21 starting at Midnight (minimum 12 players required).

    Photo Gallery Part 1 Photos Beat Grauwiler/Bowlingdigital.com.

    2011EBT17ClaraGuerrero2_small.jpg The Brunswick Euro Challenge is the fourth tournament on the 2012 European Bowling Tour schedule and one of only two "Platinum" events, the EBT's highest category. The BEC is also the seventh event of the 2012 World Bowling Tour and the second of three WBT events in Europe this season. Colombia's Clara Juliana Guerrero (left) is the defending champion.

    The tournament will be held from March 16-25 at 28-laner Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin near Paris, France and offers total prize money of 106.000 Euro, approximately US $140,000 with 15.000 Euro going to the winner, 7.500 Euro to the runner-up and 5.000 Euro to the third place finisher.

    ValckeBowling.jpg BowlingdigitalBanner.gif The 2012 Brunswick Euro Challenge is organized and conducted by Brunswick distributor Valcke Bowling. Bowlingdigital.com will cover the event live from Le Plaza Bowling with stories and results after each round including live streaming, high definition videos and high quality photos.

    Live streaming of the 2012 Brunswick Euro Challenge stepladder finals starts on Sunday, March 25th at 6.30 p.m. Central European Time (12.30 p.m. EST; 12.30 a.m. on the 26th Hong Kong time). The award ceremonies are scheduled for 7.30 p.m. CET.

    The live stream of the stepladder finals of the World Bowling Tour's WTBA International Open, which was contested Wednesday, March 20th at Plaza St. Maximim, can be found here.

    2012BECLogo_small.jpg BEC qualifying runs through Saturday, March. 24 with the final Squad 25 slated for 8 p.m. Qualifying concludes with the ultimate one-game Desperado Squad at 11.30 p.m. Women will receive 8 pins handicap each game throughout the entire event, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour.

    A total of 64 players will qualify for the finals on Sunday, March 25, the top 52 in the overall qualifying standings, the top 8 of a separate leaderboard of the squads conducted March 16-19 plus the top 4 of the Desperado Squad. The top 12 qualifiers will receive one bye.

    The remaining 52 finalists will bowl six games scratch to cut to the top 16 who will join the top 12 qualifiers in Round Two. Those 28 will bowl another six games scratch after which the field will be trimmed to the top 8 players who will carry their pinfall total forward into the match play round.

    After seven games round robin match play (30 for each win; 15 for each tie) the top 3 players will determine the champion in a stepladder final. The No. 3 seed bowls the No. 2 seed and the winner of the semifinal match takes on the No. 1 seed for the title, and the 15.00 Euro top prize.

    2012EBTLogo_small.jpg The 2012 European Bowling Tour is made up of 21 events in 16 countries including two Platinum, four Gold, eight Silver and seven Satellite tournaments.

    The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event earn ranking points based on how they finish in the event. The winner of a Platinum tournament such as the Brunswick Euro Challenge receives 250 ranking points, the winner of a Gold tournament gets 150, the winner of a Silver tournament earns 100, and the winner of a Satellite tournament gets 50 ranking points.

    Those points will be tabulated throughout the season to determine the top 16 men and top 16 women who will compete in the sixth EBT Masters in Bratislava, Slovakia in Sept. 2013.

    2012 European Bowling Tour Rankings
    EBT Women's Ranking
    EBT Men's Ranking

    WBTLogo_small.jpgThe ninth edition of the Brunswick Euro Challenge is also the seventh event of the 2012 World Bowling Tour organized by the World Tenpin Bowling Association. After the Bahamas Classic has been postponed the 2012 WBT consists of 13 tournaments in America, Asia, Europe and Australia - five in the United States and one each in Australia, Austria, 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.

    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.

    World Bowling Tour Rankings
    WBT Women's Ranking
    WBT Men's Ranking

    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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    Qualifying Standings after Squad 19/25


    The top 52 in the overall qualifying standings, the top 8 of a separate leaderboard of the squads 1-8 (places 53-60) plus the top 4 of the Desperado Squad (places 61-64) will advance to the finals. The top 12 qualifiers will receive one bye.