James Gruffman holds on to the lead; wins qualifying in Odense International

    06/03/12

    Switzerland

    2012EBT09JamesGruffman.jpg2012EBT09MatthiasWetterberg.jpgJames Gruffman (pictured left) of Sweden won the qualifying of the Odense International en route to lead a field of 32 players - 29 men and three women - into Sunday's finals at Odense Bowling Center in Odense, Denmark. Gruffman toppled 1445 pins, an average of 240.83 for six games, in quad 11/15 on Friday and remained unchallenged during the last three squads on Saturday.

    His compatriot Mattias Wetterberg (right) used two 279 games in Squad 13 to move into second place with 1424. Finn Tony Ranta (below left) was third with 1416 and was followed by the best Danish bowler, Anders Lousdal, in fourth place with 1406.

    2012EBT09TonyRanta.jpg2011EBT17LisanneBreeschoten.jpgPeter Hellström, Sweden, and Lisanne Breeschoten (right), Netherlands finished in fifth and sixth place with 1396. Breeschoten was the best of 17 women in the field of 114 players from eight countries. Joining the Dutch international in the finals was Josefine Linderoth, Sweden (20th; 1280) and Jenny Wegner, also of Sweden, who advanced from the Turbo 1 pool (highest fifth game) thanks to a 237 game.

    Rounding out the top 10, who received bonus pins for the first round of the finals, were Daniel Vezis, Latvia (7th; 1390), Perttu Jussila, Finland (8th; 1389); Squad 15 leader Jamie McDermott (below left), Germany (9th; 1364); and Sami Lampo, Finland (10th; 1362). Bonus pins range from 140 for leader Gruffman to 10 pins for 10th place Lampo.

    2012EBT09JamieMcDermott.jpg2012EBT09FilipLindbjer.jpgFilip Lindbjer (right), who led the penultimate squad 14, landed in 15th place with 1339. His fellow countryman Marcus Tidbeck hit the cutoff number for 26th place with 1308 and an average of 218.

    Also advancing to the finals were two players each from a separate leaderboard of quads 5-8 and 1-4 as well as one player each from the Turbo 1 and 2 list.

    The Odense International is the 9th stop of the 2012 European Bowling Tour and the third out of seven EBT "Satellite" tournaments this season. The tournament will be held from May 27 through June 3 at 24-lane Odense Bowling Center in Odense, Denmark and offers total prize fund of 20.000 Euro with 4.000 Euro going to the winner, 2.500 to the runner-up and 1.500 to the third place finisher.

    The qualifying of the Odense International 2012 (six-game series, unlimited re-entries) ran from Sunday May 27 through Saturday, June 2. Women receive 8 pins handicap each game throughout the entire tournament, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour.

    The Odense International 2012 features a 39 feet lane conditioning pattern with 25.1ml oil volume.

    A total of 32 players qualified for the finals on Sunday, June 3 - the top 26 players from the overall qualifying standings plus the top two players each from a combined standing of Squads 1-4 and 5-8 which are not among the top 26, and one player each from the Turbo 1 and 2 list.

    The Turbo 1 and 2 winners are the player with the highest score in the fifth (Turbo 1) and sixth (Turbo 2) game in any of the qualifying series who have paid the extra entry fee of 10 Euro per squad/Turbo.

    The top 10 qualifiers will receive bonus pins for the first round of the finals as follows: Qualifying winner: 140 pins; second place: 120 pins; third place: 100 pins; fourth place: 80 pins; fifth place: 60 pins; sixth place: 50 pins; 7th place: 40 pins; 8th place: 30 pins; 9th place: 20 pins; and 10th place: 10 pins.

    All 32 finalists will bowl six games. The top 16 with the highest six-game total including bonus pins and women's handicap will advance to the second round with the pinfall being carried forward. Those 16 bowl another four games to cut to the top 8 who will determine the champion in seven games round robin match play with the 10-game total from Round 1 and 2 being carried forward.

    Players receive 30 pins bonus for each win in match play and 15 for a tie. The player with the highest 17-game total including bonus pins and handicap will be declared the winner and receives the 4.000 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 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 such as the Odense International 2012 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.

     


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    Standings after Qualifying


    The top 26 qualifiers, the top 2 of Squads 5-8 (places 27-28) and of Squads 1-4 (places 29-30) plus the leaders of Turbo 1 (31st place) and 2 (32nd place) advance to the finals.

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