Birgit Pöppler, Anthony Pepe crack 1400-bar to overtake lead in Qatar Open

    12/14/12

    2012 European Bowling Tour #19

    Five players move into the top 9 on Thursday; PBA stars have entered the tournament; cut for 36th place is now 1289 (214.83 average)

    2012EBT16BirgitPoppler.jpgBirgit Pöppler (pictured left) of Germany became the first player in the 12th Qatar Bowling Open, who cracked the 1400-bar, when she rolled a 1416 series in Squad 12 on Thursday afternoon en route to overtake the qualifying lead with 1464 total including 48 pins handicap.

    The current European Bowling Tour women's point ranking leader, who was in ninth place 1341, started the day with a poor 146 game, then averaged 254 for the next five games including 219, 247, 244, 295 and 265 to leap eight spots and to pace the field of 132 players - 119 men and 32 women - from 25 countries.

    Pöppler received a 200 Euro bonus for the highest series of the day but missed a $1,000 bonus for a perfect game due to the five-count on the fill ball in the fifth game, which was the highest game of the tournament so far.

    2011USBCOCAnthonyPepe.jpg2012EBT16PaulMoor.jpgAnthony Pepe (left) followed in Pöppler's foot prints in Squad 14, as the U.S. bowler posted the highest scratch series of 1434 to leap into second place in the overall standings. Pepe had games of 190, 244, 206, 290, 249 and 255 and an average of 239.

    Three-time EBT point ranking champion Paul Moor (right) of England and European Masters champion Jesper Agerbo of Denmark were next to Pöppler in Squad 13 with 1397 and 1383 to rise into third and fourth place, respectively.

    Previous leader Hareb Al-Mansoori, UAE, fell four spots to fifth place with 1371. Tom Smallwood (below left), United States, who won the 2009 PBA World Championship for his first PBA title, was second to Pepe in Squad 13 with 1366 including a high game of 278 to jump into sixth place.

    201112PBATomSmallwood.jpg2012EBT19AumiGuerra.jpgZakareya Al-Zoqari is the best Qatari in seventh place. Al-Zoqari led Squad 14 on Thursday evening with 1365 including six games between 255 and 209. Thomas Larsen of Denmark slipped from second to eighth place with 1356. Rounding out the top 9, was Aumi Guerra (right) of the Dominican Republic, who ties Larsen at 1356 but has the lower last game. The top 9 will receive one bye for the finals.

    Several other PBA champions entered the tournament on Thursday. No wonder as only the four PBA "major" tournaments - PBA World Championship ($50,000), USBC Masters ($50,000), U.S. Open ($60,000) and the PBA Tournament of Champions ($80,000) - offer a high first prize than the Qatar Open (30.000 Euro top prize or approx. USD38,740).

    201213PBAMikaKoivuniemi.jpg201213PBATommyJones.jpgTwo-time PBA Player of the Year Mika Koivuniemi (left9 of Finland, who just won his 10th career title in the Round1 Japan Cup, used a 289 high game for 1354, good for 11th place.

    PBA Player of the Year 2005-06, Tommy Jones (right), United States, was seven pins behind in 13th place with 1347. England's first PBA champion, Stuart Williams, was in 15th place with 1343, followed by PBA Rookie of the Year, Josh Blanchard, United States, in 20th place with 1334.

    Three-time WTBA World Champion, Bill O'Neill, United States, a four-time PBA champion, was 21st with 1332, with Dan MacLelland of Canada in 24th place with 1323 and Mike Fagan, United States, also a four-time PBA champion, in 28th place with 1323.

    2012EBT13DominicBarrett.jpg201213PBARonnieRussell.jpgEngland's second PBA champion, Dominic Barrett (left) finished the penultimate day of qualifying in 30th place with 1310, while Ronnie Russell (right), United States was just two pins above the cut line in 35th place with 1291.

    With just three squads to go, Khalid Al-Emady of Qatar holds the 36th and last place to make the first cut with 1289 and an average of 214.83.

    Qualifying continues Friday, Dec. 14 with Squads 15-17 scheduled for 1, 4 and 8 p.m. Arabia Standard Time and concludes with the Desperado Squad slated for 11 p.m.

    2012EBT19QatarOpenLogo.jpg The 12th Qatar Bowling Open is the 19th and last event of the 2012 European Bowling Tour and one of only two EBT "Platinum" tournaments this season. The tournament will be held from Dec. 9-15, 2012 at 32-lane Qatar Bowling Center in Doha, Qatar.

    Players will compete for total prize fund of 125.000 Euro (approx. $163,000) with 30.000 € going to the winner, 14.400 € to the runner-up and 5.000 € apiece to the third and fourth place finishers.

    As the 12th Qatar Bowling Open is also the second event of the 2013 World Bowling Tour, the tournament will also award a PBA international title if won by a PBA member or a PBA international member.

    Qualifying (6 games, unlimited re-entries) runs from Sunday, Dec. 9 through Friday, Dec. 14 with the final Squad 17 scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Arabia Standard Time (6 p.m. CET; noon EST). Qualifying will conclude with the one-game Desperado Squad slated for 11 p.m. Women receive 8 pins handicap each game, a standard on the European Bowling Tour.

    A total of 48 players - the top 36 in the overall qualifying standings, the top 2 of the Dec. 9 squads, the top 3 each of the Dec. 10 and 11 squads, plus the top 4 from the Desperado Squad - advance to the finals on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012.

    The top 9 qualifiers earn one bye. The remaining 39 players will bowl six games scratch with the top 19 advancing to the second round. Those 19 and the nine qualifying leaders will roll another six-game block scratch to cut to the top 4, who advance to the semifinals.

    The No. 1 bowls No. 4 and the No. 2 bowls No. 3 with the two-game total pinfall determining the winner. The two semifinal winners will bowl for the title and the 30.000 Euro top prize.

    2012EBTLogo_small.jpg The 2012 European Bowling Tour is made up of 19 events in 16 countries including two Platinum, four Gold, six 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 Qatar Bowling Open 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.

     


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    2012 Qatar Bowling Open - Qualifying Standings after Squad 14/17

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