Germany's Birgit Pöppler wins qualifying of 12th Qatar Bowling Open

    12/15/12

    2012 European Bowling Tour #19

    Pöppler seals victory in EBT women's rankings; PBA champions Fagan, Barnes, Barrett move into top 9 on final qualifying day; cut for 36th place is 1302 (217 average)

    2012ECCBirgitPoppler3.jpg2011USBCOCAnthonyPepe.jpgBirgit Pöppler (pictured left9 of Germany remained unchallenged Friday at the Qatar Bowling Center in Doha en route to win the qualifying of the 12th Qatar Bowling Open with 1464 total including 48 pins handicap.

    The German national team member, who averaged 236 scratch, leads a group of 48 players out of a field of 142 players - 129 men and 13 women - from 26 countries into Saturday's finals.

    By virtue of qualifying as one of seven women for the finals, Pöppler has sealed the victory in the 2012 European Bowling Tour women's point ranking.

    The only other player, who cracked the 1400-bar was Anthony Pepe (above right), United States, who finished qualifying in second place with 1434 and the field-best 239 average.

    2012EBT04MikeFagan.jpg2012EBT16ChrisBarnes2.jpgThree-time EBT point ranking champion Paul Moor of England and European Masters champion Jesper Agerbo of Denmark landed in third And fourth place with 1397 and 1383, respectively.

    Three PBA champions moved into the top 9, who will by pass the first round of the finals. Four-time titlist Mike Fagan (left), United States, shot the highest series on Friday with 1377 to earn a 200 Euro bonus and to leap into fifth place. 14-time PBA champion and PBA Player of the Year 2007-08, Chris Barnes (right), United States, was mere one pin behind with 1376, good for sixth place overall.

    Dominic Barrett of England, who won his first PBA title in last year's World Series of Bowling, posted a 1369 series to move into eighth place. Barrett was sandwiched between Hareb Al-Mansoori, UAE (1371) and PBA champion Tom Smallwood, United States (1366).

    2011BWCWuSiuHong.jpg2012BWCMubarakAlMuraikhi2.jpgWu Siu Hong (left) of Hong Kong 1359 in Squad 15 and 1356 in Squad 16 to finish in 11th place mere seven pins out of the top 9. Lars Høberg of Denmark led the 17th and last qualifying with 1312 to make the first cut in 33rd place. Mansoor Al-Awamy of Qatar hit the cutoff number for 36th place with 1302 or an average of 217.

    Joining those 36 in the finals were total eight players from the first three qualifying days and the top 4 of the Desperado Squad. Mubarak Al-Muraikhi (right) of Qatar fired a huge 279 game to win the Desperado Squad and was followed by Britt Brøndsted of Denmark (274 including handicap), James Gruffman, Sweden (248) and Christian Gelzinger, Sweden (238).

    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 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 ran from Sunday, Dec. 9 through Friday, Dec. 14. A total of 48 players advanced to the finals on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012. The top 9 qualifiers earned one bye. Women receive 8 pins handicap each game, a standard on the European Bowling Tour.

    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 - Standings after Qualifying and Desperado Squad


    The top 36 qualifiers plus the the top 2 of the Dec. 9 squads (places 37 & 38), the top 3 each of the Dec. 10 (places 39-41) and 11 squads (places 42-44), plus the top 4 from the Desperado Squad (places 45-48) advance to the finals.

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