Joonas Jehkinen wins qualifying at 43rd Brunswick Ballmaster Open

    01/13/13

    2013 European Bowling Tour #1

    Finn lead 476 players from 19 countries with 1497; second-place Thomas Larsen rolls the second 300 game of the tournament; two out of 48 women survive the first cut; cutoff number for 44th place is 1365 (227.50 average)

    2013EBT01JoonasJehkinen.jpg2013EBT01ThomasLarsen2.jpg

    Finnish national team member Joonas Jehkinen (pictured left) won the qualifying of the 43rd Brunswick Ballmaster Open Saturday at Tali Bowling Center in Helsinki, Finland, to lead 48 players including two women into Sunday's finals.

    Jehkinen, who is looking for his first European Bowling Tour title, rolled games of 248, 280, 210, 290, 249 and 220 in Squad 12 to lead the 476-player field from 19 countries with 1497 total and an average of 249.50. He pocketed 2.000 Euro for the feat.

    Two-time EBT champion Thomas Larsen (right) of Denmark was mere six pins behind Jehkinen to finish qualifying in second place, worth 1.000 Euro, with 1491 including the tournament's second 300 game.

    2013EBT01MikeFagan.jpg2013EBT01MartinPaulsson.jpgPrevious leader Mike Fagan (left), United States, slipped two spots to third place with 1486. The four-time PBA champion and last year's runner-up, who targets to win his fifth PBA title in Helsinki, received 500 Euro.

    Martin Paulsson (right) of Sweden, reigning World champion in Doubles (with Mathias Ã…rup), led the morning squad 12 with 1459 including five games between 234 and 266 to land in fourth place in the overall qualifying standings.

    Rounding out the top five was Paulsson's compatriot, three-time World champion Martin Larsen, who had a high series of 1441 to his credit.

    201213PBAMikaKoivuniemi.jpg201213PBABillONeill.jpgFinns Jarno Marjakangas and Mika Koivuniemi (left) led the last two squads. Marjakangas topped Squad 15 with 1411 including a high game of 279 to move into 14th place.

    Two-time PBA Player of the Year and three-time Ballmaster champion Koivuniemi (1998, 2010 & '11) had 1389 in Squad 14 and finished qualifying in 16th place with his high series of 1404.

    Defending champion Bill O'Neill (right), United States, made the first cut in 19th place with 1401 and was followed by three-time Ballmaster winner Pasi Uotila (2000, '04 & '09) in 20th place with 1400 on the nose.

    2009BWCPiaBurkal2.jpg2013EBT01BrittBrondsted.jpgPia Burkal (left) and Britt Brøndsted (right) will battle it out for the early lead in the 2013 European Bowling Tour women's point ranking as the Danes were the only women who survived the first cut. Burkal had 1333 scratch (222.17 average) and added 48 pins handicap for 1381, good for 32nd place.

    Brøndsted, a former World Ranking Masters champion, who led the EBT women's point ranking from 2004 to 2006, hit the cutoff number in 43rd place with 1365.

    Two-time Ballmaster champion Kimmo Lehtonen (below right; 2002 & '07) of Finland tied Brøndsted at 1365 but had the lower last game (215 to 234) to grab the 44th and last qualifying spot.

    2013EBT01KimmoLehtonen.jpgThe top 44 will be joined in the finals by the top 4 of the one-game Desperado Squad: Robert Andersson, Sweden, 277; Manuel Mrosek, Germany, 258; Carsten Warming Hansen, Denmark, 246; and Dennis Eklund, Sweden, 239.

    Notables who missed the cut were last season's PBA Rookie of the Year Josh Blanchard, United States (50th, 1362), three-time Ballmaster Open champion Lasse Lintilä, Finland (58th, 1351) and 13-time PBA champion Tommy Jones, United States (72nd, 1333).

    2013BallmasterLogo_small.jpg The 43rd Brunswick Ballmaster Open is the first of six "EBT Gold" events this season, the second-highest out four EBT categories. The tournament will be held from Friday Jan. 4 through Sunday Jan. 13, 2013 at 36-lane Tali Bowling Center in Finland's capital city Helsinki.

    The BBO 2013 features a 37.5 feet lane conditioning pattern.

    Players will compete for total prize money of 90.300 Euro with 12.000 Euro going to the winner, 8.000 to the runner-up and 4.000 and 3.000 to the third and fourth place finishers, respectively. Low to cash is 48th place, worth 1.100 Euro.

    In addition, the 2013 BBO offers a 20.000 Euro Extra Prize for a 300 game thrown on the final day (Jan. 13). In the event that a 300 game will be rolled, the total prize fund will be more than 110.000 Euro.

    Due to an agreement between the World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA) and the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), the Ballmaster will award a PBA international title, if won by a PBA member or a PBA international member.

    Qualifying (six games, unlimited re-entries) of the 2013 Brunswick Ballmaster Open ran through Saturday, Jan. 12. Women receive 8 pins handicap each game (up to 292 - maximum score is 300), a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour.

    A total of 48 players - the top 44 from the overall qualifying standings plus the top 4 from the Desperado Squad - qualified for the finals on Sunday, Jan. 13.

    All 48 finalists will bowl 8 games from scratch with the top 16 advancing to the match play portion. Those 16 will bowl 15 games of round robin match play (no position round will be played) with the pinfall of Round 1 being carried over.

    Players earn 30 bonus pins for each match won and 15 points for a tied match. The top 4 players after 23 games including bonus pins will determine the champion in a stepladder final.

    The No. 4 seed meets the No. 3 in the opening match and the winner takes on the No. 2 seed for the right to bowl the top seed for the title, the 12.000 Euro top prize and 150 EBT and 50 WBT ranking points.

     


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    Standings after Qualifying and Desperado Squad

    300 games - Christian Racpan, Thomas Larsen

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