Ed Roberts, Angie Brown cruise to victory in Rock Masters 2013

    11/13/13

    Gibraltar

    2013RockMastersEdRoberts.jpg2013RockMastersAngieBrown.jpgSenior Team USA member Ed Roberts (pictured left) and Angie Brown (right) of England went wire-to-wire at the Rock Masters 2013 in Gibraltar to cruise to the men's and women's title Saturday, November 9 at King's Bowl.

    The Rock Masters tournament promoted by the Gibraltar Sports & Leisure Authority was held from November 5-9 and was open to senior bowlers over 50 years of age.

    There was a substantial prize fund on offer totaling £15,000 which drew a wide range of bowlers, mainly from the United Kingdom, but also from Belgium, Gibraltar, and a solitary American competitor, Ed Roberts.

    The tournament qualifying format was an eight game qualifying block with re-entries allowed. Age bonus was set at 1 pin per year over 50.

    Squads 1 and 2 were merged, and the runaway squad winner was Ed Roberts, who at the age of 70 hit 1816 scratch (227 average) over the eight game block including a finishing three-game block of 234, 258 and 279 for 1976 with age bonus.

    2013RockMastersRobbieSkinner.jpg2013RockMastersCatherineWills.jpgSquad 3 was won by Robbie Skinner (left), England, in the men's section with 1911 with bonus. The women's section was closely contested, with Catherine Wills (right), England, emerging at the top with 1555.

    The tournament was played on the Kegel Bourbon Street lane conditioning pattern, which provided a good scoring opportunity for those who could match up, with the condition holding up well over the eight-game block.

    Squad 4 saw two previous Rock Masters winners playing on the same pair. Senior Team England bowler Angie Brown and Chris Vandamme of Belgium both set off strongly, and at the end of the squad late on Thursday night both were confirmed as squad winners.

    Vandamme, a multiple winner on the International Seniors Bowling Tour, had 1864 to improve on his earlier entry and slip into third place in the qualification standings behind Roberts and Skinner.

    The top four men would bypass the quarterfinals, so staying at the top was important in the men's division. Brown's 1688 put her into a comfortable lead of over 100 pins from Wills.

    Shown right is Kings Bowl. Click on the image to enlarge it.

    Only nine bowlers managed the early morning start on Friday for Squad 5, but Ed Roberts didn't find the early start a challenge, posting a total of 1889 scratch over his 8 games (236.13 average) and 2049 total to further extend his lead. A good set from Ken Burton, England moved him into third place at 1825.

    Moving towards the last couple of squads, players were starting to look anxiously at the leader board to ensure their qualification places. The scoring pace remained good, but there were a huge number of sliding Twister pins in the pin deck, causing much frustration to the bowlers.

    In the men's division, Mike Sykes, England, was squad leader with 1776, but the clear winner of the squad was Angie Brown with an eight-game total of 1829, giving her a 274-pin lead over second place in the women's division.

    The final Friday squad provided the last opportunity for the men to either make the finals, or get a top 4 position and gain a bye through the first six-game block on Saturday morning.

    2013RockMastersChrisVandamme.jpgChris Skudder was squad winner and eased into third place with 1911, followed by Alan Keddie of Scotland, who took the all-important fourth qualifying position with 1885. These two, together with leader Ed Roberts and Robbie Skinner made up the top four places, squeezing out the defending champion Chris Vandamme (left) into fifth place.

    The top 24 qualifiers now progressed to the next round, with Graham Coles, the chairman of the Gibraltar Association just making the cut with 1615. The four final places were filled from two turbo qualifiers - Gerry Olver and Brian Page of England, and the top two from the Desperado Squad, Bob Steward & Doug Sinclair.

    Those, who didn't make the cut, received free entry into the plate competition on Saturday afternoon.

    In the ladies' section, Angie Brown remained top qualifier, 225 pins ahead of Sue Richards England. The top 12 ladies then progressed to the Saturday's semifinals.

    2013RockMastersGordonHumphries.jpgThe top male qualifiers from positions 5 to 24 together with the Turbo and Desperado qualifiers had an early 8:30 start on Saturday morning for the quarterfinals.

    Gordon Humphries (right) obviously didn't mind the early start, and posted a fine 1467 over the six-game block to win the round, just ahead of Chris Vandamme. The top 10 would progress to the semifinals, the cut being Gerry Olver, who was making good use of his Turbo qualification.

    Both the men's and women's semifinals took place at the same time. As 50% of the pinfall from this round would carry through to the final, everyone was looking for every pin they could get.

    2013RockMastersChrisSkudder.jpgFor some reason, scoring in this squad seemed more difficult, in the end it was American Ed Roberts who would lead going into the finals with 1415 over his 6 games. The last qualification place was taken by Chris Skudder (left) on 1281.

    The big shock of the round was the exit of Chris Vandamme, who had won the tournament on the two previous occasions it had been held.

    On the women's side, Angie Brown opened up an early lead by starting the round with a 225 triplicate and finishing with 1297 total, some 169 pins clear of the field. The battle to make the last few places was tight right to the end, and a poor last game by Jan Steiner, England, looked to have cost her a place, but in the end she held on to sixth place by just three pins from Sandra Boswell , Scotland.

    2013RockMastersDaveMontgomery.jpgThe men's and women's finals were round robin match play format with six players in the women's finals and eight in the men's finals. With 50% of the semifinal round scores carrying through, Angie Brown and Ed Roberts had a slight starting advantage.

    In the men's final, Roberts continued his earlier form and opened up a substantial lead. In second place Dave Montgomery (right), England, was moving clear of the rest of the field with a series of high games.

    In the final game Montgomery played Roberts, and although the American was now far enough ahead to be almost certain of the win, Dave inflicted Roberts's only defeat in the round robin. However, Roberts emerged the clear overall winner, and collected the £2.500 first prize. Montgomery took a very creditable second place, with Chris Skudder in third.

    In the women's finals, Catherine Wills started at a blistering pace, and soon almost caught Brown. However, Brown increased her scoring pace, and won all five of her matches to move away to finish the clear winner and to collect the £1.250 first prize and her second Rock Masters title after 2011.

    Wills finished in a strong second place, with Liz Griffin, England, just taking third place by a single pin from her fellow countrywoman Tina Taylor.

    Courtesy of Tony Brown.

     


    Rock Masters 2013 - Men's Round Robin Finals (Final Standings)

     


    Rock Masters 2013 - Women's Round Robin Finals (Final Standings)

     


    Rock Masters 2013 - Men's Semifinals


    The top 8 advance to the finals.

     


    Rock Masters 2013 - Women's Semifinals


    The top 6 advance to the finals.

     


    Rock Masters 2013 - Men's Quarterfinals


    The top 10 advance to the semifinals.

     


    Rock Masters 2013 - Men's Qualifying


    The top 24 qualifiers plus two turbo qualifiers, Gerry Olver & Brian Page, and the top two of the Desperado Squad, Bob Steward & Doug Sinclair, advance to the quarterfinals. The top 4 qualifiers received one bye.

     


    Rock Masters 2013 - Women's Qualifying


    The top 12 qualifiers advance to the semifinals.

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