Belgian bowlers set the tone on the first day of qualifying at the Hammer Bronzen Schietspoel Tournament 2014, which got underway Sunday at Dolfijn Bowling Tilburg in Tilburg, Netherlands with the first two squads.

Long-time national team member Jean-Marc Lebon (pictured left) came out of the gates quickly to take the early lead with 1483 total and an average of 247.17. Lebon improved almost every game, posting scores of 203, 232, 258, 234, 277 and 279.

His compatriot Marawan Aernoudt (right) also started his series in Squad 2 with 203 followed by 242, 234, and 256 before he rolled the tournament's first 300 in game #5. He closed out with 199 to finish the opening day in second place with 1434 (239 average).

Mats Maggi (left), Belgium, and Wesley Selier, Netherlands, who were next to Lebon in Squad 1, sit in third and fourth place with 1388 and 1387, respectively.

Christian Kweens, Netherlands, and Ziggy Meylemans, Belgium, who were second and third in Squad 2 round out the top 6 with 1383 and 1382. resp. The top six players from a separate leaderboard of the squads conducted February 23-25 will be automatically qualified for the finals if they don't finish in the top 36.

Veronique Perniaux of Belgium was the best of eight women in the field of 58 players from Belgium, England, France and Netherlands with 1254 scratch (209 average) and 1302 total including 48 pins handicap.

Jonathan Cools of Belgium currently holds the 36zth and last place to advance to the finals with 1224 or an average of 204.

Qualifying continues Monday, February 24, with Squad 3 scheduled to start at 8 p.m. CET.

The Hammer Bronzen Schietspoel Tournament 2014 is the third stop of the 2014 European Bowling Tour and the first of four EBT "Silver" tournaments, the third-highest of four EBT categories. The tournament will be held from Sunday, Feb. 23, through Sunday, March 2, at 20-lane Dolfijn Bowling in Tilburg, Netherlands.

Players will compete for total prize money of 44.400 Euro with 6.000 Euro going to the winner, 4.000 to the runner-up and 3.000 and 2.000 to third and fourth place finishers, respectively. Low to cash is 46th place (400 Euro).

Qualifying runs through Saturday, March 1 with the final qualifying Squad 14 scheduled for 6 p.m. CET, followed by the ultimate one-game Desperado Squad slated for 9.30 p.m. Women receive 8 pins handicap each game (maximum score is 300), a standard on the European Bowling Tour.

A total of 46 players - the top 36 qualifiers, the top 4 from the Desperado Squad and the top 6 from a separate leaderboard of Squads 1-4 conducted Feb. 23-25 - will advance to the finals on Sunday, March 2. The top 6 qualifiers will receive one bye. The winner of the qualifying receives a 1.000 Euro bonus.

Players ranked 7 to 46 will bowl four games with the top 18 players joining the top six qualifiers in the eliminator finals. Those 24 players will be divided into six groups of four players each for the first of four eliminator rounds.

All four players of each group will bowl a two-game match with the two lowest scoring players eliminated. The two highest scoring players advance to the next round. In the first round four "lucky losers" (four highest third-place finishers) also advance.

The field will be cut to 16, eight and then four players who will bowl a final two-game round to determine the champion.

The Hammer Bronzen Schietspoel Tournament 2014 will be followed by the EBT Masters 2014 on March 3 at Dolfijn Bowling Tilburg featuring the top 12 women and top 12 men of the 2013 EBT point rankings.

The 2014 European Bowling Tour features 21 tournaments in 14 countries. In its 15th season, the EBT consists of two Platinum, six Gold, four Silver and nine Satellite tournaments. The total prize fund exceeds one million Euro.

The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event receive ranking points. Those points will be tabulated throughout the season to determine the top 12 men and top 12 women, who will compete in the eighth EBT Masters July 6, 2015 in Asti, Italy.