Larsen and Kjeldsen win men's and women's ranking in Istanbul to widen their lead in the 2014 EBT Point Ranking; Kjeldsen wins women's ranking for the fourth time in the last five EBT events

Thomas Larsen (pictured left) of Denmark defeated his fellow countrywoman Kamilla Kjeldsen (right) in an all-Danish title match at Timeout Bowling Center in Istanbul, Turkey, 473-421, to claim his fourth European Bowling Tour title in the 9th Istanbul Bowling Open.

Larsen took a 26-pin lead after the first game (248 to 222, including eight pins handicap per game for Kjeldsen) and sealed the victory with a 255 second game (to Kjeldsen's 199). Larsen received the 7.000 Euro top prize while Kjeldsen pocketed 5.000 Euro for second place.

Four out of 48 finalists, who survived the qualifying cut, advanced to the playoffs with the two-game total determining the winner. To reach the title match, the Danes ousted two Finns in the semifinals.

Larsen, who took the fourth and last place for the playoffs, sidelined No. 1 seed, Joonas Jehkinen (left), 471-435. Kjeldsen, seeded third eliminated No. 2 seed and qualifying leader, Perttu Jussila (right), 460-413.

Jehkinen and Jussila, who were ranked 3rd and 4th according to their seeding, earned 3.250 Euro apiece.

Larsen, who won his third international title in sixth month after winning the World Bowling Tour's 1st Abu Dhabi World Bowling Tour and the 11th Kuwait International Open, and Kjeldsen, who was looking for her second EBT title this season after her victory in the 8th International Wroclaw Open by Hammer, widened their lead in the 2014 EBT Point Ranking.

Jehkinen, who was mere five points behind Larsen heading into the Istanbul Open, remains in second place. Kjeldsen, who won the women's ranking for the fourth time in the last five EBT events (she did not compete in the last tournament in Ekaterinburg, Russia), holds a dominating 232-point lead in the women's division.

The 9th Istanbul Bowling Open will be held from Saturday, May 3, through Sunday, May 11, at 20-lane Timeout Bowling Center in Istanbul, Turkey. The tournament is the sixth stop of the 2014 European Bowling Tour season and the second of six EBT "gold" tournaments, the second-highest of four categories.

Players will compete for total prize money of 60.000 Euro with 7.000 Euro going to the winner, 5.000 to the runner-up and 1.400 and 3.250 apiece to the third and fourth place finisher, respectively. Low to cash is 48th place worth 500 Euro.

Qualifying ran from May 3-10. Women receive 8 pins handicap each game (maximum score is 300), a standard on the European Bowling Tour.

Total 48 players - the top 38 qualifiers, two players of a separate leaderboard from Squads 1-4 plus the two players of Desperado Squad 1 and six players of Desperado Squad 2 - advanced to the finals on Sunday, May 11.

The top eight qualifiers earned three byes, qualifiers 9-18 got two byes, and qualifiers 19-28 received a first-round bye.

The first five rounds of the final consist of four games from scratch. The field will be trimmed to 38, 28, 18, 8 and then four players, who will determine the champion in head-to-head matches with the two-game total determining the winner.

The top-seeded player after Round 5 bowls No. 4 seed and No. 2 takes on No. 3 in the semifinals. The winners advance to the title match while the losers will be seeded third and fourth according to their seeding after Round 5.

The 2014 European Bowling Tour features 20 tournaments in 14 countries. In its 15th season, the EBT consists of two Platinum, six Gold, three 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.

 

 

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9th Istanbul Bowling Open - Final Standings

Timeout Bowling Center in Istanbul, Turkey (May 3-11, 2014)

Championship Round:
1. Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 944 (4 games), 7.000 Euro
2. Kamilla Kjeldsen, Denmark, 881 (4 games), 5.000 Euro
3. Joonas Jehkinen, Finland, 435 (2 games), 3.250 Euro
4. Perttu Jussila, Finland, 413 (2 games), 3.250 Euro

Playoff Results:
Semifinal Match 1: No. 4 Larsen (284+184) def. No. 1 Jehkinen (213+222), 471-435
Semifinal Match 1: No. 3 Kjeldsen (205+255) def. No. 2 Jussila (211+202), 460-413
Championship: Larsen (248+225) def. Kjeldsen (222+199), 473-421
Kjeldsen's scores including 8 pins handicap per game.

 

 

9th Istanbul Bowling Open - Places 5-48 (Cashers)

5. Birgit Pöppler, Germany, 1.250 Euro
6. John Wells, England, 1.250 Euro
7. James Gruffman, Sweden, 1.250 Euro
8. Martin Paulsson, Sweden, 1.250 Euro
9. Nikita Koshelev, Russia, 900 Euro
10. Brian Voss, United States, 900 Euro
11. Timo Alho, Finland, 900 Euro
12. Paul Moor, England, 900 Euro
13. Jari Ratia, Finland, 900 Euro
14. Chris Sloan, Ireland, 900 Euro
15. Tolga ÅžiÅŸmanoÄŸullar, Turkey, 900 Euro
16. Sanna Pasanen, Finland, 900 Euro
17. Jarmo Ahokas, Finland, 900 Euro
18. Richard Teece, England, 900 Euro
19. Catalin Gheorghe, Romania, 800 Euro
20. Daniel Vezis, Latvia, 800 Euro
21. Taygun Erkeskin, Turkey, 800 Euro
22. Gülhan Aksular, Turkey, 800 Euro
23. Carsten Warming Hansen, Denmark, 800 Euro
24. Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 800 Euro
25. Jesse Kallio, Finland, 800 Euro
26. Bodo Konieczny, Germany, 800 Euro
27. Andrey Suslov, Ukraine, 800 Euro
28. Alexander Johansson, Sweden, 800 Euro
29. Stuart Williams, England, 600 Euro
30. Alexey Parshukov, Russia, 600 Euro
31. Vladimir Sverchkov, Russia, 600 Euro
32. Tony Ranta, Finland, 600 Euro
33. Samu Valaranta, Finland, 600 Euro
34. Adile Sevgi Michajlow, Turkey, 600 Euro
35. Curtis Hooper, England, 600 Euro
36. Marjo Pöntinen, Finland, 600 Euro
37. Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 600 Euro
38. Elliot Crosby, England, 600 Euro
39. Piritta Maja, Finland, 500 Euro
40. Habib Dogan, Turkey, 500 Euro
41. Hannele Impola, Finland, 500 Euro
42. Frederik Øhrgaard, Denmark, 500 Euro
43. Roosa Lundén, Finland, 500 Euro
44. Marek Talpa, Czech Republic, 500 Euro
45. Michal Muzik, Czech Republic, 500 Euro
46. Barlas Kontas, Turkey, 500 Euro
47. Hasan Yilmaz, Turkey, 500 Euro
48. Michael Michajlow, Germany, 500 Euro

 

 

9th Istanbul Bowling Open - Final Round Five

The top 4 advance to the playoffs. Players 5-8 earn 1.250 Euro each.

 

 

9th Istanbul Bowling Open - Final Round Four

The top 8 advance to the fifth round. Players 9-18 earn 900 Euro each.

 

 

9th Istanbul Bowling Open - Final Round Three

The top 10 advance to the fourth round. Players 11-20 finish 19th to 28th, earn 800 Euro each.

 

 

9th Istanbul Bowling Open - Final Round Two

The top 10 advance to the third round. Players 11-20 finish 29th to 38th, earn 600 Euro each.

 

 

9th Istanbul Bowling Open - Final Round One

The top 10 advance to the second round. Players 11-20 finish 39th to 48th, earn 500 Euro each.