2011 USBC Masters champion Tom Hess (pictured), United States, averaged 230.17 in Thursday's Squad 14 at Bowling La Plaja in Catania, Italy, to overtake the lead in the qualifying of the Brunswick Etna Open with 1381 pinfall total. Francesco Vaccaro, Italy, was 30 pins behind to move into second, while previous leader Daniel Vezis, Latvia, fell to third.

Qualifying resumes Friday, September 5, with Squads 15-17 scheduled for noon, 4 and 8 p.m. CEST.

The 2014 Brunswick Etna Open is the 12th stop of the 2014 European Bowling Tour and the fourth out of nine EBT "Satellite" tournaments this season. The tournament will be held from August 30 to September 9 at 20-lane Bowling La Plaja in Catania, Italy.

The tournament offers total prize fund of 29.700 Euro with 6.000 Euro going to the winner, 3.000 to the runner-up, and 2.000 Euro to the third place finisher. Low to cash is 48th place for 200 Euro.

The tournament features a 39-feet lane conditioning pattern with 21.90 ml volume oil total.

Qualifying (six-game series, unlimited re-entries) runs from Saturday, August 30, through Saturday, September 6, with the last qualifying squad 20 scheduled for 5 p.m. CEST. Qualifying concludes with the one-game Desperado Squad. Women receive 8 pins handicap each game throughout the entire tournament, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour.

A total of 48 players advance to the finals on Sunday, September 7. The top eight qualifiers received two byes and qualifiers 9-16 get one bye.

Qualifiers 17-32 will be joined in the first round of the finals by four players from a separate standing in the squads conducted September 1-3, four players from the squads conducted August 30-31, two players each from the Turbo Games 5 and 6, and the top 4 of the Desperado Squad.

Those 32 bowl four games scratch with the top 12 advancing to the second round. The top 8 after another four games scratch take on the top 8 qualifiers in Round 3. Following six games scratch the top eight bowl further four games to determine the top 3 players who bowl for the title in the stepladder finals.

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 at Bowling Chamartín in Madrid, Spain, immediately following the III Brunswick Madrid Challenge.