Pontus Andersson wins qualifying in inaugural Gibraltar Open 2015

    03/08/15

    2015 European Bowling Tour #5

    Swede averages 235 in the penultimate qualifying squad; leads all 37 players from eight countries into the finals on Sunday

    2015EBT04PontusAndersson2.jpgWorld Youth champion Pontus Andersson (pictured left) of Sweden, who led the inaugural Gibraltar Open 2015 since the first squad with 1396, improved by 15 pins in the penultimate squad Saturday at King's Bowl in Gibraltar to win the qualifying with 1411 total and an average of 235.17.

    Andersson, who is looking to win his first European Bowling Tour title in Gibraltar, had games of 232, 198, 248, 242, 256 and 235 in Squad 5. There were only three squads on Saturday bringing the total number of bowlers to 37.

    As total 38 players (top 34 plus four from the Desperado Squad) should advance to the finals, all players, 29 men and eight women from Bulgaria. England, France, Gibraltar, Ireland, Norway, Spain and Sweden, advanced.

    2015EBT05HadleyMorgan.jpg2014EBT17IdaAndersson.jpgTrailing Andersson by twenty pins to sit in second place was Hadley Morgan (left) of England, who toppled 1391 pins. Ida Andersson (right) of Sweden was the best woman in third place with 1390 total including eight pins handicap each game, an equality handicap provided to women in all EBT events.

    Lee Cocker of England was second to Andersson in Squad 5 with 1381 to jump into fourth place. Cocker rebounded from a slow start (189) with games of 247, 202, 252, 234 and 257. Norway's Heidi Thorstensen was the second woman in the top 10 in fifth place with 1366 total.

    2015EBT05RichardTeece.jpg2015EBT05PeterNordensen.jpgRichard Teece (left) of England led the sixth and final qualifying squad with 1364 including high games of 278 and 269 but remained in sixth place in the standings. Peter Nordensen (right) of Sweden and Svein Ã…ke Ek of Norway posted 1325 and 1319 to lead the fourth squad and to take over seventh and eighth place, resp.

    Adam Shrubb was the best bowler from Gibraltar in ninth place with 1306. Rounding out the top 10 was Miles Corney, England, with 1301.

    2014EBT16PaulMoor.jpgMissing the top 10 by four pins was European Bowling Tour all-time title leader Paul Moor (right) of England (16 EBT title), who finished qualifying in 11th place with 1297. The top 10 received two byes, while Moor and the next nine players got a first-round bye.

    2015GibraltarOpenLogo_small.jpg The inaugural Gibraltar Open 2015 is the fifth stop of the 2015 European Bowling Tour and the third of nine EBT "Satellite" events this season, the lowest of the four EBT categories.

    The GO will be held from Thursday, March 5 through Sunday, March 8, 2015 at King's Bowl, a 14-laner within the King's Bastion Leisure Center in Gibraltar.

    Participants will compete for total prize money of 25.000 British Pounds with £3.500 going to the winner, £2.000 to the runner-up and £1.250 to third and fourth place finishers, respectively. Low to cash is 38th place worth £400.

    Qualifying (6 games, unlimited re-entries) ran from Thursday through Saturday and concluded with the one-game Desperado Squad. Women receive 8 pins handicap each game (maximum score is 300), an equality handicap provided to women in all EBT events.

    All 37 players (originally the top 34 players from the overall qualifying standings plus the top four of the Desperado Squad), advance to the finals on Sunday, March 8. The top 10 qualifiers receive two byes, while qualifiers 11-20 earn a first-round bye. The remaining 18 finalists advance to the first round.

    In three four-game rounds starting from scratch, the field will be trimmed to 28, 18 and then four players, who determine the champion in head-to-head matches.

    The No. 1 seed meets the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed takes on the No. 3 seed over two games with the total pin fall to determine the winners, who bowl for the title and the $3,500 top prize in the two-game total pins championship match.

    2015EBTLogo_small.jpg The 2015 European Bowling Tour currently consists of 18 tournaments in 14 countries featuring three "Platinum" events, three "Gold", three "Silver" and nine "Satellite" events. All 18 tournaments together offer total prize fund of roughly 900.000 Euro (approx. 1.024 million U.S. Dollar).

    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 9th EBT Masters July 25, 2016 at Rose'n Bowl in Serravalle, San Marino following the San Marino Open.

     


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    Gibraltar Open 2015 - Standings after Qualifying


    All players advanced to Sunday's finals. The top 10 qualifiers receive two byes; qualifiers 11-20 earn a first-round bye

     


    Tie Rules (Qualifying)
    In case of a tie in the qualifying, "the highest positioned player will be the player scoring the highest total of all counting qualification games minus the score of the lowest game. If a tie still exists, the highest positioned player will be the player with the highest total of all counting qualification games minus the score of the two lowest games, etc."

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