Markus Jansson (pictured left) of Sweden and Ronnie Russell (right), United States, paced the 12th qualifying squad of the 12th Brunswick Euro Challenge Friday afternoon at Dream-Bowl Palace in Munich, Germany, with 1468 and 1465, respectively, to move into third and fourth place in the overall qualifying standings.

Former PBA Player of the Year Sean Rash (below left), United States and Petteri Salonen (below right) of Finland, a World and European champion, continued to lead the field of 286 players from 34 countries with 1476 and 1471, respectively.

Jansson, son of Swedish standout Raymond Jansson and gold medalist in Doubles at the 2014 World Youth Championships, started his six-game series with a huge 290 game and added games of 211, 258, 278, 214 and 217 for the highest 1468 series on Friday, an average of 244.67.

Russell, who claimed his first career PBA title in the 2013 Brunswick Euro Challenge, had a slow start with 244, 225 and 202 but closed out strong with back-to-back 268 and 258 to trail Jansson by mere three pins with 1465 (244.17).

Another two players of Squad 12 bowled their way into the top 10. Ahmad Muaz (left, with teammate Tommy Tan, left) of Malaysia was just six pins behind Russell with 1459 to move into sixth place overall, just three pins behind compatriot Syafiq Ridhwan, who fifth with 1462.

Fresh off his victory in the 13th Kingdom of Bahrain International Bowling Championship, reigning World Youth Masters champion Jesper Svensson (right), a two-handed lefty from Sweden, posted a 1449 to leap into eighth place, just six pins behind Kelly Kulick, United States, who was the best of 59 women in the field in seventh place with 1455 including 48 pins handicap, an equality handicap provided to women in all EBT events.

Rounding out the top 10 were Squad 11 leaders Jazreel Tan (left) of Singapore with 1440 including handicap and World Champion in Trios, Carsten Warming Hansen (right) of Denmark with 1437.

Two-time PBA Player of the Year, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland, who owns 10 European Bowling Tour titles along with 15 PBA titles, finished Squad 13 on Friday evening with 262 and 256 to lead the squad and to move into 15th place with 1429 and an average of 238.17.

29 players, 22 men and seven women, have scored series of 1400 and higher so far. Heading into the final day of qualifying, Daphne Tan (below right) of Singapore holds the 52nd and last place to directly qualify for the finals with 1360 or an average of 226.67 including handicap.

Qualifying continues on Saturday, March 21, with Squads 14-17 scheduled to start at 8 a.m., noon, 4 and 8 p.m. Central European Time (CET) and concludes with the one-game Desperado Squad slated for 11.30 p.m.

The 12th Brunswick Euro Challenge is the 10th tournament on the 2015 World Bowling Tour and also the sixth stop on the 2015 European Bowling Tour and the second of three EBT "Platinum" events this season, the highest of the four EBT tournament categories.

The BEC will be held from March 14-22 at Europe's biggest bowling center, 52-lane Dream-Bowl Palace in Unterföhring in suburban Munich, Germany.

Players will compete for total prize money of 112.000 Euro with 12.000 Euro going to the winner, 9.000 Euro to the runner-up and 6.000 Euro to the third place finisher.

According to an agreement between World Bowling and the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), the Brunswick Euro Challenge will award a PBA title, if won by a PBA member.