Fourth-seeded Yorick van Deutekom, Netherlands, defeated No. 1 seed Jens Mathiesen of Norway in the semi-final, 184-173, and out bowled No. 2 seed Valentin Saulnier of France in the title match, 258-227, to claim gold in Boys Singles at the 28th European Youth Championships in Leipzig, Germany.

Saulnier, who sidelined Tomáš Vrabec, Slovakia, in the other semi-final, 235-198, earned the silver medal. Mathiesen and Vrabec shared bronze.L-R Saulnier, Van Deutekom, Vrabec and Mathiesen.

Saulnier (center), who toppled 1393 pins in the Singles preliminaries to earn the No. 2 seed, emerged as All-Events champion (combined scores in Singles, Doubles, Trios and Teams) with 4017 total and an average of 223.17 over 18 games. Finns Lauri Sipilä (left; 4015) and Niko Oksanen (right; 3980) took silver and bronze, respectively.

Action shifts to the Masters competition on Saturday and Sunday. The top 24 boys and girls in All-Events (combined scores in Singles, Doubles and Teams) qualified for Masters match play in single-elimination in best-of-three games format, which will start Saturday at 8 and 9 p.m. with the boys Rounds of 24 and 16.

Master competition will continue Sunday and culminates with the gold medal match of the top two girls and boys at 3.30 and 4.30 p.m., respectively.

The 28th European Youth Championships will be held from March 27 through April 6, 2015 at Bowl Play, a 30-laner in Leipzig, Germany.

The Championships drew 155 players, 97 boys and 58 girls, from 29 member countries of the European Tenpin Bowling Federation (ETBF) - Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine.

Up to four boys and four girls per country who must not be born before September 1, 1996 will bowl in separate divisions for gold, silver and bronze medals in five disciplines: Singles, Doubles and four-player Teams, All-Events and Masters.

The 2015 EYC will be played on a 41-foot lane conditioning pattern with 25.56 mL volume oil total. Click here to view the Kegel LaneMapâ„¢ Guide of Bowl Play Leipzig.

Singles, Doubles and Team preliminaries feature six games with the top 4 advancing to the medal round. No. 1 bowls No. 4 and No. 2 takes on No. 3 in the semi-finals. The winners bowl for gold and silver while the losers share the bronze medal. All matches will be decided in one game.

The three players with highest 18-game total of the Singles, Doubles and Teams preliminaries earn the medals in All-Events. The top 24 in All-Events determine the Masters champion in single-elimination match play in best-of-three games format.

Competition kicks off with the Boys Doubles preliminaries on Sunday, March 29, and concludes Sunday, April 5, with the Boys and Girls Masters finals followed by a farewell banquet.

Photos courtesy of German Bowling Federation and Max Bulanov.

 

Related Articles

Sweden's Filippa Persson wins her third gold medal in Girls Singles
Norway's Jens Mathiesen averages over 234 to earn the top seed in Boys Singles Finals
German Boys come from behind to win gold in four-player Team event
Swedish girls win second gold medal at European Youth Championships in Team event
Finland earns the No. 1 seed for the medal round in Boys Team event
Swedish girls dominate second block; easily take the No. 1 seed in the Team finals
Sweden sets the pace in the Girls Team Preliminaries after the first block
Finland holds 50-pin lead as Boys Team Preliminaries reach halfway point
Swedes Wegner, Persson shoot two big games to claim gold in Girls Doubles
Finland's Oksanen, Strömberg win Boys Doubles title at 28th European Youth Championships
Swedish duos lead Girls Doubles preliminaries at the 28th European Youth Championships
Finnish boys earn No. 1 and No. 2 seed for Doubles medal round
28th European Youth Championships - Preview
Championship Information - 2015 EYC Bulletin

 

28th European Youth Championships - Boys Singles Medal Round

Championship Round:
1. Yorick van Deutekom, Netherlands
2. Valentin Saulnier, France
3. Jens Mathiesen, Norway and Tomáš Vrabec, Slovakia

Playoff Results:
Semifinal Match 1: No. 4 Van Deutekom def. No. 1 Mathiesen, 184-173
Semifinal Match 2: No. 2 Saulnier def. No. 3 Vrabec, 235-198
Championship Match: Van Deutekom def. Saulnier, 258-227.