French Valentin Saulnier wins his second gold medal in Boys Masters

    04/05/15

    2015 EYC

    All-Events champion defeats All-Events silver medalist Lauri Sipilä in the gold medal match; Niko Oksanen (FIN) and Giancarlo Reyes (GER) share bronze

    2015EYCBoysMastersFinalistsBanner.jpg

     

    Image 2015EYCLauriSipila.jpgValentin Saulnier (pictured left) of France defeated Lauri Sipilä (right) of Finland, two-games-to-one, to capture his second gold medal at the 28th European Youth Championships in Leipzig, Germany, with victory in Boys Masters.

    Saulnier, who has topped Sipilä by just two pins to win the gold medal in All-Events, won the first game in best-of-three games format, 201-182, but Sipilä countered with a big 239-177 win in game two to force a deciding third game in which the French topped the Finn by six pins, 193-177, to wrap up the title.

    Besides the two gold medals, Saulnier won silver in Singles and bronze in Doubles. Sipilä, who improved on a third-place finish at last year's EYC in Odense, Denmark, earned the silver medal.

    The top 24 players in All-Events (combined scores in Singles, Doubles and Teams) representing 12 countries - England (4), Finland (4), Sweden (3), France (2), Germany (2), Norway (2), Russia (2), Belgium (1), Greece (1), Netherlands (1), Poland (1) and Ukraine (1) - battled it out for the medals single-elimination match play in best-of-three games format.

    2015EYCGiancarloReyes.jpg2015EYCNikoOksanen.jpgThe top eight players received a first-round bye. In each round, the highest seeded player bowled the lowest seeded player, the second highest seeded player bowled the second lowest seeded player, and so on.

    Saulnier came back from being down 0-1 to defeat Team champion Giancarlo Reyes (left) of Germany in the semi-final match, 2-1. The other match was an all-Finnish affair in which Sipilä ousted compatriot Niko Oksanen (right), gold medalist in Doubles and bronze medalist in All-Events, in the decider, 234-196. Oksanen and Reyes shared the bronze medal.

    Thanks to Saulnier's performance, the French boys finished atop the medal tally with 2 gold, one silver and one bronze medal. The Swedish girls swept all five gold medals and also took four bronze medals. The Swedish boys added two silver medals to position Sweden atop the overall medal tally with five gold, two silver and four bronze medals.

    28th European Youth Championships - Medal Tally

     


    2015EYCLogo_small.jpg 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.

     


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    28th European Youth Championships - Preview
    Championship Information - 2015 EYC Bulletin

     


    28th European Youth Championships - Boys Masters Finals


    Single-elimination, best-of-three games

    2015EYCBoysMastersFinalists.jpgChampionship Round:
    1. Valentin Saulnier, France
    2. Lauri Sipilä, Finland
    3. Niko Oksanen, Finland and Giancarlo Reyes, Germany

    Playoff Results:
    Semifinal Match 1: No. 1 Saulnier def. No. 5 Reyes, 2-1 (165-225, 239-214, 210-193)
    Semifinal Match 2: No. 2 Sipilä def. No. 3 Oksanen, 2-1 (215-190, 202-213, 234-196)
    Championship: Saulnier def. Sipilä, 2-1 (201-182, 177-239, 193-187).

     


    Boys Masters - Round of 8


    Single-elimination, best-of-three games; winners advance, losers eliminated

     


    Boys Masters - Round of 16


    Single-elimination, best-of-three games; winners advance, losers eliminated

     


    Boys Masters - Round of 24


    Single-elimination, best-of-three games; winners advance, losers eliminated

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