England's Angie Brown, Lol Ellis sweep the titles in 50+ Euro Bowling Open

    06/02/15

    2015 ISBT #4

    2015ISBT04LolEllisAngieBrownBanner.jpg

     

    Angie Brown and Lol Ellis (pictured above, r-l) of England swept the women's and men's title in the 50+ Euro Bowling Open Sunday at Euro Bowling Deurne in Brussels, Belgium.

    It was the 12th career ISBT title for Brown, who pocketed 750 Euro, and the third for Ellis, who received the 1.400 Euro top prize.

    The fourth stop on the 2015 International Seniors Bowling Tour attracted an entry list of 73 men and 15 women. The tournament was strongly supported by an English contingent, with 28 players competing, the highest number for any nation, even surpassing the 24 Belgian entries.

    The format for the tournament was unusual for an ISBT event, in that there was only a single six-game qualifying block, with unlimited re-entries. For those not able to qualify through the main leaderboard, there were additional opportunities through Turbo games and a Desperado squad.

    As a first for ISBT events, there were qualification places based on scratch (without age bonus) scores. Age bonus started at age 51 (1 pin per game), then increased a pin for every additional year of age with no limit. As with all ISBT events, there was a separate division for ladies.

    The tournament was played on the Kegel Bourbon Street pattern. Although Euro Bowling has both upstairs and downstairs lanes, only the downstairs 12 lanes were used for this tournament.

    The first squad on Wednesday evening saw strong opening blocks from two Belgian competitors. Former world champion Roger Pieters shot 1427 with age bonus in the men's division, while Yvette Murrath had 1290 to set a good target in the ladies section.

    There were two squads on Thursday. Ulf Lönngren of Sweden won the first with 1356. Gisela Insinger of Germany was top lady with 1175. The second block was taken by Robert Vallons of Belgium with 1426, while local bowler Liliane Vintens led in the ladies section with 1226.

    Friday had a further three squads, the first being won by Juha Lehtikangas of Finland with 1384 and Farida Pascoal-Blom, Netherlands, with 1227.

    In the second squad, fellow Finn Pekka Tiironkoski had the highest block so far with 1498 to move into the overall lead. Angie Brown of England, who won the 2014 Flanders Senior Open at Euro Bowling, finished with a 278 scratch game for a 1293 block, also moving into the overall lead.

    In the final squad of the day, Ron Oldfield of England, men's champion in the 2014 Flanders Senior Open, shot 1427 and Inge Hazeleger, Netherlands, scored 1274.

    At the end of Friday, Tiironkoski led the men's section ahead of Pieters and Oldfield. In the ladies section, Brown led, just ahead of Murrath and fellow countrywoman Jan Hodge.

    Saturday brought the last three squads. With the top bowlers in each section gaining byes through the first finals rounds, there was a still lot to play for. The first squad was tied in the men's section by two Englishmen, Lol Ellis and Les Grant, both on 1411. Brown was again top female but didn't improve her overall position with 1241.

    In the second squad of the day, Steve Carnell of England found his form and easily won the squad with 1490. Top lady was Vintens, who improved slightly with 1271.

    The final squad saw a number of bowlers trying to improve their placing or gain a qualification position.

    The top four women would go directly to the final round, with players 5 to 8, the highest scratch player, two Turbo qualifiers and the Desperado winner making the semi-final round.

    For the men, again the top four would progress straight to the final round. Players 5 to 8 would miss one final round, and the quarter-final round would be for players 9 to 24, three scratch qualifiers, three Turbo qualifiers, and two Desperado winners.

    There was some good scoring in the last squad, with Alain Aubert of France leading the way with 1475 to ensure a top four place. Former world champion Martina Beckel of Germany easily took the ladies section with 1362, while Vintens also scored well (1323) to ensure a top 4 finish.

    The final qualification standings showed Pekka Tiironkoski in the lead with 1498, with Steve Carnell, Alain Aubert and Roger Pieters filling out the top four who would progress directly to the final.

    Players 5 to 8 would go straight to the semi-finals, with Lol Ellis taking eighth place in a tie from Les Grant. Last man to qualify from the overall standings was André Geelen of Belgium on 1343, one pin ahead of the oldest competitor at 84, Frank Stander from England.

    These qualifiers were joined by Harald Punessen, Germany; Alan Keddie, Scotland, and John Bosch, Netherlands, from the scratch standings, and three Turbo qualifiers.

    The ladies standings was easily led by Martina Beckel with 1362, ahead of Liliane Vintens, Angie Brown and Yvette Murrath. All four would now progress directly to the final.

    Gisela Insinger was the eighth and last qualifier for the semi-finals. Kimberly Oakley of England was the scratch qualifier, and would progress to the semi-final together with the two Turbo qualifiers.

    The final places in the first final round would be decided by a Desperado squad. This was a close affair, with Uwe Tscharke of Germany winning with 232, and Rene Gooyers , Netherlands, taking the final position by a single pin from Gunther Schollen, Belgium. Although all finals qualifiers were guaranteed at least €100, not one lady entered the Desperado Squad for the €30 entry fee, so there would be only 7 players in the ladies semi-final.

    2015ISBT04MenFinalists.jpgFor the men who had qualified through the scratch standings, Turbo and Desperado, and those from 9th to 24th in the main standings, there was an early start on Sunday to bowl four games starting from scratch to see who would progress further.

    Only the top 12 (left) would make the cut. André Geelen led the way with 1015, ahead of Ian Buckland of England (972). The cut was Jochen Diekhoff of Germany on 852.

    2015ISBT04WomenFinalists.jpgThe twelve who advanced were then joined by qualifiers 5 to 8 for a further four games, again starting from scratch. This block was led by three Englishmen, Ron Oldfield with 957, Les Grant (946) and Mo Singleton (935). The top eight would advance to the final round. Eighth and last qualifier was Marc Wildemeersch of Belgium on 878.

    At the same time, the first women's semi-final round took place. Only six of the seven bowlers took up their places, so only two would miss the final round. Kim Oakley bowled well to easily win the round with 882, almost 100 pins clear of the field. Farida Pascoal-Blom finished in fourth place with 767 and was the last person to make the final. Pictured above are the eight finalists.

    2015ISBT04MarcWildemeerschLolEllisLesGrant.jpgBack in the men's section, the top four from qualifying now joined the eight qualifiers for a final four-game block. After 3 games it was very close at the top, with only 17 pins covering the top seven places.

    In the final game, it was Lol Ellis (center) who put the strikes together for a 268 scratch last game, and a convincing win on 974. In second place was Marc Wildermeersch (left; 922), with Les Grant right; (910) in third place.

    The ladies section was also close. After three games Angie Brown had opened up a slim lead over Liliane Vintens, so it would go down to the last game to decide the champion.

    2015ISBT04LilianeVintensAngieBrownJanHodge.jpgAfter eight frames, the overall scores were totally level, with both players carrying strikes forwards. Both players struck in the ninth frame, but in the tenth frame Vintens left a solid 10 pin on her first shot, leaving Brown needing a strike to win.

    2015ISBT04Top3Podium.jpgHer shot was perfect and carried all 10, as did the second, making Angie Brown (center) the winner on 896, ahead of Liliane Vintens (left; 873) and Jan Hodge (right; 832) in third place.

    The next stop is the Italy Senior Open, which takes place at Reno Bowling in Bologna from June 27 to July 5. Full details are available at ISBTBowlingTour.eu.

    Report and results by Tony Brown.

     


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    50+ Euro Bowling Open - Men's Finale (Final Standings)

     


    50+ Euro Bowling Open - Women's Finale (Final Standings)

     


    50+ Euro Bowling Open - Men's Semifinal


    Top 8 advance to the finale.

     


    50+ Euro Bowling Open - Women's Semifinal


    Top 4 advance to the finale.

     


    50+ Euro Bowling Open - Men's Quarterfinal


    Top 12 advance to the semifinal.

     


    50+ Euro Bowling Open - Men's Qualifying


    Top four go straight to the final round. Players 5 to 8 advance to the semifinal round, and players 9 to 24, three scratch qualifiers (Harald Punessen, John Bosch and Alan Keddie), three Turbo qualifiers (Manfred Meier, Keith Hodge and Mike Halliwell), and two Desperado winners (Uwe Tscharke & Rene Gooyers) advance to the quarterfinal round.

     


    50+ Euro Bowling Open - Women's Qualifying


    Top four women go directly to the final round, with players 5 to 8, the highest scratch player (Kimberley Oakley), two Turbo qualifiers (Farida Pascoal Blom, Petra Richter) advancing to the semifinal round.

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