Ramon Hilferink wins qualifying in 24th Malta Open Championships

    06/20/15

    Malta

    No changes in the top 6 on final qualifying day; Dutchman leads a group of 36 players into Sunday's finals; score to make the cut in 28th place is 2747, an average of 228.92

    2015MaltaOpenRamonHilferink.jpg2015MaltaOpenAnnieThorell.jpgThe top six players remained unchallenged during the last three of 15 qualifying squads in the 24th Malta Open Championships Saturday at Eden Super Bowl in St. Julian's, Malta.

    Ramon Hilferink (left) of the Netherlands led the 115-player field from 18 countries with 2990 pinfall total and an average of 249.17. The bronze medalist in Singles at the Men's European Championships in Denmark earlier this month, leads a group of 36 players into Sunday's finals.

    Annie Thorell (above right) was the best of 25 women in second place with 2954, including eight pins women's handicap each game, an average of 238.17 scratch. Kenneth Arpa was the best local bowler in third place with 2917.

    2015MaltaOpenMauroAnastasi.jpg2015MaltaOpenRemcoVanDommelen.jpgRounding out the top six, who will bypass the first two rounds of the finals and will be seeded 1-6 in the first Knock-Out round, were three Englishmen, Darren Cundy and Rob Thurlby, both on 2858, and Glen Richardson on 2850.

    Mauro Anastasi (left) of Malta toppled 1481 (246.83 average) pins in Squad 13, the highest six-game series of the day, to jump into seventh place with 2842 total. Anastasi, who rolled the fourth 300 of the tournament in game four, and the next five players receive a first-round bye.

    Remco van Dommelen (above right), Netherlands, led squad 14 with 1436 but had to settle for 13th place with 2806. Anže Grabrijan of Slovenia led the last qualifying squad with 1440 to move into 16th place with 2787.

    2015MaltaOpenAnzeGrabrijan.jpgBart Van Kerckhoven, Belgium, took the 28th and last place to advance with 2747 or an average of 228.92. The top 28 will be joined in the finals by the top 4 of the Turbo game and the top 4 of the one-game Desperado Squad.

    2015MaltaOpenLogo.jpg The 24th edition of the Malta Open Championships will be held from June 17-21 at 20-lane Eden Super Bowl located at St. George's Bay in St. Julian's, Malta. 115 participants compete for total prize money of 11.500 Euro with 2.100 Euro going to the winner and 1.440 to the runner-up. The tournaments will pay a 36th-place prize list (85 Euro last-to-cash).

    Women receive 8 pins handicap each game (maximum score is 300). The 24th Malta Open will be played on the 40-foot Kegel Bourbon Street lane conditioning pattern with 23.45 mL volume oil total.

    Qualifying (12 games, split into two blocks of six games; six-game re-entries in order to replace the lower of the initial two series; the higher must be retained) got underway Wednesday, June 17, and concluded with the Desperado Squad on Saturday evening, June 20.

    Total 36 players qualified for the finals - the top 28 players from the overall qualifying standings, the top four Turbo qualifiers and the top 4 of the Desperado Squad. The Turbo qualifiers are the players with the highest game, including women's bonus, within any six-game series (extra entry fee required).

    The top six qualifiers will earn two byes, while qualifiers 7-12 will receive a first-round bye. The remaining 24 players advance to the first round to bowl four games from scratch. The top 12 will advance to the second round also featuring four games from scratch.

    The top 10 (seeded 7th to 16th) will meet the top six qualifiers (seeded 1st to 6th) in the first of four Knock-Out rounds consisting of two games with the highest pinfall including bonus advancing. In each round, the highest-seeded player bowls the lowest-seeded player, the second-highest bowls the second-lowest, and so on.

    The field will be trimmed to eight, four and then two players who will determine the 2015 Malta Open champion.

    BowlingdigitalBanner.gif In cooperation with Bowlingdigital's Flavio Cuva, Beat Grauwiler and Talktenpin's Dom Gall, the 24th Malta Open Championships will be streamed live in its entirety on Dutch Bowling TV, enabling bowling fans to watch all the action from Eden Super Bowl from start to finish free of charge. No subscription necessary.

    DutchBowlingTVLogo.jpg In addition to wire-to-wire coverage of the event, virtual studio interviews will be broadcast with all squad winners and various bowlers that are available during each day. To watch the live stream, click here.

    Live streaming, sponsored by QubicaAMF, will start at 5 p.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST) on Wednesday, June 17, and will conclude with the championship match slated for 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 21.

     


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    24th Malta Open Championships - Qualifying Standings after Squad 12/15


    Top 28 players from the overall qualifying standings, top four Turbo qualifiers (places 29-32) and top 4 of the Desperado Squad (places 33-36) advance to the finals; top six qualifiers earn two byes, qualifiers 7-12 receive a first-round bye

    For the complete scores, click here.


    300 games (4) - Rob Thurlby, Frank Selvag, Alex Christofi and Mauro Anastasi.

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