Yoan Alix shoots first 1400-series to take over qualifying lead in San Marino Open

    07/13/15

    2015 European Bowling Tour #11

    French bowler leads the 79-player field after the first weekend with 1421 total; top 3 earn automatic berths into the finals; score to make the cut in 35th place nears the 1200-mark

    2015EBT11YoanAlix.jpg 2015EBT11MaurizioCelli.jpgYoan Alix (pictured left) of France became the first player of the 11th Storm San Marino Open who surpassed the 1400-mark when he amassed a 1421 six-game total in Squad 4 Sunday afternoon at Rose'n Bowl in Serravalle.

    The French national team member came out of the gates commandingly with 244 and 247, was even par in the next two games (225, 175) and finished strong with 261 and 269 to take over the qualifying lead in the 79-player field from nine countries after the first weekend.

    2015EBT11FrancoisSacco.jpg2015EBT11NicolaPongolini.jpgMaurizio Celli (above right) of Italy, who missed the 1400-mark on Saturday by just one pin slipped to second place with 1399, including a 299 game, and was followed by Francois Sacco (left) of France, who was third with 1362.

    By virtue of finishing Squads 1-4 in the top 3, Alix, Celli and Sacco have secured their spots in the finals. If any of the three will finish in the top 35, the automatic spot goes to the next qualifier in order.

    Next in line is Nicola Pongolini (right) of Italy, who fired the tournament's first 300 game in Squad 2, but sits in second place with his 1341 total of Squad 1. Massimiliano Celli, Maurizio's son, and Øyvin Kulseng of Norway were next to Alix with 1334 and 1333, respectively, to move into fifth and sixth place in the overall standings.

    2015EBT11PierfrancoFanizza.jpg2012EBT11LaurenceGaillard.jpgPierfranco Fanizza (left), Italy, led the third squad with 1327, including a high game of 266, to position himself in seventh place. Rounding out the top 8, who will receive two byes at the end of the qualifying, was Piero De Cenzo, Italy with 1325.

    Laurence Gaillard (right) of France is currently the best of six women in the field in 16th place, the last spot to earn one bye, with 1266 total, including 48 pins handicap.

    With just four out of 20 qualifying squads in the books, the score to make the cut in 35th place already nears the 1200-mark. Alessandro Boschi of Italy holds that place after the first weekend with 1182 or an average of 197.

    Qualifying continues Monday, July 13, with Squads 5 & 6 scheduled to start at 4 and 8 p.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST).

    2015EBT11SanMarinoOpenLogo2.jpg
    The Storm San Marino Open is the 11th stop of the 2015 European Bowling Tour and the first out of three EBT "Gold" tournaments this season. The 11th edition will be held July 11-19 at 18-lane Rose'n Bowl in Serravalle, San Marino and offers total prize fund of 61.050 Euro with 8.000 Euro going to the winner, 5.000 to the runner-up, 3.300 to the third and 2.400 to the fourth place finisher.

    Qualifying of the San Marino Open (six-game series, unlimited re-entries) runs from Saturday July 11 through Saturday, July 18 with the last qualifying squad 20 scheduled for 7 p.m. CEST. The qualifying winner will receive a 1.000 Euro bonus.

    Qualifying concludes with the one-game Desperado Squad scheduled to start at 10 p.m. Women receive 8 pins handicap each game throughout the entire tournament, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour. The top three women based on the finals standings will receive 500, 350 and 200 Euro bonuses, respectively.

    Total 48 players will advance to the finals on Sunday, July 19, including the top 35 qualifiers plus the top 3 from the squads conducted on July 11-12, the top 3 from the squads conducted on July 13-14, the top 4 from the squads conducted on July 15-16, and the top 3 from the Desperado Squad.

    The top 8 qualifiers receive two byes and qualifiers 9-16 get a first-round bye. The other 32 players will bowl four games from scratch to cut to the top 16, who will meet qualifiers 9-16 in the second round. Those 24 bowl another four games from scratch to cut to the top 10, who will join the top eight in a six-game round before the cut to the top 4.

    The four finalists will determine the winner in an eliminator-format finals which will feature three one-game rounds. All four players bowl the opening game, with the lowest-scoring player being eliminated. In the two rounds to follow, the same "low man out" format applies. The last man standing will be declared the champion.

    2015EBTLogo_small.jpg The 2015 European Bowling Tour currently consists of 17 tournaments in 13 countries featuring three "Platinum" events, three "Gold", three "Silver" and eight "Satellite" events. All 17 tournaments together offer total prize fund of 870.000 Euro or 961.500 U.S. Dollar.

    The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event receive ranking points. Those points will be tabulated throughout the season to determine the top 12 men and top 12 women, who will compete in the 9th EBT Masters July 25, 2016 at Rose'n Bowl in Serravalle, San Marino following the 12th San Marino Open.

     


    Related Articles


    Maurizio Celli averages over 230 to take the early lead in San Marino
    11th Storm San Marino Open - Tournament Preview
    2015 European Bowling Tour Schedule, Champions and Money-breakdown
    2015 EBT Point Rankings by Bowlingdigital - Men and Women
    Dominic Barrett defeats Stuart Williams in all-English affair to win 10th San Marino

     


    11th Storm San Marino Open - Qualifying Standings after Squad 4/20


    Top 35 qualifiers plus the top 3 from the squads conducted on July 11-12, the top 3 from the squads conducted on July 13-14, the top 4 from the squads conducted on July 15-16, and the top 3 from the Desperado Squad will advance to the finals.

    300 games (1) - Nicola Pongolini.

    Tie Rules (Qualifying)
    In case of a tie in the qualifying, "the highest positioned player will be the player scoring the highest total of all counting qualification games minus the score of the lowest game. If a tie still exists, the highest positioned player will be the player with the highest total of all counting qualification games minus the score of the two lowest games, etc."