Joonas Jähi rolls the first 300 game to claim position as tournament leader in Vienna

    10/01/15

    2015 European Bowling Tour #14

    Finn shoots 1473 as Squad 7 bowlers take control of the 180-player leaderboard; Jenny Wegner (SWE) shoots the second 300 of the tournament; No. 52 score to beat to advance raised to 1227 or a 204.50 average

    2015EBT14JoonasJahi.jpg2015EBT14MichaelLoos.jpgJoonas Jähi (pictured left) of Finland posted a 1473 series in Squad 7, an average of 245.50, to take the lead in the 13th Columbia 300 Vienna Open as qualifying has reached the halfway mark Thursday at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria.

    Jähi started his six-game series with a low game of 205 before he reeled off twelve consecutive strikes for the tournament's first 300 game. He closed out with 230, 237, 269 and 232 to beat previous leader Michael Loos of Austria for the top spot by 10 pins. The Austrian national team member slipped to second place with 1463.

    Traditionally a major force to be reckoned with in the Vienna Open, Stuart Williams of England posted a 1419 series to lead Squad 8 and to leap into third place the overall qualifying standings. Williams rolled high games of 279, 257 and 254.

    As the last two of the Squad 1-8 leaders, Jähi and Williams will earn an automatic berth into Sunday's finals in the unlikely event that they will not finish in the top 52 (As one of the leaders of Squads 1-8, Jähi will earn an automatic berth into Sunday's finals in the unlikely event that he will not finish in the top 52 (reminder: in 2014, 52nd place was 1307).

    2015PMCUSAJohnJanawicz.jpg2015EBT14TommyJones.jpgAccording to Kegel's lane man and Team USA member, John Janawicz (left), who recently won three gold medals including the Masters at the PABCON Men's Championships, the cut is supposed to be between 1330 and 1340.

    Four more players of Squad 7 moved into the top 8, who will earn a first-round bye at the end of the qualifying portion. Last year's runner-up, Tommy Jones (right), United States, started his series with a 290 game to sit in fourth place with 1416. Squad 1 leader Thomas Gross of Austria slipped to fifth place with 1412.

    2015EBT11JennyWegner2.jpg2015WBOWomenNo1BirgitPoppler.jpgJenny Wegner (left) became the second player in this year's event and the second in the 13-year history of the Vienna Open to roll a perfect game. The 21-year-old Swede followed a 277 fourth game with twelve strikes to take sixth place with 1401 total, including handicap.

    Birgit Pöppler (right) of Germany rolled the first 300 game by a woman in the 11th squad of the 2012 Vienna Open en route to finish qualifying in second place with 1466 total. Williams won the qualifying hand down (1544). Jones was third with 1456 and Jähi fourth on 1411.

    Rounding out the top 8 were Finns Joonas Jehkinen and Pasi Uotila with 1398 and 1368, respectively.

    2015EBT14ThomasGrossMichaelLoos.jpg2015EBT14StuartWilliamsOskuPalermaa.jpgQualifying in Vienna is traditionally contested as a Doubles tournament. Austria's Michael Loos and Thomas Gross (pictured left, r-l) held on to the lead with 2773 total and an average of 231.08.

    Jenny Wegner and Irish two-handed player Christopher Sloan are tied for second place with Thomas and Ivonne Gross at 2709. Fourth place belongs to Danes Dan Ostergaard and Thomas Larsen with 2670.

    Stuart Williams and Finnish two-handed player Osku Palermaa (right, l-r) moved into fifth place with 2666. The top 20 Doubles at the end of the qualifying will cash.

    Qualifying commences on Friday, October 2, with Squads 9-12 scheduled to start at 9 a.m., 1, 5 and 9 p.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST).

    2015ViennaOpenLogo_small.jpg The 13th Columbia 300 Vienna Open is the 14th tournament on the 2015 European Bowling Tour and the last of just three EBT "gold" events this season, the second-highest of the four EBT tournament categories.

    The VO 2015 will be held from Sept. 28 - Oct. 4 at Plus Bowling, a 32-laner in Vienna, Austria. Players will compete for total prize fund of 73.130 Euro - 62.900 € in Singles and 10.230 € in Doubles.

    BowlingdigitalBanner.gif For the 13th consecutive year, Bowlingdigital.com will provide onsite coverage of the 13th Columbia 300 Vienna Open commencing Thursday, Oct. 1, all the way through to the stepladder finals on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 4. All qualifying squads on Oct. 2 & 3 and Sunday's finals are being broadcast live on Bowlingdigital's YouTube channel.

    The singles champion will take home the 7.000 € top prize, the first runner-up earns 5.000 € and the third and fourth-place finishers get 3.500 € and 2.500 €, respectively. 64 players will cash in Singles, which has a last-to-cash payout of €. The Doubles tournament will pay a 1.600 € first prize and a 20-place prize list (300 € last-to-cash).

    All tournament details can be found here:
    Vienna Open Preview
    2015 Vienna Open Brochure
    Online Registration
    Tournament Information
    Schedule
    Prize Fund
    Special Awards
    9-pin no tap

    2015EBTLogo_small.jpg The 2015 European Bowling Tour currently consists of 16 tournaments in 12 countries featuring three "Platinum" events, three "Gold", three "Silver" and seven "Satellite" events. All 16 tournaments together offer total prize fund of 850.000 Euro.

    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.

     


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    2015 Vienna Open Singles - Standings after Qualifying Squad 8/16


    The top 52 qualifiers, the highest-positioned player who was not among the top 52 from each of the first 8 squads and the top 4 from the Desperado Squad will advance to the finals.

    Doubles - Overall Standings
    Singles Squad 7
    Doubles Squad 7
    Singles Squad 8
    Doubles Squad 8

    300 games (2) - Joonas Jähi, Jenny Wegner.

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