Inge Joris and Jean-Marc Lebon won the women's and men's titles in the 2007 Belgian National Championships. The top 8 men and 8 women after two qualification rounds and the semi-final on dual lane condition met at "The Bowlingstones" in Oudenaarde for the single-elimination best-of-three games finals on February 17.


In the men's title match, Lebon seeded third, defeated Michael Bonnevalle in the decider, 233-190, to win his third consecutive championship and the fifth of his career. Bonnevalle, the No. 2 seed, made quick work of Tim Vastmans in the quarterfinals and went on to defeat Pierre Ravez in the semis, two-games-to-none, to advance to the finals. Ravez had sidelined top seeded Kristof Vaes in the first round, 2-0.

Lebon flew past Frédéric Déom in the quarterfinal thanks to games of 224 and 236. He went the distance in the semis before beating Marc Franceus, 211-179, in the third game.

On the women's side, Joris, seeded second, rolled games of 208, 218, 220 and 202 to sideline Katrien Goosens (2-0) and Sandrine Peelman (2-1) to meet Melissa Vallons in the title match. Vallons, seeded fifth, topped Carolin Witvrouwen in the opening match, 2-0, then came back from a 1-0 deficit to eliminate tournament leader Christine Van Boom, 2-1, in the semi-finals.

The championship match was a low-scoring affair. Joris topped Vallons 180-163 in the first game and sealed the victory with a 188-180 win in game two. It was her first title, but she kept the title in the family. Stéphanie Nicolas, last year's woman champion, is married to Nico Joris, Inge's brother.

The champions will represent Belgium in the European Champions Cup at X-treme Bowling Center in Foetz, Luxembourg, September 17-23, 2007.

Final (Top 8)
17.02.2007 at Bowling Stones Oudenaarde - Best-of-three games single-elimination match play The higher ranked player chooses the left lane (33 ft) or right lane (43 ft) to start on. European style, both players on the same lane.

Qualifying: 8 games on long and 8 games on short oil; Semi-final: 6 games on short and long oil (left lane 33 ft. and right lane 43 ft.) Top 8 advanced to the finals.

Qualifying: 8 games on long and 8 games on short oil; Semi-final: 6 games on short and long oil (left lane 33 ft. and right lane 43 ft.) Top 8 advanced to the finals.