The 2007 PartyPoker.com Weber Cup is poised on a knife edge as the two teams finished day two all square at nine points each with all to play for.

Trailing 7-5 going into the session, the teams shared the opening two games as Mika Koivuniemi (pictured) and then Chris Barnes recorded big victories.

Then, in the battle of the captains, Tomas Leandersson mugged his opposite number Tim Mack for the point and then Tore Torgersen put in a telling performance to square things up at 8-8.

Tommy Jones restored the lead for the Americans in the next game as Osku Palermaa blew a great chance to take the match and in the final Baker game, Team Europe restored parity.

There are three doubles, two singles and a Baker match tomorrow afternoon followed by one Baker game and potentially eight singles games.


Mika Koivuniemi, the tall intense PBA player from Finland, got Team Europe off to a fabulous start as the PartyPoker.com Weber Cup reconvened for the Saturday evening session at the Barnsley Metrodome.

Koivuniemi delivered a blistering spell of bowling that comprised 11 strikes and a single 9 spare as he comfortably got the better of an out-of-sorts Bill Hoffman, who only managed a 207 game.

Sensing that he needed to perform to the best of his ability to keep his team in contention, Koivuniemi went for broke from the off and was 50 pins to the good after five frames.

While Hoffman struggled, the Finn never too his foot off the pedal as he closed out with three strikes to record the second best singles score after Tommy Jones' max on Friday evening.

"I needed a really good start and we got that but we need to keep it going," said Koivuniemi.

"I tried to get the crowd on our side because we need a big night tonight."

THERE WAS another marvelous fantastic performance in the second match of the evening as Chris Barnes made amends for his loss to Paul Moor on Friday evening.

The Texan PBA star looked superb as he opened with a 9 spare and then reeled off 11 strikes to record a sensational 290 game to restore his sides two point lead.

Moor, by contrast suffered a torrid time and only three strikes at the close enabled him to break 200. A couple of open frames didn't help his cause but this match was all about Barnes.

"It was nice to win and I owed Paul one," said Barnes. "Yesterday's performance has motivated me and it was kind of embarrassing as I threw a lot of spares so that made me more focused.

"We knew Europe would come out heard early on but the aim was that we could get one or two points and we have done. Now we've got our big guns waiting in the wings."


The third match of the evening was the clash of the captains and it was Europe's Tomas Leandersson who prevailed in a close encounter that saw a winning margin of just three pins as the Swede prevailed at the death.

It was close all the way and the players were dead level after the fifth frame. In the end, Mack needed nine pins or better to take the match with his final throw of the game. He'd recorded two strikes previously but could only manage five to present what was a thriller to Leandersson.

The win enabled the Europeans to reduce the deficit to a single point with everything to play for.

"It was important for me to my buddies what the captain can do and a three-pin win is enough," said Leandersson. "We have got back in touch and I'm happy I won this match," said Leandersson.


Tore Torgersen, a veteran of six previous Weber Cups, turned the tables on America's Doug Kent following his defeat yesterday evening.

The Norwegian always lead and his cause got a massive boost when Kent left an open frame in the fifth frame as he attempted to take down a 7/10 split and failed to make any contact with the 7 pin.

Torgersen was 34 pins up going into the eight frame but a 6 spare gave Kent a glimmer of hope. He worked the doubles to keep his momentum going as Torgersen found himself on his back foot for the first time in the contest.

He hung on though, as Kent left an open frame at the death to leave the winning margin of 26 an unfair reflection on how close the game had been.


Europe had a golden chance to go ahead for the first time since when they lead 3-2 on Friday evening but Osku Palermaa failed at the very last with victory in his grasp.

His 9 spare when a strike would have pushed him over the line, gave Tommy Jones victory by eight pins to hand the USA a one point lead with just the Baker match to go.

For such a short format, the game ebbed and flowed as Jones firstly had a 7 pin lead after five games but left an open frame in the seventh to allow Palermaa to overtake him.

Palermaa held a slim two pin lead into the tenth but while Jones struck out, the Finn didn't quite have enough juice left in the tank to seal the win.

"You don't expect to get a chance like that," said Jones. "We still have all day tomorrow and the fans are getting into it and are starting to support their team a little more than they were earlier."

In the final match of the evening, the Europeans made it all square with another last gasp win in a low scoring Baker match-up.

They led throughout and it was Mika Koivuniemi who applied the finishing touch with three killer strikes at the close.

USA 9 – 9 EUROPE
Bill Hoffman 207 – 279 Mika Koivuniemi
Chris Barnes 290 – 203 Paul Moor
Tim Mack 220 – 223 Tomas Leandersson
Doug Kent 208 - 234 Tore Torgersen
Tommy Jones 212 – 204 Osku Palermaa
USA 188 – 212 Europe