Ville Holmström (pictured left) won the qualifying in the Brunswick Ballmaster Open at Tali Bowling in Helsinki, Finland due to the higher last game. Holmström and Timo Alho (right) were deadlocked with 1441 six-game total but Holmström earned the bragging rights as he finished his block with a huge 288 game while Alho had 'only' 248. The two Finns both averaged 240.17 for the round.

In fact, the top 8 were the winners of the qualifying as they all earned two byes for the finals. Jouni Helminen, Finland, who posted his 1437 series early in Squad 2, landed in third place. Swedish national coach Tomas Leandersson was two pins behind in fourth at 1435 with Joonas Jehkinen, Finland, in fifth, 1427.

Rounding out the top eight were 2007 European ranking champion Osku Palermaa (left), Finland, in sixth with 1420, Tim Mack, United States, who will have a shot for the 300 game bonus Suzuki,, in seventh with 1406 and Paul Moor (right), England, in eighth with 1402.

397 players - 337 men and 60 women - participated in this year's event. Krista Pöllänen (36th) and Jenni Mäkelä (42nd), both Finland, were the only women, who advanced to the finals.

Two-time Ballmaster champion Lasse Lintilä hit the cutoff number for 44th place with 1332, an average of 222.00, just two pins higher than estimated by the organizers at the beginning of the tournament.

Swede Dennis Eklund (left) saved the best for his last game when he shot a 289 to advance to the finals through the one-game Desperado Squad. Joining Eklund were Finns Henry Vallo (268), Jarno Blomberg (255) and Kari Jehkinen (248).

The top 44 from the qualifying plus the top 4 from the Desperado Squad advanced to the finals on Sunday, Jan. 13. The top 8 qualifiers will bypass the first two rounds of the finals.

Players seeded 9-48 will bowl five games starting from scratch to cut to the top 20, who will bowl another five games with the pinfall from round 1 being carried forward. The top eight (seeded 9-16) will meet the top 8 qualifiers in the best-of-five games Round of 16. The highest seeded player bowls the lowest seeded player and so on.

Once the field is cut to the top 4, players bowl single-game matches. The winners of the semi-final matches will bowl for the title and the 10.000 Euro top prize.

The extra prize for perfect 300 game at the Brunswick Ballmaster Open is a Suzuki motorcycle with 1350cc and 198 horsepower (pictured). If more than one bowler rolls a 300 game, the winner of the Suzuki, worth 17.490 Euro, will be determined during the TV finals in a one-ball roll-off.

In the second game of the penultimate qualifying squad in the Brunswick Ballmaster Open, Matias Kallio, Finland, shot the first 300 game of the tournament at Tali Bowling in Helsinki, Finland. Photos by Seija Lankinen.

For two games Kallio was the owner of a 1350 Suzuki motorbike, the extra prize for a 300 game (if the player has paid an extra fee) which is worth 17.490 Euro.

In game #5 American Tim Mack (right) accomplished the feat to force a roll-off on Sunday during the TV finals.

European ranking champion Osku Palermaa (left), Finland, led the squad with 1420 six-game total including high games of 259 and 257 and a low game of 205. The two-hander moved into fifth place, while Mack is sixth with 1406. Kallio sits in 29th place with 1341.

Ville Holmström and Timo Alho held on to the lead with 1441 (240.17). Jouni Helminen, all Finland, is four pins behind in third place at 1437.

Swedish national coach Tomas Leandersson is another two pins behind in fourth at 1435 with Joonas Jehkinen, Finland, in fifth, 1427.

Rounding out the top eight, who will bypass the first two rounds of the finals is Paul Moor, England, with 1402.

Krista Pöllänen and Jenni Mäkelä (39th), both Finland, are the sole women among the top 44, who will advance to the finals. Tommi Teivainen, Finland, currently holds the 44th and final qualifying post with 1329 and an average of 221.50.

The 13th and final qualifying squad is scheduled for 8 p.m. local time. (GMT +1). Qualifying will conclude with the one-game Desperado Squad at 11.30 p.m.

The top 44 from the qualifying plus the top 4 from the Desperado Squad will advance to the finals on Sunday, Jan. 13. The top 8 qualifiers will bypass the first two rounds of the finals.

Players seeded 9-48 will bowl five games starting from scratch to cut to the top 20, who will bowl another five games with the pinfall from round 1 being carried forward. The top eight (seeded 9-16) will meet the top 8 qualifiers in the best-of-five games Round of 16. The highest seeded player bowls the lowest seeded player and so on.

Once the field is cut to the top 4, players bowl single-game matches. The winners of the semi-final matches will bowl for the title and the 10.000 Euro top prize.

The extra prize for perfect 300 game at the Brunswick Ballmaster Open is a Suzuki motorcycle with 1350cc and 198 horsepower (pictured). If more than one bowler rolls a 300 game, the winner of the Suzuki, worth 17.490 Euro, will be determined during the TV finals in a one-ball roll-off.

Finnish international Joonas Jehkinen had high games of 279 and 262 Saturday morning at Tali Bowling in Helsinki, Finland, en route to move into fifth place in the Brunswick Ballmaster Open with 1427 six-game total and an average of 237.83.

However, Tobias Karlsson got all the attention as he was shooting for 300. The Swede missed perfection and therewith the 300 game bonus, a Suzuki motorcycle worth 17.490 Euro when he left a 9-pin on his final shot (pictured right), giving him a high-game of 299. This was the second 299 of the tournament but Juhani Tonteri, Finland, who rolled first in Squad 7 hadn't paid the extra fee to go for the Suzuki.

The Finnish trio atop the leaderboard remained unchallenged. Ville Holmström and Timo Alho both had 1441 (240.17), but Holmström edged Alho for the lead due to the higher last game, 288-248. Jouni Helminen is third at 1437.

Swedish national coach Tomas Leandersson (pictured left) proved that he still hasn't lost his touch taking the fourth position in the 367-player field with 1435.

Rounding out the top eight, who will bypass the first two rounds of the finals are 6. Paul Moor, England, 1402; 7. Pasi Uotila, Finland, 1392; and 8. Mathias Årup, Sweden, 1389.

Krista Pöllänen, Finland, remained the top-ranked woman but slipped to 29th place with 1336 including 8 pins handicap each game, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour.

However, mere three women are among the top 44 in Finland, one of the toughest play grounds for bowlers in Europe. Joining Pöllänen are her compatriots Jenni Mäkelä (34th), who rolled a 1333 series in the first squad and long-time national team member Piritta Kantola (41st), who had 1317,

With three more squads to go, European doubles champion Thomas Gross (right), Austria, is the man on the bubble with 1310, still 20 pins under the estimated cutoff number of 1330.

Qualifying continues on Saturday, Jan. 11, with the final Squad 13 scheduled for 8 p.m. local time. (GMT +1). Qualifying will conclude with the one-game Desperado Squad at 11.30 p.m.

The top 44 from the qualifying plus the top 4 from the Desperado Squad will advance to the finals on Sunday, Jan. 13. The top 8 qualifiers will bypass the first two rounds of the finals.

Players seeded 9-48 will bowl five games starting from scratch to cut to the top 20, who will bowl another five games with the pinfall from round 1 being carried forward. The top eight (seeded 9-16) will meet the top 8 qualifiers in the best-of-five games Round of 16. The highest seeded player bowls the lowest seeded player and so on.

Once the field is cut to the top 4, players bowl single-game matches. The winners of the semi-final matches will bowl for the title and the 10.000 Euro top prize.

The extra prize for perfect 300 game at the Brunswick Ballmaster Open is a Suzuki motorcycle with 1350cc and 198 horsepower (pictured). If more than one bowler rolls a 300 game, the winner of the Suzuki, worth 17.490 Euro, will be determined during the TV finals in a one-ball roll-off.