Former 4-time European ranking champion Gery Verbruggen from Belgium won yet another European Bowling Tour title when he flew past Yoan Alix, France, to win the Storm Dutch Open 2008 at Dolfijn Bowling in Scheveningen and the 10.000 Euro top prize.

L-R Verbruggen, Alix, Winther Pedersen and Barrett. Click on the image to enlarge it.

In the semis, Verbruggen, seeded 16th for the single-elimination match play finals, sidelined No. 1 seed Dominic Barrett, England, 236-184, while Alix ousted No. 2 seeded Bo Winther Pedersen, Denmark, 219-169.

Pedersen received 5.000 Euro for second place, while Barrett and Winther Pedersen earned 2.500 each for third and fourth place, resp.

Barrett moved to the top in the MenÄs EBT ranking. Nina Flack won her second consecutive ranking event en route to overtake the lead in the women's rankings after 9 of 18 events in the 2008 season.

Single-elimination best-of-three games, losers eliminated, finish 17th-32nd, earn 700 Euro.

Players seeded 9th through 56th, six games from scratch. The top 24 join the top 8 qualifiers in single-elimination match play Round of 32. Positions 25-50 finish 33rd-56th, earn 450 Euro.

Dominic Barrett, England, used pairs of 220s, 240s and 260s to help grab the lead in the qualifying of the Storm Dutch Open 2008 at Dolfijn Bowling in Scheveningen, Netherlands as the field was cut to 56 players.

Barrett (left), who finished second in the Malta Open last week after leading the tournament from wire to wire, had games of 225, 226, 267, 267, 247 and finished with a 249 to overtake previous leader Bo Winther Pedersen (right), Denmark, by four pins with 1481 six-game total and an average of 246.83.

Barrett and the next seven players will bypass the first round and will be seeded 1-8 in the match play Round of 32. Winther Pedersen fell one spot to second place with 1477. His compatriot Rasmus Hyldahl waited until the last qualifying squad to rocket into third place with a 1472 series including a 286 game.

2007 World Ranking Masters champion Stuart Williams, England, landed in fourth place (1464), with PBA champion Mike Fagan, United States, in fifth (1463), two-hander Jason Belmonte (left) in sixth (1461) and PBA exempt bowler Bill O'Neill (right), United States, in seventh (1459).

Rounding out the top 8 was 2007 Vienna Open champion Dennis Eklund, Sweden 1456 pinfall total or an average of 242.67.

European Masters champion Nina Flack (left), Sweden, was the best of six women (from a total of 35), who made the first cut, with 1405 including 48 pins handicap, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour. If Flack finishes among the top 4 women in the finals, she will overtake the lead in the European point ranking.

Two of the remaining six women made the cut through the Desperado Squad, Anne Lorraine Gales and Lotte Pedersen, both Denmark.

Dutch national team member Peter Smits set the high light in the final qualifying squad on Saturday when he rolled the second 300 game of the tournament in the penultimate game. However, the perfecto was not enough to compensate three games and Smits missed the cut by 54 pins in 90th place with 1279. Yoan Alix (right), France, hit the cutoff number with 1333, a 222.17 average.

A total of 56 players qualified for the finals - the top 50 players from the overall qualifying standings plus the top 6 from the Desperado Squad. The top 8 qualifiers receive one bye and will be seeded 1-8 into match play Round of 32.

The other 48 finalists will bowl six games starting from scratch on Sunday morning to cut to the top 24 who will join the top 8 qualifiers in match play. Match play is single-elimination, best-of-three games.

The Round of 32 starts on Sunday, June 19 at 13.00 (1 p.m.) local time (GMT +1). The field will be cut to 16, 8 and then to 4. The semi-final matches and the championship match are single-game matches. The winner will walk away with 10.000 Euro.

Bo Winther Pedersen (left), who posted a 1477 series in Squad 5 on Thursday, leads the field of 140 men and 32 women into the final day of qualifying in the Storm Dutch Open 2008 at Dolfijn Bowling in Scheveningen, Netherlands.

2007 World Ranking Masters champion Stuart Williams, England, remained in second place (1464), with PBA champion Mike Fagan, United States, in third (1463), two-hander Jason Belmonte fourth (1461) PBA exempt bowler Bill O'Neill, United States, fifth ( 1459).

L-R Belmonte and Fagan.

Three players from Squad 9 cracked the top 8, who will receive one bye and will be seeded 1-8 into the match play Round of 32.

2007 Vienna Open champion Dennis Eklund (left) led the squad with 1456 pinfall total, an average of 242.67, en route to move into sixth place in the overall qualifying standings. Eklund started with games of 268, 244, 257, 216 and 269 but his low game of 202 at the end cost him precious pins.

2006 European Champions Cup winner Or Aviram (right), Israel, used high games of 277 and 265 in games 4 and 5 to land mere 10 pins behind Eklund with 1446, good enough for seventh place overall. Juhani Tonteri, Finland, is the "man on the bubble" in 8th place with 1440 including a 299 game.

However, it was Marcus Bettinger, who set the highlight in Squad 9. The German had a slow start with 185, 188 and 149, before he rolled his first game over 200 in the fourth (223). In the fifth, Bettinger rolled the 300-game of the tournament, before he closed out with another sub-par game for 1239 six-game total to sit in 87th place after ten qualifying squads.

Robert Kendall (left), England, led Squad 10 with 1375 and an average of 229.17, good for 16th place in the overall qualifying standings. Jenni Mäkelä, Finland, is the best of 32 women in 30th place with 1339 including 48 pins women's handicap, a standard on the European Bowling Tour.

With three more qualifying squads to go on Saturday, June 28th, Morten Levandovski, Denmark, holds the 50th and last place to advance with 1301, an average of 216.83.

Qualifying ends on Saturday night with the ultimate chance, the single-game Desperado Squad. A total of 56 players will qualify for the finals - the top 50 players from the overall qualifying standings plus the top 6 from the Desperado Squad. The top 8 qualifiers will receive one bye and will be seeded 1-8 into match play Round of 32.

The other 48 finalists will bowl six games starting from scratch on Sunday morning to cut to the top 24 who will join the top 8 qualifiers in match play. Match play is single-elimination, best-of-three games.

The Round of 32 starts on Sunday, June 19 at 13.00 (1 p.m.) local time (GMT +1). The field will be cut to 16, 8 and then to 4. The semi-final matches and the championship match are single-game matches. The winner will walk away with 10.000 Euro.

Bo Winther Pedersen (left) from Denmark used three games over 260 to take the lead in the Storm Dutch Open 2008 Thursday at Dolfijn Bowling in Scheveningen, Netherlands. Pedersen rolled games of 268, 252, 262, 268, 235 and 192 for 1477 pinfall total and an average of 246.17 over six games.

2007 World Ranking Masters champion Stuart Williams (right), England, is second with 1464 including a 288 game, with PBA champion Mike Fagan mere one pin behind in third place with 1463.

Jason Belmonte, the two-hander from Australia, is fourth with 1461, followed by PBA exempt bowler Bill O'Neill (left), United States, with 1459. Defending European ranking champion and current ranking leader Osku Palermaa, a two-hander from Finland, is sixth with 1416.

Rounding out the top 8, who will bypass the first round of the finals are Dominic Barrett (right), England (1392) and former 3-time world champion Michael Sassen, Netherlands (1371).

The Storm Dutch Open 2008 is the 9th event of the 2008 European Bowling Tour and one if its majors.

Qualifying continues until Saturday, June 28. A total of 56 players will qualify for the finals - the top 50 players from the overall qualifying standings plus the top 6 from the Desperado Squad. The top 8 qualifiers will receive one bye and will be seeded 1-8 in match play.

The other 48 finalists will bowl six games starting from scratch to cut to the top 24 who will join the top 8 qualifiers in match play. Match play is single-elimination, best-of-three games.

The Round of 32 starts on Sunday, June 19 at 13.00 (1 p.m.) local time (GMT +1). The field will be cut to 16, 8 and then to 4. The semi-final matches and the championship match are single-game matches. The winner will walk away with 10.000 Euro.