Gery Verbruggen rolls first perfecto in Squad 3

 

Marie Gauton, France, overtook the lead in the qualifying for the Brunswick Euro Challenge 2009 Saturday evening at Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin, France.

Gauton (pictured left) had five games between 200 and 218 and a high game of 264 to move to the top of the leader board with 1360 including 48 pins handicap, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour.

Squad 2 leader Yoan Alix (right), France, slipped to second place with 1322 six-game total, with Michael Haest, Belgium, in third with 1294.

Four-time European Bowling Tour ranking champion Gery Verbruggen (pictured left), Belgium, started the third qualifying squad with the first 300 game of this year's event but managed only 1259 due to three sub-180 games, good for fourth place in the overall qualifying standings.

The Brunswick Euro Challenge 2009 got underway on Saturday afternoon at Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin, France, with Squad 2 and 3 (#1 has been cancelled).

Besides players from Belgium, France, Italy and Netherlands, two national team members from Venezuela took on the lanes. Ildemaro Ruiz (left) had 1206 to sit in 9th place, while Hernan Ramirez (right) is 17th behind a 1123 series. Ruiz targets to improve on a 92nd place finish last year.

In 2008, the first time that the BEC was staged at Le Plaza Bowling Saint Maximin, Swede Martin Larsen won the qualifying with 1448 (241.33) and the cutoff number for 52nd place was 1263 (210.50). Peter Ljung from Sweden is the defending champion.

The Brunswick Euro Challenge is the fourth stop of the 2009 European Bowling Tour and one of the Tour's "majors". The total prize fund is 90,000 Euro (currently about US$114,000), and includes special prizes that will be given in categories such as youth encouragement, B Bowlers, and Women. In addition Brunswick offers up to $1,000 bonus for shooting a 300 game with the new Brunswick "Wilde Ride" bowling ball in the 2009 BEC.

The Brunswick Euro Challenge 2009 sponsored by Brunswick Bowling is organized by Brunswick distributor Valcke Bowling.

Qualifying will run through Saturday, March 14, with the final qualifying squad 23 scheduled for 8pm and ends with the ultimate Desperado Squad at 11pm.

A total of 64 players will qualify for the finals on Sunday, March 15. The top 16 players will receive one bye and will seeded 1-16 in Round 2.

The following 48 players will qualify for Round 1:

• Players positioned 17th-52nd in qualifying
• the top 6 from a separate standing for the squads conducted March 6-8, who are not among the top 52
• the top 6 from the Desperado Squad.

Those 48 will bowl six games starting from scratch to cut to the top 16, who will meet the top 16 qualifiers in the first match play round. Match play is best-of-three games single-elimination. The No. 1 seed will take on No. 32, No. 2 bowls No. 31, etc. The field will be cut to 16, 8 and then four, who will determine the champion in a stepladder final. The winner will receive the 16.000 Euro top prize.


Bowlingdigital will cover the event live from Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin with results and updates after each round commencing March 12 all the way through to the finals on Sunday, March 15.

 

 

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Standings after Qualifying Squad 3