Anja Ginge Jensen (pictured left) from Denmark averaged 230.33 scratch for her six games in Squad 12 at the Brunswick Euro Challenge and added 48 pins handicap, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour, to her 1382 pinfall total to rocket into second place in the overall qualifying standings. The Danish national team member had two 268 games in the first and in the last game.

Swede Sanna Helldén (pictured right) had six game between 202 and 247 for 1319 scratch and 1367 including handicap, good enough to move into fifth place overall.

Photos: Beat Grauwiler.

Mike Fagan, United States, remained unchallenged atop the leaderboard of the 175-player field with 1473 pinfall total and an average of 245.50. Ginge's compatriot Thomas Larsen fell one spot to third with 1416. Fagan, Jensen and Larsen are the only players, who reached the 1400-plateau thus far.

Alain Nicolas, France, slipped to fourth place with 1377. Another Dane, Michael Bai Ernst, is sixth with 1364. Seventh place belongs to Marie Gauton, France, who is the third woman among the top 10 with 1360 including handicap.

Laurent Tessier (pictured left), France, was the best male bowler in Squad 12 with 1354 or an average of 225.67, good for 8th place overall. Rounding out the top 10 are 2008 EBT Masters champion Osku Palermaa, Finland, and 2007 World Ranking Masters champ Stuart Williams, England, with 1354 and 1352, respectively.

As 19 players from Squad 12 cracked the top 52, the cutoff number improved by 54 pins from 1174 to 1228 posted by Lotte Houbo Pedersen, Denmark.

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 (pictured right) 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.