Kimmo Lehtonen leads Squad 13; Stephan Unger cracks top 10 in Brunswick Euro Challenge

    03/11/11

    2011 European Bowling Tour #4

    Morning Squad 12 has been cancelled; cut for 52nd place is 1183 (197.17 average)

     

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    2011EBT04KimmoLehtonen.jpg2011EBT04AdrianAng.jpgKimmo Lehtonen (pictured left) of Finland led the 13th qualifying squad in the Brunswick Euro Challenge at noon Thursday with 1285 six-game total but failed to improve on the 1298 he bowled last night at Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin, France.

    After the morning squad 12 has been cancelled, the 2005 World Ranking Masters champion started the seventh qualifying day with games of 205, 257, 213, 233 and 205 before a 172 final game cost him a 1300-plus series. .

    Just three players from the 238-player field from 22 countries have surpassed the 1300-mark this year. Finn Jouni Helminen, who must have found something in Squad 3, holds a dominating lead with 1435 and an average of 239.17.

    Belgium's Gery Verbruggen posted a 1391 series last night to sit in second place with Adrian Ang (above right), Malaysia, in third at 1371. Ang finished Squad 13 in third place with 1245.

    For comparison, Anthony Pepe, United States, led last year's BEC qualifying with 1572 pinfall total and an average of 262. Another four players cracked the 1500-bar while the cut for 52nd place was 1407 or an average of 234.50. Another nine players with 1401 and better failed to advance.

    2010EBT10StefanUnger.jpg2011EBT04JacquelineSijore.jpgLehtonen remained in fourth place with 1298 still followed by Olivier Braine, Belgium, in fifth place with 1272 and the top French bowler, Yoan Alix, in sixth place with 1268.

    Stephan Unger (left), Germany, also had a 1268 series in Squad 13, but was seeded seventh due to Alix' higher last game, 235-180. Mickel Rives, France, fell one spot to eighth place with 1259.

    Nicole Sanders, Netherlands, and Sophie Herbin, France remained the best of now 34 women in ninth and tenth place with 1256 and 1255 including 48 pins handicap.

    2011EBT04DaryaKovalova.jpg2011EBT04DavidCanady4.jpgMalaysian women national squad member, Jacqueline Sijore (above right), used a 1220 series to leap into 25th place in the overall qualifying standings. Darya Kovalova (left), Ukraine, was two pins behind Sijore with 1218 to leap into 27th place overall.

    German national team member David Canady (right; 1218) and Aaron Kong, Malaysia (1211), were close behind to overtake 28th and 29th place, respectively.

    Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, United States, and Steffen Wendlandt, Germany, hold the last two spots to advance in 51st and 52nd place with 1183.

    Photo Gallery Part 1

    Qualifying continues on Thursday, March 10 with Squad 14 and 15 scheduled for 4 and 8 p.m. CET.

    2011BECLogo.jpg The 2011 Brunswick Euro Challenge is the fourth tournament on the 2011 European Bowling Tour schedule and one of just two "Platinum" events, the EBT's highest category.

    The BEC, which will be held from March 4-13, 2011 at 28-laner Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin near Paris, France, offers total prize money of 106.000 Euro (approx. US $143,000) with 15.000 Euro going to the winner, 7.500 to the runner-up and 5.000 to the third place finishers.

    Since the Viborg International in Viborg, Denmark originally scheduled for July 30-Aug. 7, 2011 has been cancelled, the 2011 European Bowling Tour consists of 21 tour stops in 17 countries including two Platinum, six Gold, seven Silver and six Satellite tournaments.

    The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event receive ranking points. The winner of a Platinum tournament such as the Brunswick Euro Challenge receives 250 ranking points, the winner of a Gold tournament gets 150, the winner of a Silver tournament earns 100, and the winner of a Satellite tournament gets 50 ranking points.

    The top 16 men and the top 16 women at the end of the 2011 season qualify for the 5th EBT Masters to be held at Dream-Bowl Palace in Unterföhring near Munich, Germany on April 30 and May 1, 2012. The event will become the first EBT Masters to be contested on single lane condition.

    ValckeBowling.jpg BowlingdigitalBanner.gif The 2011 Brunswick Euro Challenge will be organized and conducted by Brunswick distributor Valcke Bowling. Bowlingdigital.com will cover the event live from Le Plaza Bowling with stories and results after each round including live streaming, high definition videos and high quality photos.


    2004EBT04BrondstedHartofillis.jpg2010EBT05RobThurlby2.jpg The first edition of the Brunswick Euro Challenge in the year 2004 was won by three-time EBT women's ranking winner Britt Brøndsted of Denmark (pictured left with organizer Bill Hartofillis). The Dane was followed by Jens Nickel, Germany (2005), Jason Belmonte, Australia (2006); Osku Palermaa, Finland (2007); Peter Ljung, Sweden (2008); Mike Fagan, United States (2009); and defending champion Rob Thurlby, England (2010; pictured right). Reigning women's ranking champion Nina Flack, Sweden, has won the BEC women's ranking last year.

    WBTLogo_small.jpgThe 8th Brunswick Euro Challenge is also the fourth event of the new World Bowling Tour organized by the World Tenpin Bowling Association. The WBT is a new concept developed by the WTBA to showcase the best bowlers from around the world.

    Players who compete in the selected international events and finish among the top three men and top three women in the final points standings will be eligible to compete in the World Bowling Tour Finals, a special televised event during the 2011 PBA World Series of Bowling in Las Vegas with a prize fund of $40,000.

    Qualifying begins on Friday March 3 with Squad 1 scheduled for 8.30 p.m. Central European Time (CET) and runs through Saturday, March. 12 with the final Squad 25 slated for 8 p.m. Qualifying concludes with the ultimate one-game Desperado Squad at 11.30 p.m. Women will receive 8 pins handicap each game throughout the entire event, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour.

    A total of 64 players will qualify for the finals on Sunday, March 13, the top 52 in the overall qualifying standings, the top 8 of a separate leaderboard of the squads conducted March 4-8, plus the top 4 of the Desperado Squad. The top 12 players after qualifying will receive one bye.

    The remaining 52 finalists will bowl six games scratch to cut to the top 16 who will join the top 12 qualifiers in Round Two. Those 28 will bowl another six games scratch after which the field will be trimmed to the top 8 players who will carry their pinfall total forward into the match play round.

    The top 3 players after seven games round robin match play plus one game position round including bonus pins (30 for each win; 15 for each tie) will determine the champion in a stepladder final. The No. 3 seed bowls the No. 2 seed and the winner of the semifinal match takes on the No. 1 seed for the title, and the 15.00 Euro top prize.

     


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    Qualifying Standings after Squad 13/25


    Places 53-60 show the top 8 players from a separate leaderboard of Squads 1-9, who will join the top 52 qualifiers and the top 4 from the Desperado Squad in Sunday's finals.

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