Osku Palermaa rolls first 300 game in 2011 Brunswick Euro Challenge

    03/13/11

    2011 European Bowling Tour #4

    Final game propels PBA champion into ninth place; cut for 52nd place is currently 1240

     







     

    2011EBT04OskuPalermaa1.jpgHeading into the last game of qualifying squad 23, Osku Palermaa (pictured left) needed a 230-plus game to move into the top 52 in the qualifying of the 106.000 Euro Brunswick Euro Challenge, an EBT Platinum event. Click on the score sheet to enlarge.

    Playing deep inside on lanes 9 and 10, the two-hander, who has won his first PBA title this season, fired 12 powerful strikes for the tournament's first 300 game. Palermaa, who started his series with games of 213, 162, 205, 200 and 228, rocketed from 109th into ninth place in the overall qualifying standings with 1308 six-game total and an average of 218.

    2011EBT04MaiGingeJensen.jpg2011EBT04HeeKarYen2.jpgJouni Helminen, Finland, remained in control of leaderboard from the field of 391 players - 319 men and 72 women - from 37 countries with 1435 and an average of 239.17. Gery Verbruggen, Belgium and Adrian Ang, Malaysia, were in second and third place with 1391 and 1371, respectively, with Saturday morning squad 22 leader Marco Baade, Germany, in fourth with 1333.

    Places five through eight belong to the top four of total 72 women in the 391-player field from 37 countries, Mai Ginge Jensen (left), Denmark (5th; 1325), Hee Kar Yen (right), Malaysia (6th; 1324), Krista Pöllänen, Finland (7th; 1320) and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, United States (8th; 1318). Scores include 48 pins handicap, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour.

    Rounding out the top 12 were Melvin Ocando, Spain (10th; 1306), Jari Ratia (11th; 1302) and Kimmo Lehtonen, both Finland (12th; 1298).

    2011EBT04NadineGeissler.jpg2011EBT04MikStampe.jpg Besides Palermaa, another three players of Squad 23 moved into the top 52, who will advance to the finals on Sunday starting at 8.30 a.m. CET.

    Nadine Geissler (left), Germany, managed a 1277 series despite a 167 final game, good for 21st place overall. Mik Stampe (right), Denmark was next with 1252 to grab 38th place while Larry Vontobel Switzerland, overtook 51st place with 1241, just one pin above the cut line. French back-up specialist Marilyn Planchard currently holds the last place to advance with 1240.

    Photo Gallery Part 1
    Photo Gallery Part 2

    Qualifying continues on Saturday, March 12 with Squads 24 and 25 scheduled for 4 and 8 p.m. CET and concludes with the Desperado Squad slated for 11.30 p.m.

    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 fifth 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.


    2010EBT05RobThurlby2.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. 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 left). 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 23/25


    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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