Jouni Helminen wins qualifying in 2011 Brunswick Euro Challenge

    03/13/11

    2011 European Bowling Tour #4

    Cut for 52nd place is 1246 (207.50 average) 164 pins less than last year

     

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    2011EBT04JouniHelminen.jpg2011EBT04GeryVerbruggen5.jpgAfter 25 qualifying squads Jouni Helminen (pictured left) of Finland,, who has led the field of 395 players - 323 men and 72 women - from 37 countries since Squad 3 with 1435 and an average of 239.17, has won the qualifying of the 2011 Brunswick Euro Challenge at Le Plaza Bowling in Saint Maximin, France.

    Trailing Helminen by 44 pins to sit in second place was last week's Bronzen Schietspoel Tournament winner Gery Verbruggen (right), Belgium, with 1391. Adrian Ang was the best of eight Malaysian national team members in this tournament in third place with 1371. Saturday morning squad leader Marco Baade, Germany, remained in fourth with 1333.

    2011EBT04MaiGingeJensen.jpg201011PBA06OskuPalermaa.jpgPlaces five through eight belonged to the best four of total 72 women in the field, Mai Ginge Jensen (left), Denmark (5th; 1325), Hee Kar Yen, Malaysia (6th; 1324), Krista Pöllänen, Finland (7th; 1320) and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, United States (8th; 1318). Their scores include 48 pins handicap, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour.

    Three time EBT ranking champion, Osku Palermaa (right), Finland, finished Squad 23 with a bang when he rolled the tournament's first 300 game en route to a 1308 total, good for ninth place.

    2011EBT04VincentCayez.jpg2011EBT04ClaraGuerrero4.jpgTenth place belonged to Melvin Ocando, Spain with 1306, while Jari Ratia Finland, finished 11th with 1302. Vincent Cayez (left), France, led the 25th and final qualifying squad with 1301 and not only made the first cut but even kicked Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland (1298) out of the top 12, who will bypass the first round of the finals on Sunday morning.

    Another two players moved into the top 52. Kirsten Penny, England, a former world and European champion, totaled 1267 including handicap to land in 28th place while Karl Wahlgren, who was "on the bubble" after 24 squads leaped from 52nd to 30th place behind a 1265 series.

    Two-time world champion Clara Juliana Guerrero (right), Colombia, was next with 1243 which was two pins below the cut line but her best attempt was 1246 which secured her a spot in Sunday's finals.

    Mats Maggi, Belgium, who finished Squad 5 with a huge 270 game hit the cutoff number for 52nd place with 1243 or an average of 207.50. That was 164 pins less than the cut in the 2010 BEC which fell to Mikael Kanold, Sweden with 1407 (234.50 ave.).

    Also advancing the finals on Sunday were the top eight players of a separate leaderboard of Squads 1-9, who were not among the top 52. Joining those 60 were the top 4 of the Desperado Squad, Dan Sear, England (259), Victor Krasavkin, Russia (258), Anders Lousdal, Denmark (257) and Eike Kabowski, Germany (247).

    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 is organized and conducted by Brunswick distributor Valcke Bowling. Bowlingdigital.com covers 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 began on Friday March 3 and ran through Saturday, March. 12 Qualifying concludes with the ultimate one-game Desperado Squad at 11.30 p.m. Women receive 8 pins handicap each game throughout the entire event, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour.

    A total of 64 players 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 qualifiers receive one bye.

    The remaining 52 finalists will bowl six games scratch starting at 8.30 a.m. on Sunday morning 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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    Standings after Qualifying and Desperado Squad


    The top 52 players the top 8 players from a separate leaderboard of Squads 1-9 (places 53-60 and the top 4 from the Desperado Squad advance to Sunday's finals starting at 8.30 a.m. CET. The top 12 players earn one bye.

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