Defending champion Mika Koivuniemi shoots into qualifying lead in Istanbul Open

    05/13/11

    2011 European Bowling Tour #8

    International players take control of the leaderboard; cut for 38th place is now 1157

    2011EBT08MikaKoivuniemi.jpg2011EBT08PerttuJussila.jpgReigning PBA Player of the Year, Mika Koivuniemi (pictured left) of Finland, powered his way into the qualifying lead of the 8th Istanbul Bowling Open Thursday at Timeout Bowling Center in Istanbul, Turkey.

    The defending Istanbul Open champion, the sole player who has won two EBT tournaments this season, rolled games of 276, 228, 201, 202, 233 and 227 to shoot into the lead with 1367 six-game total and an average of 227.83. He became the first player in Istanbul who has cracked the 1300-bar and pocketed a 250 Euro bonus for leading Squad 11 out 20.

    His young compatriot Perttu Jussila (right) led both Squad 9 and 10 on Thursday. He started the day with 1278 and improved his score by 18 pins in the next squad to sit in second place in the overall qualifying standings with 1296 (216 ave.). Jussila earned 500 Euro for his efforts.

    2011EBT08ElinAdolfsson.jpg2010EBT15MartinLarsen.jpgSwede Martin Larsen (left) was second to Koivuniemi in Squad 11 with 1279 including a final 278 game to leap into third place. Fourth place belonged to his compatriot Elin Adolfsson (right), who led Squad 12 on Thursday night with 1260 including 48 pins handicap en route to receive a 250 Euro bonus.

    Adolfsson is currently the best of 28 women in the field and one of two in the top 10. Lisanne Breeschoten, Netherlands, is the other in seventh place with 1238. Dane Anders Lousdal was second in Squad 10 with 1250, good for fifth place overall.

    2011EBT08MehmetKaya2.jpg2011EBT08EbruOzogluuntur.jpgMehmet Kaya (left), Turkey, who led the tournament after eight squads, slipped to sixth place with 1248. Kaya as well as Ebru Özoğluuntur (right), Adem Guran and Taygun Erkeskin pocketed 100 Euro each for being the top local bowler in Squads 9-12.

    The international bowlers took control of the leaderboard on Thursday. PBA exempt player Stuart Williams, England, moved into eight place with 1237 and was followed by Or Aviram, Israel, with 1235.

    Rounding out the top 10 was European Bowling Tour men's ranking leader, Osku Palermaa, Finland, with 1235 but the lower last game than Aviran.

    Christian Karlsson, Sweden, who was second to Kaya Wednesday night, fell to 20th place with 1194. With 146 players from 15 countries having played at least one six-game block, Kim Ojala, Sweden, mans the 38th and last place to advance with 1157 and an average of 192.83.

    Qualifying continues on Friday with Squads 13-16 scheduled for 10 a.m., 2, 6 and 10 p.m. local time (CET -1).

    IstanbulOpenLogo2.jpgThe 8th Istanbul Bowling Open is the 8th stop of the 2011 European Bowling Tour and the second out of six EBT "Gold" tournaments this season. The tournament will be held from May 7-15, 2011 at 20-lane Timeout Bowling Center in the heart of Istanbul, Turkey and offers total prize fund of 70.000 Euro with 10.000 Euro going to the winner, 6.000 to the runner-up and 3.500 each to the third and fourth place finishers.

    2010EBT08RebeckaLarsen_small.jpg201011PBAMikaKoivuniemi_small.jpg 2010-11 PBA Player of the Year Mika Koivuniemi of Finland (pictured left), is the defending champion. Koivuniemi, the only multiple EBT champion this season, fired games of 258 and 290 to defeat Mykhaylo Kalika, Ukraine, 548-424, in the title match of the 7th Istanbul Bowling Open to pocket the 10.000 Euro top prize. Third place finisher Rebecka Larsen (right), Sweden, has won the IBO women rankings in 2010.

    Since the Viborg International in Viborg, Denmark, 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 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.

    The qualifying of the 8th Istanbul Bowling Open runs from Saturday May 7 through Saturday, April 14 with the last qualifying squad 20 scheduled for 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CET). Each squad winner takes 250 Euro while the top local bowler in each squad receives 100 Euro. Qualifying will conclude with the one-game Desperado Squad 2 slated for 11.30 p.m..

    The Istanbul Bowling Open features a 38 feet Kegel lane conditioning pattern with 27ml oil volume and a 2.11 ratio.

    A total of 48 players will qualify for the finals on Sunday, May 15, including the top 38 players from the overall qualifying standings, the top two players from the combined standings of the first two days (Squads 1-4) which are not among the top 38 plus the top 2 from Desperado Squad 1 (Sunday, May 8) and the top 6 players from Desperado Squad 2 (Sunday, May 15). The top 8 qualifiers will earn three byes, qualifiers 9-18 will receive two byes and qualifiers 19-28 will bypass the first round of the finals.

    Rounds 1-5 consist of four games with each round starting from scratch. The field will be trimmed to 38, 28, 18, 8 and then four who will advance to the semifinals (Round 6). No. 1 bowls No. 4 and No. 2 bowls No. 3 with the two-game total pinfall to determine the winners, who will bowl for the title, the 10.000 € top prize and 150 ranking points.

     


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    Qualifying Standings after Squad 12/20

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