Europe one point away from victory at Weber Cup

07 August, 2016

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Europe stand on the brink of yet another partypoker Weber Cup win as they took the fourth session five matches to two to leave themselves within one point of victory. 21 year-old Swede Jesper Svensson (left and above) was the star of the show as he came through his four matches with four wins to set Europe on the road.

Commented European captain Dominic Barrett, “Stu (Williams) won it for us last year and we will put him out first, then I will have a go and then we will save Jesper for the third match when the lane gets a little more messed up.

“We came in with a game plan of being quite aggressive. We had to turn up today and bowl well and we wanted them to know how well we are bowling.

“Nobody has ever won the Weber Cup four years in a row. It has been a great event so far, we still need to win one more but I am very sure we can do that.”

Team USA, needing two points to carry the event into the evening session, got off to a great start as rookie Kyle Troup (left with Marshall Kent) battled hard to steal the point from Barrett. The Englishman looked good for the win but a spare in the closing stages opened the window for Troup.

Making his debut, Sweden’s Svensson is on course for top points scorer honors as he bagged another two back-to-back wins. The first was in the company of Barrett as they comfortably beat US rookies Marshall Kent and Kyle Troup.

The second was a closer run thing as he beat US captain Parker Bohn III (right) who wasn’t having the best of times. The Swede, with his unorthodox approach and two-handed delivery, has looked unbeatable as he settled into the event.

Wes Malott was the man to halt the decline as he beat Martin Larsen to ensure that the event went to an evening session. Nothing was easy for the American but he hung in there to take the point.

Malott was scheduled for three consecutive matches and his second was another defeat for Team USA as partnered by Parker Bohn, the European pair of Martin Larsen and Jesper Svensson (left, l-r) had too much for them. They ran out 45 pin winners.

The final match of the session saw Svensson and Malott square off and it was the Swedish wonderkid who once again delivered the goods. Baker matches aside, Jesper has won eight out of eight matches and looked unstoppable.

That win left the Europeans needing just one more point to secure their fourth consecutive Weber Cup title and the 9th championships overall.

Established in 2000 and named after American bowling legend Dick Weber, the Weber Cup is the tenpin bowling version of golf’s Ryder Cup as two four-man teams from Europe and the USA compete over three days in a series of singles, doubles and baker format matches. The ultimate champion is the team that reaches 19 points first.

For the first time in its 17-year history, the Weber Cup will be using the World Bowling Scoring System. World Bowling Scoring maintains the traditional 10-frame scoring format but awards 30 pins for a strike, 10 pins for a spare plus the pin fall of the first shot in the frame, and actual pin fall after two shots in an open frame.

The Weber Cup will be staged over five sessions – 6.30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5, and 12.30 and 6 p.m. British Summer Time (BST) on Saturday, Aug. 6, and Sunday, Aug. 7. The tournament will be produced by Matchroom Sport television and broadcast live on Sky Sports as well as other channels around the world.

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USA pegs it back with much needed session win
Europe opens Weber Cup with huge lead
Nicki Ainge named referee for Weber Cup XVII
Weber Cup XVII set for ESPN3 coverage
Weber Cup XVII to go to World Bowling Scoring System
Teams named for Weber Cup XVII

2016 Weber Cup XVII – Standings after 28 Matches

Europe 18-10 USA
Dominic Barrett 234-235 Kyle Troup
Svensson / Barrett 267-201 Kent / Troup
Jesper Svensson 246-234 Parker Bohn
Williams / Barrett 256-236 Kent / Bohn
Martin Larsen 226-234 Wes Malott
Svensson / Larsen 256-211 Malott / Bohn
Jesper Svensson 246-211 Wes Malott

Herbert Bickel