Europe romp to Weber glory

07 August, 2016

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Europe has retained the partypoker Weber Cup as they took the required point for victory in front of a jubilant crowd Sunday evening at EventCity in Manchester, England. It was the European’s fourth consecutive victory – a record for the event.

Captain Dominic Barrett (pictured right with the trophy) was the man who delivered the killer blow as he defeated America’s Wes Malott in a close fought match, 242-221.

USA’s Kyle Troup (left) had earlier continued his great run of singles play, defeating Stuart Williams by 44 pins to keep the USA alive. However, as it proved it was just delaying the inevitable as the Europeans exerted their firm grip on the trophy and moved the overall Weber score to 9-8 in favor of the Europeans.

An ecstatic Barrett said, “We have four in a row and Europe are finally in the lead. We have had a great weekend, we really did. On the very first night we put them into a big hole early and we never let them out, and that was the key.

“We have some great bowlers here and Jesper (Svensson; right) making his debut went in and destroyed this lane, and he bowled fantastically. Stu is the backbone of the team and gets everybody together, gets the crowd going, winds up the Americans and he is fantastic. Lucky (Martin) Larsen, last night when he bowled the 289 was a really big game for us going into today.

“The crowd here in Manchester have been magnificent as always with all the blue. It isn’t just us four bowlers; it is the 400 fans here too.”

The Americans bowled well at times but the Europeans were always one step ahead with the opening first session reverse a crushing blow.

Commented Parker Bohn (left), “Just like partypoker, we brought all of our chips to the table but we just weren’t good enough. We will look at what we have done wrong, correct that and look at what we did right and keep doing that and we will be back stronger on that lane next year.”

Flamboyant first-timer Kyle Troup, who was such a hit with the Manchester crowd, said, “It has been an absolute blast, the crowd and the fans have been exciting and fans make bowling. You couldn’t ask for better fans than we had here in Manchester this week.”

For Europe, their undoubted player of the tournament was 21 year-old Jesper Svensson (right), who carried a 100% record through eight matches: “It was amazing to be here. My teammates have been very good trying to keep me calm and relaxed.

“After a while I got into the setup and started to feel more comfortable in the arena. All I had to worry about was throwing my balls and they came out well, so I am very happy. I am very excited to have won the Weber Cup.

“I have been bowling pretty well lately and I was able to throw the shots. The key was to get as comfortable as possible and throw the ball well. It has been a great weekend!”

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 was 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 was 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 was produced by Matchroom Sport television and broadcast live on Sky Sports as well as other channels around the world.

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