Germans Martina Beckel and Horst Albert took the titles at the 5th Senior Open at Dream-Bowl in Böblingen, Germany. The fifth stop on the 2016 International Seniors Bowling Tour (ISBT) was the second visit of the year to Germany. The tournament attracted an entry list of 87 men and 20 women.

The format was a single six-game qualifying block, with unlimited re-entries. For those not able to qualify through the main leaderboard, there were additional opportunities through Turbo games, Early Bird qualification, Scratch scores and a Desperado squad.

Age bonus started at age 51 (1 pin per game), then increased a pin for every additional year of age with no limit. As with all ISBT events, there was a separate division for ladies.

Bowling started the weekend before the finals day, with four squads being held. Strong performances by Berny Stöckl (1434) and Hermann Wimmer (1422) in the men’s section, and Vera Stepper (1198), all from Germany, in the women’s section ensured they would make the finals through the Early Bird qualification, if not through the overall ranking.

There was only one squad on Wednesday, with top scores being posted by Wolfgang Emmerich (1359) and Marett Schiller (1180), also from Germany. The two squads on Thursday showed that scoring was not easy for most of the field, with high totals few and far between. Dominique de Nolf of Belgium totaled 1357 to be the only player over 1300 for the day.

Friday saw an improvement in the scoring pace, led by two Belgians – Roger Pieters with 1473 and Giorgio Desimio with 1420, and two Italians – Santo Provenzi with 1384 and Loris Masetti with 1371.

In the women’s section, Martina Beckel, a multiple ISBT champion who won the 50+ Euro Bowling Open in Antwerp, Belgium, this season, easily jumped to the top of the standings with a consistent block for a 1332 total.

There were three squads on the final day, the first was a very early start led by Alan Keddie of Scotland with 1404, ahead of Chris Scudder of England with 1367. There was more good scoring in the second squad, led by Peter Panas with 1431 and Petra Duplois, both Germany, with 1247 in the women’s section. The final squad was won by Scudder with a slightly improved 1373.

Top qualifier overall was Pieters with 1473, ahead of Stöckl (1434) and Panas (1431). In the ladies section, Beckel had a clear lead with 1332 ahead of Duplois (1247) and Sabine Leutwiler of Switzerland with 1235.

For those who had failed to qualify through the overall standings, or the Early Bird, Scratch and Turbo listings, there was still an opportunity to make the finals through the one-game Desperado squad.

Eleven men and two ladies took part, and Robert Vallons of Belgium started best with the first four deliveries all resulting in strikes. He kept going through the game to finish with 256, just 4 pins ahead of Dieter Rau of Germany (252), both men would now qualify for the finals. In the women’s section, Tassanee Weber of Thailand just squeezed through with a 175 game.

Overall qualifiers 19 to 24, plus all the other qualifiers from the other sections had an early start on Sunday, bowling a four-game block, with only 10 progressing to the next round. Horst Albert was top with 966, well clear of the rest of the field.

In the second final round over 6 games, Albert again led the way with a fine 1401, ahead of Stöckl and men’s winner in Antwerp, Steven Jeeves of England. Only eight players would make the next round, last bowler to make the cut was Steve Carnell of England) with 1331, just pushing out compatriot Scudder by five pins.

In the women’s first final round, Marianne Pelz of Germany had a four-pin lead over Beckel with 1256, with Karin Lischka of Germany just two pins further behind. As with the men’s section, the top eight would bowl a further three games with pinfall carrying through to determine the top four for the final round.

In the men’s section, Albert retained his lead with 3312, ahead of Pieters, Carlo Greulich of Germany and Stöckl. The four women who would make the final were Germans Beckel, Stepper, Pelz and Lischka.

The final rounds were single game elimination, all the remaining players played one game, and the lowest was eliminated. First to fall in the men’s section was Pieters, thanks to an unusual single pin miss.

From left, Greulich, Pieters, Stöckl and Albert.

In the next game, Stöckl clearly led from Albert, with Greulich falling away after failing to master the carry, including leaving a 5-7-10 ‘lily’. The final ended up a little one sided, with Horst Albert having a string of strikes to win, 251-228, to become champion and secure his first ISBT title. Stöckl and 2014 winner Greulich finished second and third for the second consecutive year.

In the women’s section, Pelz was the first to fall. The second game saw Stepper lose by just three pins to Lischka, with Martina Beckel again well ahead. In the final game, Martina Beckel was just too strong and won by 213 to 197 to become the first multiple champion this season.

From left, Lischka, Stepper, Pelz and Beckel.

The next stop on the 2016 tour is the Dutch Senior Open Chandra Bowling in Nieuwegein, Netherlands. The tournament runs from August 3-7. Full details are available at the ISBT website.

Story and Results courtesy of Tony Brown.

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2016 International Seniors Bowling Tour Schedule & Champions

5th Böblingen Senior Open – Women’s Eliminator Round Finals

Dream Bowl in Böblingen, Germany (July 16-24, 2016)

Final Standings:
1. Martina Beckel, Germany
2. Karin Lischka, Germany
3. Vera Stepper, Germany
4. Marianne Pelz, Germany

From left, Lischka, Stepper, Pelz and Beckel.

Playoff Results:
Round 1: Beckel (7) 244, Lischka (6) 202, Stepper (2) 195; Pelz (15) 175, Pelz eliminated.
Round 2: Beckel 226, Lischka 199, Stepper 196; Stepper eliminated.
Round 3: Beckel def. Lischka, 213-197.
Scores including age bonus (in parenthesis)

5th Böblingen Senior Open – Men’s Eliminator Round Finals

Dream Bowl in Böblingen, Germany (July 16-24, 2016)

Final Standings:
1. Horst Albert, Germany
2. Berny Stöckl, Germany
3. Carlo Greulich, Germany
4. Roger Pieters, Belgium

From left, Greulich, Pieters, Stöckl and Albert.

Playoff Results:
Round 1: Greulich (8) 245; Stöckl (12) 215, Albert (24) 213, Pieters (17) 207; Pieters eliminated.
Round 2: Stöckl 254, Albert 230, Greulich 187; Greulich eliminated.
Round 3: Albert def. Stöckl, 251-228.
Scores including age bonus (in parenthesis)

5th Böblingen Senior Open – Men’s Final Round 3

Top 4 advance to the Eliminator Round Finals.

Pos	Player	Country	Age Bonus	B/F	G1	G2	G3	Pins	Avg.	Total
1.	Horst Albert	Germany	24	1401	224	190	223	637	210.44	2110
2.	Roger Pieters	Belgium	17	1348	167	243	237	647	215.67	2046
3.	Berny Stöckl	Germany	12	1374	194	234	204	632	210.67	2042
4.	Carlo Greulich	Germany	8	1339	200	216	233	649	216.33	2012
5.	Steve Carnall	England	10	1331	225	213	208	646	215.33	2007
6.	Helmut Ulber	Germany	17	1345	166	205	232	603	201.00	1999
7.	Frank Öing	Germany	0	1348	215	202	207	624	208.00	1972
8.	Steven Jeeves	England	3	1350	215	205	191	611	203.67	1970

5th Böblingen Senior Open – Women’s Final Round 2

Top 4 advance to the Eliminator Round Finals.

Pos	Player	Country	Age Bonus	B/F	G1	G2	G3	Pins	Avg.	Total
1.	Martina Beckel	Germany	7	1252	248	215	184	647	206.33	1920
2.	Vera Stepper	Germany	2	1219	213	195	185	593	200.00	1818
3.	Marianne Pelz	Germany	15	1256	179	159	207	545	190.11	1846
4.	Karin Lischka	Germany	6	1250	167	197	182	546	195.56	1814
5.	Sabine Leutwiler	Switzerland	11	1218	143	189	189	521	185.89	1772
6.	Beate Albert	Germany	6	1181	155	162	202	519	184.89	1718
7.	Marett Schiller	Germany	24	1167	193	146	164	503	169.56	1742
8.	Liliane Vintens	Belgium	9	1209	156	161	149	466	180.11	1702

5th Böblingen Senior Open – Men’s Final Round 2

Top 8 advance to the third round.

Pos	Player	Country	Age Bonus	G1	G2	G3	G4	G5	G6	Pins	Avg.	Total
1.	Horst Albert	Germany	24	169	224	237	215	182	230	1257	209.50	1401
2.	Berny Stöckl	Germany	12	213	235	196	219	224	215	1302	217.00	1374
3.	Steven Jeeves	England	3	265	189	216	203	226	233	1332	222.00	1350
4.	Roger Pieters	Belgium	17	227	207	213	175	210	214	1246	207.67	1348
5.	Frank Öing	Germany	0	170	288	216	245	213	216	1348	224.67	1348
6.	Helmut Ulber	Germany	17	222	193	178	256	204	190	1243	207.17	1345
7.	Carlo Greulich	Germany	8	222	211	256	238	193	171	1291	215.17	1339
8.	Steve Carnall	England	10	223	214	160	236	245	193	1271	211.83	1331
9.	Chris Skudder	England	17	198	213	215	204	195	183	1208	201.33	1310
10.	Wilfried Riesmeier	Germany	22	200	202	210	192	184	182	1170	195.00	1302
11.	Hermann Wimmer	Germany	23	185	234	194	192	181	177	1163	193.83	1301
12.	Arthur Dähn	Germany	15	181	202	246	178	184	202	1193	198.83	1283
13.	Alan Keddie	SCO	5	204	219	216	191	188	234	1252	208.67	1282
14.	Klaus-Uwe Lischka	Germany	7	227	237	237	181	192	161	1235	205.83	1277
15.	Norbert Lutzei	Germany	22	164	191	171	210	180	226	1142	190.33	1274
16.	Peter Panas	Germany	18	213	186	162	181	211	199	1152	192.00	1260
17.	Dominique De Nolf	Belgium	10	204	235	194	166	184	216	1199	199.83	1259
18.	Gabriele Benvenuti	Italy	10	211	205	200	225	171	182	1194	199.00	1254
19.	Prou Pierre	France	17	223	170	172	213	146	222	1146	191.00	1248
20.	Frank Börner	Germany	6	205	207	207	196	194	202	1211	201.83	1247
21.	Werner Prietz	Germany	16	196	212	179	192	199	161	1139	189.83	1235
22.	Loris Masetti	Italy	19	199	218	171	168	192	168	1116	186.00	1230
23.	Giorgio Desimio	Italy	16	197	187	201	168	168	204	1125	187.50	1221
24.	Santo Provenzi	Italy	16	244	173	160	173	170	200	1120	186.67	1216
25.	Wolfgang Gürz	Germany	14	152	247	174	193	179	170	1115	185.83	1199
26.	Werner Laun	Germany	15	215	188	190	201	162	135	1091	181.83	1181
27.	Wolfgang Emmerich	Germany	18	207	173	169	157	168	161	1035	172.50	1143
28.	Peter Betz	Germany	1	179	138	193	187	215	166	1078	179.67	1084

5th Böblingen Senior Open – Women’s Final Round 1

Top 8 advance to the second round.

Pos	Player	Country	Age Bonus	G1	G2	G3	G4	G5	G6	Pins	Avg.	Total
1.	Marianne Pelz	Germany	15	223	166	165	216	194	202	1166	194.33	1256
2.	Martina Beckel	Germany	7	173	212	203	227	181	214	1210	201.67	1252
3.	Karin Lischka	Germany	6	185	223	202	189	217	198	1214	202.33	1250
4.	Vera Stepper	Germany	2	226	202	175	190	188	226	1207	201.17	1219
5.	Sabine Leutwiler	Switzerland	11	180	217	186	165	209	195	1152	192.00	1218
6.	Liliane Vintens	Belgium	9	174	190	190	180	238	183	1155	192.50	1209
7.	Beate Albert	Germany	6	180	200	189	214	162	200	1145	190.83	1181
8.	Marett Schiller	Germany	24	180	176	193	180	146	148	1023	170.50	1167
9.	Angie Brown	England	8	192	145	187	206	179	174	1083	180.50	1131
10.	Angela Laub	Germany	12	167	194	212	150	181	155	1059	176.50	1131
11.	Uschi Diekhoff	Germany	15	166	173	163	172	165	190	1029	171.50	1119
12.	Petra Duplois	Germany	10	138	152	204	181	168	185	1028	171.33	1088
13.	Christine Prietz	Germany	10	180	148	158	153	202	161	1002	167.00	1062
14.	Tassanee Weber	Thailand	11	140	148	152	180	212	164	996	166.00	1062
15.	Daniele Guigon	France	9	128	139	175	149	175	169	935	155.83	989
16.	Bianca Völkl-Brandt	Germany	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	no show

5th Böblingen Senior Open – Men’s Final Round 1

Top 8 advance to the second round.

Pos	Player	Country	Age Bonus	G1	G2	G3	G4	Pins	Avg.	Total
1.	Horst Albert	Germany	24	247	212	220	191	870	217.50	966
2.	Norbert Lutzei	Germany	22	186	222	216	202	826	206.50	914
3.	Klaus-Uwe Lischka	Germany	7	195	247	232	203	877	219.25	905
4.	Frank Börner	Germany	6	212	212	213	213	850	212.50	874
5.	Gabriele Benvenuti	Italy	10	194	215	188	236	833	208.25	873
6.	Werner Laun	Germany	15	188	211	193	206	798	199.50	858
7.	Peter Betz	Germany	1	236	169	241	194	840	210.00	844
8.	Frank Öing	Germany	0	172	223	232	213	840	210.00	840
9.	Wolfgang Gürz	Germany	14	143	223	161	219	746	186.50	802
10.	Steve Carnall	England	10	205	184	169	203	761	190.25	801
11.	Vallons Robert	Belgium	10	194	215	194	152	755	188.75	795
12.	Stehl Kurt	Germany	12	211	203	145	178	737	184.25	785
13.	Jürgen Neumann	Germany	20	150	200	155	193	698	174.50	778
14.	Steve Wright	England	16	188	183	154	187	712	178.00	776
15.	Harald Laub	Germany	5	227	180	182	163	752	188.00	772
16.	Dieter Rau	Germany	17	167	179	186	159	691	172.75	759
17.	Hans Gerold	Germany	13	132	181	224	160	697	174.25	749
18.	Johann Berk	Germany	9	174	177	177	182	710	177.50	746
19.	Werner Knöbl	Germany	9	192	149	181	180	702	175.50	738
20.	Valentin Fatu	Romania	4	188	193	165	165	711	177.75	727
21.	Uwe Tscharke	Germany	4	198	150	189	173	710	177.50	726

5th Böblingen Senior Open – Women’s Qualifying Standings

Top 10 qualifiers plus 2 Early Bird qualifiers (13th & 15th place), 2 Scratch (12th & 14th), 1 Turbo (16th place) and 1 Desperado (19th place) qualifier advance to the finals.

Pos	Player	Country	Age Bonus	Pins	Avg.	Total
1.	Martina Beckel	Germany	7	1290	215.00	1332
2.	Petra Duplois	Germany	10	1187	197.83	1247
3.	Sabine Leutwiler	Switzerland	11	1169	194.83	1235
4.	Liliane Vintens	Belgium	9	1172	195.33	1226
5.	Vera Stepper	Germany	2	1186	197.67	1198
6.	Marianne Pelz	Germany	15	1103	183.83	1193
7.	Angie Brown	England	8	1142	190.33	1190
8.	Marett Schiller	Germany	24	1036	172.67	1180
9.	Angela Laub	Germany	12	1106	184.33	1178
10.	Beate Albert	Germany	6	1125	187.50	1161
11.	Maria Grazia Locatelli	Italy	14	1068	178.00	1152
12.	Bianca Völkl-Brandt	Germany	1	1142	190.33	1148
13.	Uschi Diekhoff	Germany	15	1058	176.33	1148
14.	Daniele Guigon	France	9	1074	179.00	1128
15.	Karin Lischka	Germany	6	1091	181.83	1127
16.	Christine Prietz	Germany	10	1043	173.83	1103
17.	Beate Nicolussi	Germany	11	968	161.33	1034
18.	Franziska Knöbl	Germany	7	980	163.33	1022
19.	Tassanee Weber	Thailand	11	954	159.00	1020
20.	Manuela Dempfle	Germany	1	973	162.17	979

5th Böblingen Senior Open – Men’s Qualifying Standings

Top 24 qualifiers plus 5 Early Bird qualifiers (places 25, 26, 31, 32 & 42), 5 Scratch (places 28, 29, 30, 35 and 38) 2 Turbo (36th and 43rd place) and 2 Desperado (27th and 33rd place) qualifiers advance to the finals. Top 18 qualifiers receive one bye.

Pos	Player	Country	Age Bonus	Pins	Avg.	Total
1.	Roger Pieters	Belgium	17	1371	228.50	1473
2.	Berny Stöckl	Germany	12	1362	227.00	1434
3.	Peter Panas	Germany	18	1323	220.50	1431
4.	Hermann Wimmer	Germany	23	1284	214.00	1422
5.	Giorgio Desimio	Italy	16	1324	220.67	1420
6.	Alan Keddie	SCO	5	1374	229.00	1404
7.	Santo Provenzi	Italy	16	1288	214.67	1384
8.	Dominique De Nolf	Belgium	10	1316	219.33	1376
9.	Chris Skudder	England	17	1271	211.83	1373
10.	Carlo Greulich	Germany	8	1324	220.67	1372
11.	Loris Masetti	Italy	19	1257	209.50	1371
12.	Wilfried Riesmeier	Germany	22	1238	206.33	1370
13.	Wolfgang Emmerich	Germany	18	1251	208.50	1359
14.	Werner Prietz	Germany	16	1261	210.17	1357
15.	Helmut Ulber	Germany	17	1244	207.33	1346
16.	Arthur Dähn	Germany	15	1255	209.17	1345
17.	Prou Pierre	France	17	1242	207.00	1344
18.	Steven Jeeves	England	3	1323	220.50	1341
19.	Steve Carnall	England	10	1276	212.67	1336
20.	Stehl Kurt	Germany	12	1239	206.50	1311
21.	Horst Albert	Germany	24	1165	194.17	1309
22.	Wolfgang Gürz	Germany	14	1224	204.00	1308
23.	Johann Berk	Germany	9	1253	208.83	1307
24.	Werner Laun	Germany	15	1217	202.83	1307
25.	Klaus-Uwe Lischka	Germany	7	1261	210.17	1303
26.	Harald Laub	Germany	5	1272	212.00	1302
27.	Dieter Rau	Germany	17	1200	200.00	1302
28.	Gabriele Benvenuti	Italy	10	1241	206.83	1301
29.	Valentin Fatu	Romania	4	1274	212.33	1298
30.	Frank Börner	Germany	6	1258	209.67	1294
31.	Norbert Lutzei	Germany	22	1162	193.67	1294
32.	Hans Gerold	Germany	13	1215	202.50	1293
33.	Vallons Robert	Belgium	10	1219	203.17	1279
34.	Gianni Marchiori	Italy	11	1213	202.17	1279
35.	Werner Knöbl	Germany	9	1219	203.17	1273
36.	Steve Wright	England	16	1176	196.00	1272
37.	Peter Knopp	Germany	6	1235	205.83	1271
38.	Frank Öing	Germany	0	1270	211.67	1270
39.	Frank Oeing	Germany	0	1269	211.50	1269
40.	Walter Domin	Austria	11	1202	200.33	1268
41.	Manfred Kapp	Germany	29	1093	182.17	1267
42.	Peter Betz	Germany	1	1243	207.17	1249
43.	Jürgen Neumann	Germany	20	1128	188.00	1248
44.	Yves Delafonteyne	Belgium	2	1235	205.83	1247
45.	Willy Ebel	Germany	18	1131	188.50	1239
46.	Uwe Tscharke	Germany	4	1205	200.83	1229
47.	Greg Jerome	England	10	1169	194.83	1229
48.	Jean-Philippe Rossire	Switzerland	14	1145	190.83	1229
49.	Guenther Grether	Germany	17	1124	187.33	1226
50.	Francois Apers	Belgium	29	1052	175.33	1226
51.	Wolfgang Gutzmer	Germany	16	1128	188.00	1224
52.	Juergen Arp	Germany	26	1068	178.00	1224
53.	Stephan Kehrle	Germany	4	1195	199.17	1219
54.	Rory Smith	United States	9	1164	194.00	1218
55.	Heinrich Dostal	Austria	12	1133	188.83	1205
56.	Joe Perryman	United States	18	1095	182.50	1203
57.	Werner Kimmerle	Germany	29	1024	170.67	1198
58.	Bruno Schmitt	France	10	1136	189.33	1196
59.	Thamberger Roland	Switzerland	10	1133	188.83	1193
60.	Rudolf Rafreider	Austria	20	1068	178.00	1188
61.	Thomas Buskowiak	Germany	11	1119	186.50	1185
62.	Kurt Bauer	Germany	14	1099	183.17	1183
63.	Stavros Tselepidis	Germany	5	1148	191.33	1178
64.	Cohard Bruno	France	11	1112	185.33	1178
65.	Thomas Gürz	Germany	12	1102	183.67	1174
66.	Walter Wais	Germany	14	1090	181.67	1174
67.	Tellenbach Hansruedi	Switzerland	16	1073	178.83	1169
68.	Wolfgang Gruber	Germany	4	1142	190.33	1166
69.	Gula Bogdan	Poland	7	1117	186.17	1159
70.	Battista Ghilardi	Italy	13	1078	179.67	1156
71.	Antonio Garilli	Italy	15	1065	177.50	1155
72.	Auke Broekhuizen	Netherlands	5	1123	187.17	1153
73.	Michael Kiefer	Germany	13	1055	175.83	1133
74.	Marcel Blaser	Switzerland	20	1012	168.67	1132
75.	Klaus Gesell	Germany	15	1035	172.50	1125
76.	Jürgen Louia-Kretz	Germany	0	1119	186.50	1119
77.	Michael Porreca	Germany	7	1073	178.83	1115
78.	Rudolf Eckstein	Germany	4	1084	180.67	1108
79.	Walter Fetscher	Germany	4	1045	174.17	1069
80.	Richard Haas	Germany	15	964	160.67	1054
81.	Alex Moore	United States	10	991	165.17	1051
82.	Thomas Schwermer	Germany	3	1032	172.00	1050
83.	Werner Strapko	Germany	16	945	157.50	1041
84.	Thorsten Brunke	Germany	0	1032	172.00	1032
85.	Ralf Edlich	Germany	5	991	165.17	1021
86.	Fehr Markus	Liechtenstein	5	975	162.50	1005
87.	Günter Maier	Germany	8	932	155.33	980