Eighteen years after he quit his illustrious international career after the 1999 World Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Swedish standout Raymond Jansson mounted one of the biggest comebacks in the sport of tenpin bowling as he won his first European Bowling Tour title in the Norwegian Open 2017 by Brunswick Sunday at Veitvet Bowling Center in Oslo, Norway.

Pictured above is Norwegian Open champion Raymond Jansson, left, with Per Iversen, secreaty general of the Norwegian Bowling Federation.

The 51-year-old multiple World and European champion (right) had a great start into the tournament when he shot one of only four 1600-series in the history of the EBT in squad 7 setting a new tournament record with 1602.

By virtue of finishing qualifying in the top 8, Jansson, who will be the assistant coach of Team Sweden at the combined World Championships in Las Vegas in December, received three byes and was seeded into round four.

Trailing Junior Team Norway’s Jonas Dammen (left) and 2013 Norwegian Open champion James Gruffman (right) of Sweden after the three-game round by 45 and 28 pins, respectively, Jansson started the final round with a huge 288 game to take the lead and he never looked back.

He widened his lead with 246 in the second game, fifth overall, and – as all three players struggled in the last game – he cruised to victory with 166 and 1399 total, an average of 233.17 for six games.

Lefty Gruffman threw three clutch strikes in his last frame to overtake the Norwegian youngster by three pins to take second place with 1376, while Dammen was the best Norwegian in the most prestigious tournament in Norway in third place with 1373.

Tor Inge Jansen (left), who will represent Norway at the 53rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in Hermosillo, Mexico, next month was 13 pins behind in fourth place with 1360.

He was followed by the best of twelve bowlers from Iceland, Jon Ingi Ragnarsson (right) in fifth place, last year’s runner-up Mikael Roos (left) of Sweden, who was sixth with 1333 and Jansson’s son Markus Jansson (below right), who was seventh with 1309.

Carsten Warming Hansen (below left), who became the European Bowling Tour men’s point ranking winner for the 2017 season, finished eighth with 1201.

Jenny Karlsson of Sweden was the best of 36 women in 26th place to win the women’s ranking in Oslo.

The Norwegian Open 2017 by Brunswick, which ran from Oct. 6-15 at 26-lane Veitvet Bowling Center in Norway’s capital city of Oslo, was the 11th and final stop of the 2017 European Bowling Tour and also the last of three EBT “Bronze” tournaments this season.

The tournament offered total prize money of 275.000 Norwegian Kronor (approx. 29.305 Euro) with 45.000 NOK (approx. 4.795 Euro) going to the winner and a last-to-cash payout of 2.000 Kronor or 213 Euro for 60th place.

60 out of 209 players from seven countries survived the qualifying cut. The semi-final round on Saturday evening trimmed the field to 40 players who determined the champion in five three-game round with the first four rounds starting from scratch.

The field was cut to 32, 24, 16, and then eight players who bowled an additional three-game block with the pinfall from Round 4 carried forward. The player with the highest six-game total earned the title, the 45.000 NOK top prize and 100 ranking points (men and women in separate divisions).

Bowlingdigital provided onsite coverage from Veitvet Bowling Center in Oslo featuring stories, photos and results after each round commencing Thursday all the way through to the finals on Sunday, October 15.

The 2017 European Bowling Tour featured 11 tournaments in 9 countries including two “Platinum”, two “Gold”, one “Silver”, three “Bronze” and three “Satellite” events, which offered total prize fund of roughly 560.000 Euro.

The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event received ranking points. Those points were tabulated throughout the season to determine the top 8 men and top 8 women, who will be eligible to compete in the 11th EBT Masters April 23, 2018 in Tilburg, Netherlands.

Related Articles

It’s down to eight at Norwegian Open 2017 by Brunswick
Carsten Warming Hansen advances to Round 4, wins 2017 EBT ranking
Carsten Warming Hansen averages over 250 to lead Final Round 2 in Oslo
Sweden’s Robert Lindberg paces Round 1 at Norwegian Open Finals
Ida Andersson leads top 12 semi-finalists into Sunday’s Final Round 1
Raymond Jansson wins qualifying at Norwegian Open 2017 by Brunswick
Iceland’s Jon Ingi Ragnarsson storms into top 5 in Oslo
Former Norwegian Open champ James Gruffman cracks top 8
Matthias Jansson adds his name to the leaderboard at Norwegian Open
Daniel Fransson plays in his own league in Squad 19 at Norwegian Open
Tore Torgersen shoots into third place at Norwegian Open by Brunswick
Iceland’s Arnar Davíð Jónsson powers his way into the top 8
Strong finish propels Christopher Sloan into 13th place
Norwegian national team members set the tone in Squad 15 in Oslo
Swedish bowlers dominate qualifying at Norwegian Open
No changes atop the leaderboard at Norwegian Open by Brunswick
Lars-Christian Nygård cracks top 8 at Norwegian Open 2017
Pontus Andersson adds his name to the leaderboard in Oslo
Raymond Jansson becomes a member of the elite 1600-club in Oslo
Jonas Dammen charges to big lead at Norwegian Open
Norwegian Open 2017 by Brunswick is underway in Oslo
Norwegian Open 2017 by Brunswick – Tournament Preview
2017 European Bowling Tour Schedule & Champions

Norwegian Open 2017 by Brunswick – Round 5 Results (Final Standings)

Players with position, country, 6-game total, including handicap, and earnings (in Norwegian Kronor)

Pos	Player	Country	B/F	G4	G5	G6	Pins	Total	Avg.	Money
1.	Raymond Jansson	Sweden	699	288	246	166	700	1399	233.17	45.000 NOK
2.	James Gruffman	Sweden	727	211	238	200	649	1376	229.33	25.000 NOK
3.	Jonas Dammen	Norway	744	219	227	183	629	1373	228.83	15.000 NOK
4.	Tor Inge Jansen	Norway	668	235	245	212	692	1360	226.67	10.000 NOK
5.	Jon Ingi Ragnarsson	Iceland	652	202	225	255	682	1334	222.33	8.000 NOK
6.	Mikael Roos	Sweden	704	162	209	258	629	1333	222.17	7.000 NOK
7.	Markus Jansson	Sweden	669	246	172	222	640	1309	218.17	6.000 NOK
8.	Carsten Warming Hansen	Denmark	652	204	172	173	549	1201	200.17	5.000 NOK

Norwegian Open 2017 by Brunswick – Places 9-60 (Cashers)

9. Mattias Wetterberg, Sweden, 4.000 NOK
10. Tore Torgersen, Norway, 4.000 NOK
11. Benjamin Jonsson, Sweden, 4.000 NOK
12. Andreas Hansen, Sweden, 4.000 NOK
13. Jens Mathiesen, Norway, 4.000 NOK
14. Glenn Morten Pedersen, Norway, 4.000 NOK
15. Linus Carle, Sweden, 4.000 NOK
16. Arnar Davíð Jónsson, Iceland, 4.000 NOK
17. Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 3.500 NOK
18. Robert Lindberg, Sweden, 3.500 NOK
19. Skúli Freyr Sigurdsson, Iceland, 3.500 NOK
20. Christopher Sloan, Ireland, 3.500 NOK
21. Mattias Jansson, Sweden, 3.500 NOK
22. Daniel Fransson, Sweden, 3.500 NOK
23. Ruben Hansen Sælen, Norway, 3.500 NOK
24. Lars Lundahl, Sweden, 3.500 NOK
25. Jimmy Dan Mortensen, Denmark, 3.000 NOK
26. Jenny Karlsson, Sweden, 3.000 NOK
27. Håkan Persson, Sweden, 3.000 NOK
28. Lars-Christian Nygård, Norway, 3.000 NOK
29. Ida Andersson, Sweden, 3.000 NOK
30. Nina Flack, Sweden, 3.000 NOK
31. Ronny Olavesen, Norway, 3.000 NOK
32. Alexander Beck, Norway, 3.000 NOK
33. Kjetil Johansen, Norway, 2.500 NOK
34. Fredrik Tjernes, Norway, 2.500 NOK
35. Thomas Fredrik Fagerstrøm, Norway, 2.500 NOK
36. Jørgen Mathiesen, Norway, 2.500 NOK
37. Adrian Kindervaag, Norway, 2.500 NOK
38. Henrik Aspdahl Oseth, Norway, 2.500 NOK
39. Oskar Wirefeldt, Sweden, 2.500 NOK
40. Øyvind Harang, Norway, 2.500 NOK
41. Svein Åke Ek, Norway, 2.000 NOK
42. Audun Boye Hansen, Norway, 2.000 NOK
43. Åsa Carlsson, Sweden, 2.000 NOK
44. Sigbjørn Eide, Norway, 2.000 NOK
45. Jens Sjöbohm, Sweden, 2.000 NOK
46. Runar Almestrand, Norway, 2.000 NOK
47. Erland Lund, Norway, 2.000 NOK
48. Thomas Økland Hinna, Norway, 2.000 NOK
49. Kenneth Hermansen, Norway, 2.000 NOK
50. Gjermund Mathiesen, Norway, 2.000 NOK
51. Christian Rogne, Norway, 2.000 NOK
52. Håvar Wolden Skog, Norway, 2.000 NOK
53. Jan Simonsen, Sweden, 2.000 NOK
54. Tom Nilsen, Norway, 2.000 NOK
55. Christer Aker, Norway, 2.000 NOK
56. Åse Jacobsen, Norway, 2.000 NOK
57. Thor Kristian Østlie Solberg, Norway, 2.000 NOK
58. Rune Feirud, Norway, 2.000 NOK
59. Niklas Jannik Soerensen, Denmark, 2.000 NOK
60. Alida Molander, Sweden, 2.000 NOK