Fifty-one players, 47 from Turkey and two each from Germany and Russia, kicked off the 9th Istanbul Bowling Open Saturday at Timeout Bowling Center in Istanbul, Turkey. Tolga ÅžiÅŸmanoÄŸullar (pictured) of Turkey averaged 233.50 to take the early lead in the tournament with 1401 pinfall total. ÅžiÅŸmanoÄŸullar, who had games of 201, 253, 266, 217, 246 and 218, received a 300 Euro bonus for winning Squad 2. Qualifying continues with Squads 3 & 4 scheduled to start at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. EEST followed by Desperado Squad 1.
Martin Paulsson (l.) of Sweden put together a 1406 series, an average of 234.33, in the 8th qualifying squad Wednesday evening at Timeout Bowling Center in Istanbul, Turkey, to overtake the lead in the qualifying of the 9th Istanbul Bowling Open. Previous leader Tolga ÅžiÅŸmanoÄŸullar of Turkey slipped to second place with 1401. Alexey Parshukov (r.) of Russia led Squad 7 with 1326 including high games of 279 and 259, good for fourth place overall.
Maria Bulanova (l.) of Nizhny Novgorod and Alexey Parshukov (r.) of Ekaterinburg emerged as women's and men's All Events champion at the Russian Team Championship 2014 in St. Petersburg. Both players will represent Russia in the 2014 European Champions Cup in Reykjavik, Iceland. 15-year-old Bulanova, who also won the titles in Doubles Trios and Team, and men's Team champion Parshukov averaged 231.63 and 240.71 for 24 games.
Ebru Özoğluuntur (pictured) of Turkey was the only player in Tuesday Squad 6 who surpassed the 1200 mark en route to move into seventh place in the qualifying of the 9th Istanbul Bowling Open. Özoğluuntur toppled 1159 pins, an average of 193.17, and added 48 pins women's handicap for 1207 total to become the second woman in the top 8. She received a 300 Euro bonus for winning the squad. Tolga Şişmanoğullar, Turkey, leads the field of 83 players from five countries with 1401 total and an average of 233.50.
Tolga ÅžiÅŸmanoÄŸullar (l.) of Turkey remained unchallenged in Monday's Squad 5 and continued to the lead the qualifying in the 9th Istanbul Bowling Open. ÅžiÅŸmanoÄŸullar leads a field of 79 players from five countries with 1401 total and an average of 233.50 for six games. Mehmet Kaya (r.), Turkey, led Squad 5 with 1197 or an average of 199.50. Kaya, who received a 300 Euro
bonus for winning the squad, leaped into seventh place in the overall
standings. 
Tolga Şişmanoğullar (l.) and Gülhan Aksular (r.) remained atop the leaderboard in the 9th Istanbul Bowling Open after the first four of 20 qualifying squads. Şişmanoğullar leads the field of 73 players with 1401 total and an average of 233.50. Aksular is 106 pins behind with 1295 including 48 pins women's handicap. By virtue of finishing Squads 1-4 in first and second place, Şişmanoğullar and Aksular earned automatic berths into the finals on May 11.
After a two-year hiatus due to financial reasons, the Istanbul Bowling Open is back on the European Bowling Tour schedule. The 9th edition of the tournament is the sixth stop of the 2014 season and the second of six EBT "Gold" tournaments, the second-highest of the four EBT categories. The tournament will be held from May 3-11, at 20-lane Timeout Bowling Center in Istanbul, Turkey, and offers total prize money of 60.000 Euro with 7.000 Euro going to the winner.
Brigitte Fievet of France and Germany's Carlo Greulich emerged as champions in the Alsace Senior Open. Greulich averaged 255.57 over his seven games in the men's finals to beat out Patrick Rolland, France, for the top place by just 15 pins. Fievet finished the women's finals with 259 and 237, which left her with a 74 pin lead over Liliane Vintens, Belgium.
Pontus Andersson of Sweden and Lea Degenhardt of Germany concluded the 27th European Youth Championships in Odense, Denmark, with victory in the prestigious Boys and Girls Masters. In a title match between the Boys All Events champion and runner-up, No. 2 Andersson topped No. 1 Markus Bergendorff of Denmark, 2-1, including a 227-175 win in the deciding third game. In the Girls final, No. 4 Degenhardt defeated No. 1 Keira Reay, 2-1, including a 212-175 win in the decider.
Bowlingdigital.com and Flavio Cuva proudly present a Full High Definition Super Slow Motion video featuring some of the best players from Europe, Asia and the PBA. In the motion picture industry, the standard filming and projection formats are 24 frames per second (fps). Shooting at a frame rate higher than 24 fps would create slow motion when projected. This video is a quantum leap in tenpin bowling video technology as it was recorded with 200-400 fps (some scenes are edited to up to 2.000 fps). Enjoy!
Nikita Koshelev (pictured) of Russia defeated fellow countryman Mikhail Belenky, 450-383, en route to win his first European Bowling Tour title and the 2.200 top prize in the Ekaterinburg Open 2014 Saturday at Hippo Amusement Park in Ekaterinburg, Russia. Belenky pocketed 1.800 Euro for second place. Evgeniya Zelenkova, who won the women's ranking, defeated Evgeniy Mineev in roll-off for third and fourth place, 420-361. Zelenkova earned 1.400 Euro and Mineev got 1.200 Euro.