Samu Valaranta (pictured) of Finland led the eighth qualifying squad with 1392, an average of 232 for six games, to overtake the qualifying lead in the 44th Brunswick Ballmaster Open Monday at Tali Bowling Center in Helsinki, Finland. Valaranta had games of 246, 189, 237, 256, 237 and 227 to overtake previous leader
Timo Alho, Finland, who led since Squad 2 with 1373, by 19 pins. Alho slipped to second place and is followed by
Olli Pakonen, Finland, who leaped into third place behind a 1364 series.
Michał Świtalski and Michał Zarzycki paced a field of 24 bowlers on the opening day of qualifying in the 8th International Wroclaw Open by Hammer at Galeria Rozrywki Miraz in Wroclaw, Poland. Świtalski led the second of three squads on Wednesday with 1335, an average of 222.50 for six games, and and Zarzycki was mere 29 pins behind with 1306. Qualifying continues Thursday, February 13, with Squads 4-7 scheduled to start at 10 a.m., 1.30, 5 and 8.30 p.m. CET.
The 2014 European Bowling Tour commences with two Hammer-sponsored tournaments February/March. The 8th International Wroclaw Open by Hammer will be held from Feb. 12-16 at Galeria Rozrywki Miraz, a 10-laner in Wroclaw, Poland, and will be followed by the Hammer Bronzen Schietspoel Tournament Feb. 23 thru March 2 at 20-lane Dolfijn Bowling in Tilburg, Netherlands. The EBT Satellite and Silver tournaments offer total prize funds of 26.000 and 44.400 Euro, resp.
The 14th BBWZ International Youth Tournament is underway in Almere, Netherland. The event, which is part of the Youth Euro Trophy (YET), has registered more than 230 entries from eight different countries. In Sunday's Squads 3 & 4 Patrick Jannik Sørensen and Kasper Loft Farebaek of Denmark and Dutch Elvira de Weerdt and Denise Blankenzee added their names to the leaderboards.
The Israel Bowling Federation has announced the six-player team for the 2014 Men's World Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Israeli Team Trials concluded Saturday, February 1, at the bowling center of Petach Tikva. The 2014 Men's World Championships will be held from November 8-19 at 40-lane Khalifa Bowling Stadium in Zayed Sports City. In the past, Israeli players were denied a visa by the UAE, and thus prevented Israel from playing at the 1999 Worlds.
Belgium's Andre Geelen and Liliane Vintens (pictured r-l) started the 2014 International Seniors Bowling Tour with victory in the 3rd Plaza Senior Open at Plaza Bowling Thillois in Reims, France. Geelen averaged over 246 in round robin match play to capture the men's title, more than 100 pins ahead of Ed Roberts (USA) and Ernst Berndt (AUT). Vintens finished with a huge 268 game to beat out Alessandra Morra (ITA) and Angie Brown (ENG) for the women's top spot by 24 and 34 pins, resp.
England's Jamie Bottomley and Haylee Rumkee captured the men's and women's title in the 26th Storm Irish Open Tenpin Bowling Championships, which concluded Sunday afternoon at Leisureplex Stillorgan in Dublin, Ireland. In the men's championship match in best-of-three games format, Bottomley defeated his compatriot Jason Agate, two-games-to-one, to win the 4.000 Europ top prize. On the women's side, Rumkee defeated Hollie Fleming of Scotland to take home 1.000 Euro. 
The field of 151 men and 41 women in the 26th Irish Open was trimmed to 24 men and 16 women Saturday at Leisureplex Stillorgan in Dublin, Ireland. Gary Redpath of Scotland paced men's Round Three with 1480 (246.67 average) to lead the top 20 into the fourth round where they will meet the top 4 qualifiers in another six-game round. The women's field is already down to 16 players as Senior World Champion Christel Carlsson (pictured), Sweden, averaged 235.75 in Round 2 to lead the top 11 players into the first match play round.
Paul Moor (pictured) of England averaged 256.50 and posted a 1539 series Friday at Leisureplex Stillorgan in Dublin, Ireland, to shoot into the lead in the men's division of the 26th Storm Irish Open Tenpin Bowling Championships. The 13-time European Bowling Tour titlist fired games of 246, 246, 279, 222, 278 and 268 to lead the 149-player field heading into the last qualifying squad on Saturday morning. Kerena Dykes of Ireland remained unchallenged in the women's division as she leads the 35-player field with 1416 or an average of 236.
Giancarlo Ragusa of Belgium and Ireland's Kerena Dykes took over the lead in the Irish Open after the second day of qualifying featuring four squads Thursday at Leisureplex Stillorgan in Dublin, Ireland. Ragusa (pictured) leads the 87-player men's field with 1469 and an average of 244.83, while Dykes took a commanding lead in the 27-player women's division with 1416. PBA Hall of Famer and 2012 Irish Open champion Brian Voss, United States, rolled the tournament's first 300 game in his 1436 series, which propelled him into fourth place.
The 26th Storm Irish Open Tenpin Bowling Championships got underway with Wednesday night's overflow squad at Leisureplex Stillorgan in Dublin, Ireland. Northern Ireland's Ryan Press (picured left) fired games of 221, 247, 204, 223, 247 and 277 to take the lead in the men's division with 1419 and an average of 236.50 for six games. Theresa Watts of Ireland set the early pace in the women's division with 1135. Qualifying continues Thursday with Squads 1-4 scheduled to start at 10 a.m., 1, 4.45 and 8.30 p.m. local time.
Mika Koivuniemi (l.) of Finland won an unprecedented fourth Ballmaster Open title when he defeated Dominic Barrett (r.) in a low-scoring title match, 188-172, to celebrate his ninth victory on the European Bowling Tour and to earn the 12.000 Euro top prize. Koivuniemi, who earned a 3.000 Euro bonus for rolling the tournament's first 300 game during qualifying, also was awarded his 13th career PBA title and his fourth win on the World Bowling Tour.
Chris Loschetter (l.), United States, led the penultimate squad 16 with 1479 Saturday at Tali Bowling Center in Helsinki, Finland en route to win the qualifying of the 44th Brunswick Ballmaster Open and to earn a 2.000 Euro bonus. Dominic Barrett (r.) of England was close behind in second place with 1462, worth 1.000 Euro. Previous leader Tomas Leandersson of Sweden slipped to third place with 1420 to receive a 500 Euro bonus.
Joline Persson Planefors (pictured) of Sweden posted a 1391 series including handicap in Friday's Squad 11 to move into sixth place in the overall qualifying standings of the 44th Brunswick Ballmaster Open at Tali Bowling Center in Helsinki, Finland. The 2013 European Bowling Tour women's point ranking leader rolled games of 236, 235, 206, 210, 234 and 222 to become the top-ranked woman in the 496-player field. Heading into the last day of qualifying, Swedish standout Tomas Leandersson leads the field with 1420 (236.67 average).
Closing games of 288 and 267 propelled Tomas Leandersson (pictured) of Sweden into the qualifying lead in the 44th Brunswick Ballmaster Open at Tali Bowling Center in Helsinki, Finland Thursday. The former World and European champion, who started his series with 213, 235, 186 and 231, totaled 1420 pins, an average of 236.67, in Squad 10 en route to position himself atop the 436-player leaderboard. Three-time Ballmaster Open champion Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, earned a 3.000 Euro bonus for the tournament's first 300 game.
Swedish national team member Jesper Svensson (pictured) started the year 2014 with victory in the 34th AIK International Tournament Monday at Bowl-O-Rama in Stockholm, Sweden. The two-handed lefty led all three rounds of the finals en route to win the title and 60.000 Swedish Kronor, approximately 6.720 Euro. Swedish standout and fellow Team Pergamon member Tomas Leandersson used the field-best 7-2 won-lost record to beat out Peter Nordenson of Team Clan BK for second place by just one pin, 4656 to 4655.
Perttu Jussila (l.) averaged 227.17 in the fifth qualifying squad of the 44th Brunswick Ballmaster Open Sunday at Tali Bowling Center in Helsinki, Finland, falling 10 pins short of lead to move into third place with 1363. Squad 2 leader Timo Alho (r.) of Finland, continued to lead the 266-player with 1373 and an average of 228.83. Heidi Manninen, all from Finland, led Squad 6 with 1332 total including 48 pins handicap en route to move into fifth place.
The top of the leaderboard in the 34th AIK International Tournament 2014 remained unchanged on Sunday though the first 300 game of the tournament was rolled at Bowl-O-Rama in Stockholm, Sweden. Jimmy Wogel of Tyresö BK won the qualifying with an average of 246.50. Isabelle Hultin (pictured) of bowling club Bågen led the penultimate squad 14 on Sunday to become the best woman in the field in fourth place. Hultin averaged 225 for her six games and added 48 pins handicap to her 1350 pinfall for 1398 total.
Finnish internationals Joonas Jähi and Pasi Uotila led the third and fourth squad Saturday at Tali Bowling Center in Helsinki, Finland, to crack the top 10 in the qualifying standings of 44th Brunswick Ballmaster Open. Uotila (l.), a three-time Ballmaster Open champion, put together a 1327 series in Squad 4 to leap into fourth place. Jähi (r.), who led Squad 3 with 1308, was second to Uotila in Squad 4 with 1317, good for seventh place overall.
Three Jespers (Svensson, Larsen & Hagberg) and Mattias Wetterberg, all from Sweden, paced Squads 9-12 on the penultimate qualifying day of the 34th AIK International Tournament 2014 Saturday at Bowl-O-Rama in Stockholm, Sweden. Team Pergamon's Jesper Svensson (pictured left), the defending Ballmaster Open champion, was the top-scorer of the day with 1395, an average of 232.50, to move into fourth place on the 334-player leaderboard. Qualifying concludes on Sunday, January 5, with Squads 13-15.