Mika Koivuniemi captures second consecutive PBA International title at Qatar Open

    12/16/12

    2012 EBT #19 / 2013 WBT #2

    Defeats fellow countryman Tony Ranta in all-Finnish affair to win his 11th career PBA title and the 30.000 Euro top prize; Dominic Barrett (ENG) and Birgit Pöppler (GER) win men's and women's EBT Point Ranking

    201213PBAMikaKoivuniemi.jpg2012EBT09TonyRanta2.jpgFresh off his victory in the Round1 Japan Cup, Mika Koivuniemi (pictured left) of Finland defeated fellow countryman Tony Ranta (right) in the title match of the 12th Qatar Bowling Open, 544-471, en route to win his second consecutive PBA International title and the 11th PBA title of his career Saturday at Qatar Bowling Center in Doha.

    The two-time PBA Player, who improved on a second-place finish last year, led Final Round 1 & 2 to capture the No. 1 seed for the playoffs with the two-game total determining the winner. Koivuniemi pocketed 30.000 for the victory while Ranta received 14.400 Euro for second place.

    201213PBATommyJones.jpg2012EBT13MartinLarsen.jpgIn the semifinals, Ranta, seeded second, eliminated No. 3 seed, Tommy Jones (left), United States, in a low-scoring encounter, 389-361, while Koivuniemi sidelined Swede Martin Larsen (right), 442-385. Jones and Larsen earned 5.00 Euro apiece for third and fourth place.

    Dominic Barrett (below left) of England finished the tournament in 10th place to win the 2012 European Bowling Tour men's point ranking for the second time in his career. Barrett, who was the point ranking leader in 2010, earned total 695 ranking points and maintained a 40 point lead over Koivuniemi (655) with Larsen in third place at 614.

    2012EBT13DominicBarrett.jpg2012ECCBirgitPoppler2.jpgQualifying leader Birgit Pöppler (right) of Germany, was the best of 13 women in the 142 player field from 26 countries in 11th place and received 250 ranking points to win the EBT women's point ranking for the first time in her career.

    Pöppler, who held a 32-point lead heading into the last event of the 2012 EBT Tour, totaled 820 points to finish 172 points ahead of second-place Sandra Andersson of Sweden with 648. Three-time ranking leader Britt Brøndsted (2004-06) of Denmark was third with 514 points.

    2012EBT19QatarOpenLogo.jpg The 12th Qatar Bowling Open was the 19th and last event of the 2012 European Bowling Tour and one of only two EBT "Platinum" tournaments this season. The tournament was held from Dec. 9-15, 2012 at 32-lane Qatar Bowling Center in Doha, Qatar.

    Players competed for total prize fund of 125.000 Euro (approx. $163,000) with 30.000 € going to the winner, 14.400 € to the runner-up and 5.000 € apiece to the third and fourth place finishers.

    As the 12th Qatar Bowling Open was also the second event of the 2013 World Bowling Tour, the tournament also awarded a PBA international title (if won by a PBA member or a PBA international member).

    Qualifying ran from Sunday, Dec. 9 through Friday, Dec. 14. A total of 48 players advanced to the finals on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012. The top 9 qualifiers earned one bye. Women received 8 pins handicap each game, a standard on the European Bowling Tour.

    The remaining 39 players bowled six games scratch with the top 19 advancing to the second round. Those 19 and the nine qualifying leaders rolled another six-game block scratch to cut to the top 4, who advanced to the semifinals.

    The No. 1 bowled No. 4 and the No. 2 bowled No. 3 with the two-game total pinfall determining the winner. The two semifinal winners then bowled for the title and the 30.000 Euro top prize.

    2012EBTLogo_small.jpg The 2012 European Bowling Tour was made up of 19 events in 16 countries including two Platinum, four Gold, six Silver and seven Satellite tournaments.

    The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event earned ranking points based on how they finished in the event. The winner of a Platinum tournament such as the Qatar Bowling Open received 250 ranking points, the winner of a Gold tournament got 150, the winner of a Silver tournament earned 100, and the winner of a Satellite tournament got 50 ranking points.

    Those points were tabulated throughout the season. The top 16 men and top 16 women will compete in the sixth EBT Masters in Bratislava, Slovakia in Sept. 2013.

     


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    12th Qatar Bowling Open 2012


    Qatar Bowling Center in Doha, Qatar (Nov. 23-29, 2011)

    Championship Round:
    1. Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 986 (4 games), 30.000 Euro
    2. Tony Ranta, Finland, 860 (4 games), 14.400 Euro
    3. Tommy Jones, United States, 361 (2 games), 5.000 Euro
    4. Martin Larsen, Sweden, 385 (2 games), 5.000 Euro

    Playoff Results:
    Semifinal Match 1: No. 1 Koivuniemi (208, 234) def. No. 4 Larsen (184, 201), 442-385
    Semifinal Match 2: No. 2 Ranta (157, 232) def. No. 3 Jones (169, 192), 389-361
    Championship: Koivuniemi (278, 266) def. Ranta (246, 225), 544-471

     


    Final Standings - Places 5-48 (Cashers)


    5. Mike Fagan, United States, 2.500 Euro
    6. Tom Smallwood, United States, 2.500 Euro
    7. Josh Blanchard, United States, 2.500 Euro
    8. Yousif Falah, Bahrain, 2.500 Euro
    9. Ryan Lalisang, Indonesia, 2.500 Euro
    10. Dominic Barrett, England, 2.500 Euro
    11. Birgit Pöppler, Germany, 2.500 Euro
    12. Michael Ankerdal, Denmark, 2.500 Euro
    13. Chris Barnes, United States, 1.800 Euro
    14. Isaac Russell, Malaysia, 1.800 Euro
    15. Bill O'Neill, United States, 1.800 Euro
    16. Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 1.800 Euro
    17. Jesper Agerbo, Denmark, 1.800 Euro
    18. Ronnie Russell, United States, 1.800 Euro
    19. Wu Siu Hong, Hong Kong, 1.800 Euro
    20. Paul Moor, England, 1.800 Euro
    21. Sascha Wedel, Denmark, 1.500 Euro
    22. Shaker Al-Hassan, UAE, 1.500 Euro
    23. Hareb Al-Mansoori, UAE, 1.500 Euro
    24. Pia Burkal, Denmark, 1.500 Euro
    25. Mohamed Janahi, Bahrain, 1.500 Euro
    26. Ida Andersson, Sweden, 1.500 Euro
    27. Anthony Pepe, United States, 1.500 Euro
    28. John Guldbaek, Denmark, 1.500 Euro
    29. Randi B. Christensen, Denmark, 1.200 Euro
    30. Daniel Fransson, Sweden, 1.200 Euro
    31. James Gruffman, Sweden, 1.200 Euro
    32. Britt Brøndsted, Denmark, 1.200 Euro
    33. Stuart Williams, England, 1.200 Euro
    34. Mansoor Al-Awami, Qatar, 1.200 Euro
    35. Aumi Guerra, Dominican Republic, 1.200 Euro
    36. Jamal Al-Sahoti, Qatar, 1.200 Euro
    37. Mohammed Al-Mahri, UAE, 1.200 Euro
    38. Hussain Al-Suwaidi, UAE, 1.200 Euro
    39. Abdulla Haroon, Qatar, 1.000 Euro
    40. Mohammed Jamal, Qatar, 1.000 Euro
    41. Christian Gelzinger, Sweden, 1.000 Euro
    42. Khalid Al-Emadi, Qatar, 1.000 Euro
    43. Zakareya Al-Zooqari, Qatar, 1.000 Euro
    44. Mubarak Al-Muraikhi, Qatar, 1.000 Euro
    45. Jimmy Mortensen, Denmark, 1.000 Euro
    46. Dan MacLelland, Canada, 1.000 Euro
    47. Lars Høberg, Denmark, 1.000 Euro
    48. Khaled Al-Doseri, Qatar, 1.000 Euro

     


    Final Round Two


    The top 4 advance to the finals.

     


    Final Round One


    The top 19 advance to the second round.

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