Ninety-five Finnish bowlers, eight women and 87 men, kicked off the qualifying of the 45th Brunswick Ballmaster Open Friday at Tali Bowling Center in Helsinki, Finland. 2013 Team World Champion Joonas Jehkinen (pictured left) and former women's national team member Reija Lundén (right) led the field with 1346 pinfall total.

Jehkinen, who won the bronze medal in Doubles (with Kimmo Lehtonen) at the Men's World Championships last month, sits in the pole position after day one qualifying behind five games between 257 and 216 and a low game of 176, an average of 224.33, as his total pinfall minus his lowest game (1170) is higher than Lunden's five-game total (1153).

Lundén had games of 226, 246, 192, 185, 237 and 212 (216.33 average) and added 48 pins handicap to sit in second place.

Magnus Lönnroth (pictured right with his 10 weeks old daughter Linnea; photo Seija Lankinen) paced Squad 1 with 1339 (223.17) including six games between 215 and 247. Fourth place Lauri Sipilä was the only other bowler who surpassed the 1300 mark with 1308.

Lundén's daughter, Roosa Lundén, was the second-best woman in 10th place with 1251 including handicap.

Qualifying continues on Saturday, January 3, with Squads 3 and 4 scheduled to start at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. local time (CET +1).

The 45th Brunswick Ballmaster Open is the opening event of the 2015 European Bowling Tour and the first of three "EBT Platinum" events this season, the highest of the four EBT categories.

The BBO, which is also the sixth stop of the 2015 World Bowling Tour, will be held from Friday, January 2 through Sunday 11, 2015 at 36-lane Tali Bowling Center in Finland's capital city Helsinki.

Players will compete for total prize money of up to 121.800 Euro including all extra prizes with 13.000 Euro going to the winner, 9.000 to the runner-up and 6.000 and 4.000 to the third and fourth place finishers, respectively. Low to cash is 48th place, worth 1.100 Euro.

The 2015 BBO also offers a 3.000 Euro bonus for the first 300 game (5.000 if it is the only 300 game in the tournament) and a 20.000 Euro extra prize for a 300 game in Round Robin or the TV stepladder finals (300eXtra rules). The maximum a bowler can win in this year's event is 40.800 Euro.

According to an agreement between World Bowling and the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), the Ballmaster Open will award a PBA title, if won by a PBA member.

Qualifying (six games, unlimited re-entries) runs through Saturday, Jan. 10, and ends with Squad 17 followed by the ultimate one-game Desperado Squad slated for 11.30 p.m. local time (CET +1).

Women will receive 8 pins handicap each game (up to 292 - maximum score is 300), an equality handicap provided to women in all EBT events.

A total of 48 players - the top 44 from the overall qualifying standings plus the top 4 from the Desperado Squad - qualify for the finals on Sunday, Jan. 11. The qualifying winner receives a 1.500 Euro bonus. The first and second runner-up get 1.000 and 500 Euro, respectively.

All 48 finalists bowl eight games scratch with the top 16 advancing to the match play portion. Those 16 bowl further 15 games of round robin match play (no position round) with the Round 1 total carried over.

Players earn 30 bonus pins for each match won and 15 for a tie. The top 4 players after 23 games including bonus pins determine the champion in a traditional stepladder final.

The No. 4 seed meets the No. 3 in the opening match. The winner takes on the No. 2 seed for the right to bowl the top seed for the title, the 13.000 Euro top prize and 250 EBT and 50 WBT ranking points.

The stepladder finals, which are supposed to start at 6 p.m. local time, will be broadcast by the national TV in Finland. A live stream will be available for international viewers.

The 2015 European Bowling Tour currently consists of 21 tournaments in 15 countries featuring three "Platinum" events, four "Gold", three "Silver" and eleven "Satellite" events. All 21 tournaments together offer total prize fund of roughly 1 million Euro (approx. 1.22 million U.S. Dollar).

The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event receive ranking points. Those points will be tabulated throughout the season to determine the top 12 men and top 12 women, who will compete in the 9th EBT Masters July 25, 2016 at Rose'n Bowl in Serravalle, San Marino following the San Marino Open.

The 2015 World Bowling Tour, which actually got underway in 2014 with the PBA World Championship, currently consists of 20 tournaments including seven "majors" in the Middle East (9), United States (6), Asia (3), Europe (2).

Players earn ranking points based on how they finish in each event. The current points system is based on a continuous two-year cycle, so some points earned in 2013 and all points from the 2014 and 2015 are added to determine the points list.

The top three men and top three women in the WBT points list will be invited to compete in the 2015 World Bowling Tour Finals in the beginning of 2016.

World Bowling provides governance to international bowling and is made up of 134 bowling international federations. For more information on the World Bowling Tour, click here.

 

Related Articles

45th Brunswick Ballmaster Open kicks off 2015 European Bowling Tour
Mika Koivuniemi captures an unprecedented fourth Brunswick Ballmaster Open title
2015 European Bowling Tour Schedule and Money-breakdown
2014 EBT Point Rankings by Bowlingdigital - Men and Women
2015 World Bowling Tour - Schedule, Champions, Men's and Women's Ranking Winners
2015 WBT Point Rankings - Men and Women

 

2015 Brunswick Ballmaster Open - Qualifying Standings after Squad 2

The top 44 plus the top 4 from the Desperado Squad will advance to the finals on Sunday, Jan. 11

Pos	Player	Country	G1	G2	G3	G4	G5	G6	Pins	Avg.	Hc	Total
1.	Joonas Jehkinen	Finland	257	227	247	216	176	223	1346	224.33		1346
2.	Reija Lundén	Finland	226	246	192	185	237	212	1298	216.33	48	1346
3.	Magnus Lönnroth	Finland	219	212	211	215	247	235	1339	223.17		1339
4.	Lauri Sipilä	Finland	202	252	167	213	215	259	1308	218.00		1308
5.	Mikko Pietilä	Finland	279	237	177	200	187	195	1275	212.50		1275
6.	Ilari Uusnäkki	Finland	201	232	208	233	211	190	1275	212.50		1275
7.	Tomas Käyhkö	Finland	216	170	225	194	200	268	1273	212.17		1273
8.	Markus Heinonen	Finland	154	195	199	235	256	230	1269	211.50		1269
9.	Jesse Kallio	Finland	188	234	227	167	244	194	1254	209.00		1254
10.	Roosa Lundén	Finland	196	166	258	166	206	211	1203	200.50	48	1251
11.	Olli Pakonen	Finland	145	230	198	268	225	181	1247	207.83		1247
12.	Niko Oksanen	Finland	221	201	190	213	216	199	1240	206.67		1240
13.	Juuso Rikkola	Finland	181	200	200	185	233	230	1229	204.83		1229
14.	Timo Alho	Finland	228	209	236	185	192	178	1228	204.67		1228
15.	Harri Määttä	Finland	164	183	164	235	256	224	1226	204.33		1226
16.	Kert Truus	Finland	179	209	210	209	200	205	1212	202.00		1212
17.	Olli Tiainen	Finland	210	194	183	206	236	175	1204	200.67		1204
18.	Joakim Westlin	Finland	183	188	192	177	257	195	1192	198.67		1192
19.	Juhani Tonteri	Finland	183	225	192	206	192	193	1191	198.50		1191
20.	Emilia Pettinen	Finland	186	179	179	188	208	201	1141	190.17	48	1189
21.	Heikki Tikkanen	Finland	213	190	183	203	215	185	1189	198.17		1189
22.	Joona Lehtonen	Finland	196	224	170	186	209	202	1187	197.83		1187
23.	Timo Uusinarkaus	Finland	187	267	204	174	188	166	1186	197.67		1186
24.	Jarmo Ahokas	Finland	172	201	165	234	246	158	1176	196.00		1176
25.	Jari Ratia	Finland	177	181	185	204	214	215	1176	196.00		1176
26.	Harri Korkka	Finland	152	191	163	245	193	225	1169	194.83		1169
27.	Ossi Kuningas	Finland	190	188	158	227	221	185	1169	194.83		1169
28.	Henry Laine	Finland	165	201	177	234	223	169	1169	194.83		1169
29.	Jouni Helminen	Finland	202	170	190	201	203	203	1169	194.83		1169
30.	Pyry Puharinen	Finland	160	192	202	211	181	222	1168	194.67		1168
31.	Mika Oksanen	Finland	201	205	188	182	206	186	1168	194.67		1168
32.	Kaaron Salomaa	Finland	161	198	199	214	203	190	1165	194.17		1165
33.	Saku Konttila	Finland	212	199	167	180	203	203	1164	194.00		1164
34.	Tuula Tamminen	Finland	207	195	159	172	188	189	1110	185.00	48	1158
35.	Jari Stenroos	Finland	236	222	179	179	161	177	1154	192.33		1154
36.	Jenna Kurppa	Finland	235	165	198	149	188	169	1104	184.00	48	1152
37.	Seppo Niemi	Finland	170	182	201	234	172	181	1140	190.00		1140
38.	Mika Heino	Finland	201	183	185	149	203	217	1138	189.67		1138
39.	Henrik Heinonen	Finland	210	188	235	191	161	153	1138	189.67		1138
40.	Pekka Lindholm	Finland	164	202	144	195	213	215	1133	188.83		1133
41.	Sami Päiväniemi	Finland	150	200	184	214	197	186	1131	188.50		1131
42.	Juho Rissanen	Finland	180	192	190	188	143	236	1129	188.17		1129
43.	Vesa Villman	Finland	165	159	168	192	232	211	1127	187.83		1127
44.	Teemu Putkisto	Finland	155	221	185	166	188	211	1126	187.67		1126
45.	Orvo Kaikkonen	Finland	143	182	245	183	200	171	1124	187.33		1124
46.	Nihat Manis	Finland	183	186	181	190	193	191	1124	187.33		1124
47.	Ilkka Hietanen	Finland	150	190	181	202	209	190	1122	187.00		1122
48.	Tuomo Konttila	Finland	205	182	211	153	181	190	1122	187.00		1122
49.	Emil Strömberg	Finland	159	198	158	186	202	215	1118	186.33		1118
50.	Juha Seppälä	Finland	176	197	168	187	155	234	1117	186.17		1117
51.	Tuomas Uusinarkaus	Finland	172	214	171	192	176	191	1116	186.00		1116
52.	Linus Boström	Finland	173	192	156	191	217	185	1114	185.67		1114
53.	Risto-Matti Valta	Finland	200	223	146	151	189	203	1112	185.33		1112
54.	Jari Aaltonen	Finland	198	177	200	182	185	167	1109	184.83		1109
55.	Miko Huittinen	Finland	186	153	190	195	199	179	1102	183.67		1102
56.	Ville Rajala	Finland	168	183	214	154	210	168	1097	182.83		1097
57.	Aki Hurri	Finland	155	169	204	176	180	212	1096	182.67		1096
58.	Niko Liukkonen	Finland	200	182	171	190	192	161	1096	182.67		1096
59.	Ville Koivuranta	Finland	150	194	203	192	194	161	1094	182.33		1094
60.	Kaj Kerbs	Finland	164	168	156	195	175	235	1093	182.17		1093
61.	Simon Susiluoto	Finland	181	240	209	143	157	159	1089	181.50		1089
62.	Nina Haavisto	Finland	169	151	191	147	178	205	1041	173.50	48	1089
63.	Mika Salminen	Finland	178	178	148	202	179	197	1082	180.33		1082
64.	Jere Kujala	Finland	168	160	149	219	182	203	1081	180.17		1081
65.	Jarno Marjakangas	Finland	145	216	178	168	181	191	1079	179.83		1079
66.	Mauno Salminen	Finland	191	171	178	169	179	182	1070	178.33		1070
67.	Topi Rautiainen	Finland	212	165	181	186	166	158	1068	178.00		1068
68.	Riikka Ratia	Finland	155	171	192	157	156	187	1018	169.67	48	1066
69.	Janne Murto	Finland	152	165	159	195	182	209	1062	177.00		1062
70.	Janne Kaukonen	Finland	163	193	153	192	173	183	1057	176.17		1057
71.	Vesa-Matti Kreus	Finland	168	182	170	140	176	220	1056	176.00		1056
72.	Senni Savikurki	Finland	175	171	160	170	159	173	1008	168.00	48	1056
73.	Janne Kolhonen	Finland	163	180	158	185	177	191	1054	175.67		1054
74.	Matti Virta	Finland	181	176	181	155	167	187	1047	174.50		1047
75.	Eeli Rydberg	Finland	164	140	151	191	205	191	1042	173.67		1042
76.	Joni Oksanen	Finland	185	177	177	146	186	170	1041	173.50		1041
77.	Miikka Vaarala	Finland	201	168	135	184	186	165	1039	173.17		1039
78.	Janne Stenroos	Finland	223	131	153	183	159	189	1038	173.00		1038
79.	Paavo Saarinen	Finland	177	157	159	160	185	197	1035	172.50		1035
80.	Toni Jokinen	Finland	180	186	145	180	172	168	1031	171.83		1031
81.	Jesse Ahokas	Finland	136	155	147	131	206	246	1021	170.17		1021
82.	Antti-Matti Tikkanen	Finland	150	177	156	182	166	186	1017	169.50		1017
83.	Otto Simojoki	Finland	145	167	165	215	168	150	1010	168.33		1010
84.	Juho Mäkelä	Finland	212	172	137	182	151	155	1009	168.17		1009
85.	Niko Jokinen	Finland	110	185	188	177	161	180	1001	166.83		1001
86.	Mika Huttunen	Finland	132	160	163	216	157	173	1001	166.83		1001
87.	Carl Kinnunen	Finland	149	188	143	168	188	165	1001	166.83		1001
88.	Matti Alén	Finland	187	159	127	203	178	136	990	165.00		990
89.	Juuso Huhtiranta	Finland	162	191	169	156	154	147	979	163.17		979
90.	Jere Jormanainen	Finland	186	180	132	180	153	143	974	162.33		974
91.	Jonne Paldanius	Finland	172	157	190	152	137	164	972	162.00		972
92.	Miika Rusila	Finland	139	136	200	185	148	162	970	161.67		970
93.	Joni Kärkkäinen	Finland	117	136	144	224	150	189	960	160.00		960
94.	Jani Somero	Finland	122	147	145	179	149	161	903	150.50		903
95.	Riku Romppanen	Finland	96	90	141	111	131	149	718	119.67		718

 

Tie Rules (Qualifying)
In case of a tie in the qualifying, "the highest positioned player will be the player scoring the highest total of all counting qualification games minus the score of the lowest game. If a tie still exists, the highest positioned player will be the player with the highest total of all counting qualification games minus the score of the two lowest games, etc."