Josh Blanchard wins his first WBT, PBA title in 12th Brunswick Euro Challenge

    03/22/15

    2015 EBT #6 / 2015 WBT #10

    2015EBT06JoshBlanchard.jpg2015EBT06SinLiJane.jpg

    Tournament leader Josh Blanchard (pictured left), United States, defeated Sin Li Jane (right) of Malaysia in the championship match of the 12th Brunswick Euro Challenge, 248-211, to win his first World Bowling Tour title and first career PBA title and the 12.000 Euro top prize Sunday at Dream-Bowl Palace in Munich, Germany.

    The PBA Rookie of the Year 2011-12, who led the qualifying portion of the tournament earned the No. 1 seed for the three-player stepladder finals by defeating World Youth Championships Masters gold medalist Jesper Svensson, a two-handed lefty from Sweden, in the last match of round robin match play.

    Blanchard had to sit and watch the semi-final match between Svensson, who was looking for his second WBT and PBA title after winning the 13th Kingdom of Bahrain International Bowling Championship two weeks ago, and Malaysian national team member Sin Li Jane. Third-seeded Sin Li defeated Svensson 217-214 scratch and 225-214 including handicap to bowl Blanchard for the title.

    The Malaysian, who had already won the women's rankings in Munich by the highest finish of all 62 women in the event, was looking to become the third woman to win the BEC after Britt Brøndsted, Denmark (2004) and Clara Juliana Guerrero of Colombia (2011).

    Sin Li had to settle for second place worth 9.000 Euro while Svensson took home 6.000 Euro for third place. Swedes Pontus Andersson (Round of 64) and Magnus Johnson (Match Play) rolled the second and third 300 game of the tournament.

    2015BECLogo_small.jpg The 12th Brunswick Euro Challenge was the 10th tournament on the 2015 World Bowling Tour and also the sixth stop on the 2015 European Bowling Tour and the second of three EBT "Platinum" events this season, the highest of the four EBT tournament categories.

    The BEC was held from March 14-22 at Europe's biggest bowling center, 52-lane Dream-Bowl Palace in Unterföhring in suburban Munich, Germany.

    Players competed for total prize money of 112.000 Euro with 12.000 Euro going to the winner, 9.000 Euro to the runner-up and 6.000 Euro to the third place finisher.

    According to an agreement between World Bowling and the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), the Brunswick Euro Challenge awarded a PBA title, if won by a PBA member.

    Qualifying ran from March 14-21 and concluded with the one-game Desperado Squad. Women received eight pins handicap each game, an equality handicap provided to women in all EBT events.

    A total of 64 players qualified for the finals on Sunday, March 22, including the top 52 qualifiers, the top 8 from a separate leaderboard of the squads conducted March 14-18 plus the top 4 of the Desperado Squad.

    The top 12 qualifiers received a first-round bye. The other 52 players bowled six games scratch to cut to the top 16 who joined the top 12 qualifiers in Round Two. Those 28 bowled another six games scratch after which the field was trimmed to the top 8 for match play.

    Round Two pinfall carried over into round robin match play. The top 3 players after seven games including bonus pins (30 for a win; 15 for a tie) determined the champion in a stepladder final. The No. 3 seed bowled the No. 2 seed and the winner of the semifinal match took on the No. 1 seed for the title and the 12.000 Euro top prize.

    WBTLogo_small.jpg The 2015 World Bowling Tour, which actually got underway in November 2014, currently consists of 19 tournaments in the Middle East (8), United States (7), Asia (2) and Europe (2) including seven "majors" and 12 regular tournaments.

    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.

     


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    12th Brunswick Euro Challenge 2015 - Stepladder Finals


    Dream-Bowl Palace in Munich, Germany (March 14-22, 2015)

    2015EBT06Top3.jpgPlayoff Results:
    1. Josh Blanchard, United States, 248 (1 game), 12.000 Euro
    2. *Sin Li Jane, Malaysia, 436 (2 games), 9.000 Euro
    3. Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 214 (1 game), 6.000 Euro

    Championship Round:
    Semifinal Match: No. 3 Sin Li def. No. 2 Svensson, 225-214.
    Championship: No. 1 Blanchard def. Sin Li, 248-211.
    *Sin Li's scores include eight pins handicap.

     


    2015 Brunswick Euro Challenge - Cashers


    4. Kelly Kulick, United States, 3.000 Euro
    5. Magnus Johnson, Sweden, 2.800 Euro
    6. Jazreel Tan, Singapore, 2.600 Euro
    7. Syafiq Ridhwan, Malaysia, 2.400 Euro
    8. James Gruffman, Sweden, 2.200 Euro
    9. Sean Rash, United States, 2.000 Euro
    10. Martin Larsen, Sweden, 2.000 Euro
    11. Danielle McEwan, United States, 2.000 Euro
    12. Joonas Jehkinen, Finland, 2.000 Euro
    13. Petteri Salonen, Finland, 1.800 Euro
    14. Siti Safiyah Amirah, Malaysia, 1.800 Euro
    15. Dom Barrett, England, 1.800 Euro
    16. Joachim Karlsson, Sweden, 1.800 Euro
    17. Missy Parkin, United States, 1.700 Euro
    18. Ahmad Muaz, Malaysia, 1.700 Euro
    19. Stuart Williams, England, 1.700 Euro
    20. Ronnie Russell, United States, 1.700 Euro
    21. Jenny Wegner, Sweden, 1.600 Euro
    22. Dirk Dreyer, Germany, 1.600 Euro
    23. Patrick Backe, Sweden, 1.600 Euro
    24. Carsten Warming Hansen, Denmark, 1.600 Euro
    25. Richard Teece, England, 1.500 Euro
    26. Markus Jansson, Sweden, 1.500 Euro
    27. Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 1.500 Euro
    28. Stephan Unger, Germany, 1.500 Euro
    29. Mattias Olsson, Sweden, 1.200 Euro
    30. Jesper Agerbo, Denmark, 1.200 Euro
    31. Manuel Mrosek, Germany, 1.200 Euro
    32. New Hui Fen, Singapore, 1.200 Euro
    33. Ida Andersson, Sweden, 1.200 Euro
    34. Sharon Koh, Malaysia, 1.200 Euro
    35. Liz Johnson, United States, 1.200 Euro
    36. Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 1.200 Euro
    37. Daniel Fransson, Sweden, 1.200 Euro
    38. Steven Gill, Scotland, 1.000 Euro
    39. Osku Palermaa, Finland, 1.000 Euro
    40. Mohd Nur Aiman, Malaysia, 1.000 Euro
    41. Chris Loschetter, United States, 1.000 Euro
    42. Christophe Hachin, France, 1.000 Euro
    43. Kim Andersson, Sweden, 1.000 Euro
    44. DJ Archer, United States, 1.000 Euro
    45. Yoan Alix, France, 1.000 Euro
    46. Tobias Börding, Germany, 1.000 Euro
    47. Glenn Morten Pedersen, Norway, 900 Euro
    48. Syaidatul Afifah, Malaysia, 900 Euro
    49. Jelena Brandt, Latvia, 900 Euro
    50. Jason Sterner, United States, 900 Euro
    51. Marshall Kent, United States, 900 Euro
    52. Mattias Möller, Sweden, 900 Euro
    53. Adrian Ang, Malaysia, 900 Euro
    54. Tim Friedrichs, Germany, 900 Euro
    55. Christopher Sloan, Ireland, 900 Euro
    56. Alexander Medveditskov, Russia, 800 Euro
    57. Tim Mack, United States, 800 Euro
    58. Kamilla Kjeldsen, Denmark, 800 Euro
    59. Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, 800 Euro
    60. Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 800 Euro
    61. Shayna Ng, Singapore, 800 Euro
    62. Andreas Bösiger, Switzerland, 800 Euro
    63. Joey Yeo, Singapore, 800 Euro
    64. Sabrina Laub, Germany, 800 Euro

     


    2015 Brunswick Euro Challenge - Round Robin Match Play


    30 pins bonus per win, 15 for a tie. The top 3 advance to the stepladder finals.

     


    2015 Brunswick Euro Challenge - Round of 28


    Top 8 advance to the round robin match play. Pins carry over. Players 9-28 eliminated.

     


    2015 Brunswick Euro Challenge - Round of 64


    Top 16 advance to the second round. Players 17-52 eliminated, finish 29th - 64th.

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