Third seeded Karl Wahlgren and Dennis Eklund (pictured left, l-r) of Sweden claimed the first gold medal of the Men's European Championships at Dream-Bowl Palace in Unterföhring, Germany.

The Swedes, seeded third in the finals decided in single-game matches, ousted their teammates and No. 2 seeds, Robert Andersson and Martin Larsen (below left, r-l), in the semifinal, 440-428, and went on to defeat top-seeded Mads Sandbækken and Tore Torgersen (right, l-r) of Norway in the title match, 453-423.

Sandbækken carried the Norwegians with a 247 but Eklund, who is the defending champion in Trios, countered with 266. Wahlgren topped Torgersen, 187-176, to secure the victory.

The Norwegians, who defeated No. 4 seed Tobias Gäbler and Marco Baade (right, l-r) of Germany in the other semifinal, 423-395, had to settle for silver while the semifinal losers shared the bronze medal.

 

2011 Men's European Championships - Doubles Finals

Championship Round:
1. Sweden (Karl Wahlgren, Dennis Eklund)
2. Norway (Mads Sandbækken, Tore Torgersen)
3. Sweden (Robert Andersson, Martin Larsen) and Germany (Tobias Gäbler, Marco Baade)

Playoff Results:
Semifinal Match 1: #1 Norway (Sandbækken 200, Torgersen 223) def.
#4 Germany (Gäbler 226, Baade 169), 423-395
Semifinal Match 2: #3 Sweden (Wahlgren 225, Eklund 215) def.
#2 Sweden (Andersson 215, Larsen 213), 440-428
Championship: #3 Sweden (Wahlgren 187, Eklund 266) def.
#1 Norway (Sandbækken 247, Torgersen 176), 453-423.

 

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