Valgeir Gudbjartsson

The Mega-Xtreme Sofia Open 2024 was for the first time included in the european tour. It was held in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, from the duration of 28th of September until the 6th of October 2024 in Joy Station bowling centre. Total of 544 entries and re-entries were bowled during the duration of the tournament by 138 players, where of 12 were women.

 

After four final steps it came down to a four man elimination format.

 

The four players were Matyas Mnacko, Ondrej Trojek and Lukas Jelinek all from the Czech Republic and Luukas Väänänen from Finland.

 

After the first game, Mnacko was eliminated with the lowest score of 178.

 

After the second game it was Trojek that was eliminated with the lowest score of 177.

 

Then it came down to the exciting final game between Jelinek and Väänänen, both players started with the front 8 strikes but then Jelinek made the first mistake only managing a 7 spare in the 9th frame, however he managed to strike out in the 10th frame to finish with 277.

 

That put Väänänen in the lead going into the final frame where he only needed a 9 spare and 9 to win his first title.

 

He managed to get 9 spare but then threw a bad shot and only managed to get 7 meaning that Lukas Jelinek from the Czech Republic was the winner! This was his second title on the European Tour after his win in the French Open last year.

 

The winner of the women‘s ranking was Sarah Gamal from Egypt, who finished in 9th place.

The complete ranking after the 13th tournament of this year’s tour can be seen here: Women | Men

Dear friends,

 

It is my sad duty to inform you that ESBC President Lia Fievet from The Netherlands has passed away yesterday.

 

Lia was a good friend to many bowlers all around Europe and the World. She served the ESBC Organization as Secretary from 2007 till 2017 and as President since 2017.

 

Our thoughts and feelings are with her husband Frans. We will always honour Lias memory.

On behalf of the ESBC Presidium.

 

Florian Fister

Secretary

European Senior Bowlers Committee

The Norwegian Open 2024 by Storm was once again held in Hønefoss, Norway from the 6th of September until the 15th of September 2024 in Hønefoss Bowlingsenter. Total of 462 entries and re-entries were bowled during the duration of the tournament by 188 players, where of 40 were women.

 

After five final steps it came down to a five player stepladder finals.

 

In the first game Teodor Samuelsson from Sweden played against Noel Haglund from Sweden, Samuelsson was the winner with the score of 255 to Haglund‘s 194.

 

In the second game Samuelsson played against Viktor Brentebråten Mortensen from Norway, this time Mortensen was the winner with the score of 255 to Samuelsson‘s 191.

 

In the third game Mortensen played against Niko Oksanen from Finland, again the higher seed was the winner with the game coming down to the last frame, Oksanen scored 223 to Mortensen‘s 219.

 

In the final game it was between Niko Oksanen and Mathias Danielsen Otting from Norway and again we had the game decided in the 10th and last frame with Niko Oksanen needing a spare to win. He spared and then struck to finish with a 225 to Otting‘s 214.

 

This was Oksanen‘s first ever win on the European Tour! Congratulations Niko!

 

Nora Johansson, Sweden was the winner of the women‘s ranking finishing in 11th place in the tournament.

The complete ranking after the 12th tournament of this year’s tour can be seen here: Women | Men

The International Hammer Challenge 2024 was again held in Helsinki, Finland  from the 30th of August until the 8th of September 2024 in the magnificent Tali Bowling Centre. Total of 690 entries and re-entries were bowled during the duration of the tournament of the tournament by 302 players, where of 79 were women.

 

After five final steps it came down to two players and once again during this year’s European Tour it was clear that a new winner would be announced. In the final it was Rami Mukkula from Finland against his fellow countryman, Jouni Helminen.

 

In the end Mukkula was the winner with the score of 249 to Helminen’s 213. Congratulations Rami with your first title!

 

The winner of the women’s ranking was Sanna Oksanen, Finland, who finished in 5th place.

 

The complete ranking after the 9th tournament of this year’s tour can be seen here: Women | Men

Odense International was once again held in Odense, Denmark from the 17th of August until the 25th of August 2024 in the Odense Bowling Centre. Total of 278 entries and re-entries were bowled during the duration of the tournament by 133 players, where of 41 were women.

After three games in final step 4 it came down to the final two players, Teodor Samuelsson from Sweden and Martin Emborg Biltoft from Denmark. Samuelsson was looking for title number two this year but Biltoft was looking for his very first title.

In the finale however, Samuelsson proved to be the stronger player and he captured his second title on the european tour with the score of 202 to Biltoft‘s 179.

Congratulations Teodor!

 

The winner of the women‘s ranking was Anna Andersson, Sweden, who finished in 9th place just barely missing out on a spot in final step 4.

The complete ranking after the 8th tournament can be seen here: Women | Men

 

The Brunswick Euro Challenge was once again held in Unterföhring just outside of Munich, Germany from the 13th of July until the 21st of July 2024 in the amazing Dream-Bowl Palace, which by many is regarded as the best and most beautiful bowling centre in Europe. Total of 749 entries and re-entries were bowled during the duration of the tournament by 228 players, where of 31 were women.

 

After three final steps it came down to a three player stepladder final. In the first game we had Noel Haglund from Sweden against Nu‘man Syahmi from Singapore. Syahmi came out on top with the score of 229 to Haglund‘s 193.

 

That set up a title match between Syahmi and Tobias Hogdin from Sweden, which meant that once again we would get a new winner on the european tour.

 

The final was very even and exciting and came down to the 10th frame, Hogdin needed a strike to seal his victory but only got 7 which opened the door for Syahmi, he however left a 10 pin which meant that Hogdin needed a spare and 9 to seal the victory. He picked up the spare and followed it up with a strike meaning he was the winner with the score of 236 to Syahmi‘s 233. Congratulations Tobias on your first title!

 

A huge contingent of Singapore women bowlers attended the tournament in Germany and the winner of the women‘s ranking was one of them, Shayna Ng, who finished 5th in the tournament.

 

The complete ranking after the 8th tournament can be seen here: Women | Men

The 18th Storm San Marino Open was once again held in beautiful Serravalle, San Marino from the 6th of July until the 14th of July 2024 in Rose‘n Bowl bowling centre. Total of 447 entries and re-entries were bowled during the duration of the tournament by 147 players, where of 21 were women.

 

After three final steps and four games in the deciding fourth final step it came down to the two last players. Kevin Melin from Sweden and three time EBT winner, Arnar Jonsson from Iceland.

 

Before the last game, Melin had a 55 pin lead and looked like he was going to win the title without any problems, but in the last game Jonsson managed to string a few strikes and mount a comeback but unfortunately he left the 10 pin on his second shot in the 10th frame meaning that Melin only needed 6 pins for the win. He did more than that and got 9 pins which mean‘t that Melin captured his first ever EBT title! Congratulations Kevin.

 

Essi Pakarinen, Finland was the highest ranked woman for the second tournament in a row, she finished in 6th place and extends her lead in the women ranking.

The complete ranking after the 8th tournament can be seen here: Women | Men

The 10th Brunswick Madrid Challenge was once again held in beautiful Madrid, Spain from the 29th of June until the 7th of July 2024 in Bowling Chamartín bowling centre. Total of 424 entries and re-entries were bowled during the duration of the tournament by 156 players, where of 20 were women.

 

After four final steps it came down to a three player stepladder final. First seeded was Mike Bartaire from France, second seed was Jesus Briceno from Spain and the third seed was Alvin Kvarnström from Sweden. All of them were hoping for their first title on the European Tour.

 

In the first match, Briceno managed to defeat Kvarnström with the score of 237 to 205 and move on to the final match.

 

In the final match, Briceno took home the victory in his home country in a very exciting finale where Bartaire had the chance to win but missed a single pin spare in the 10th frame to lose by only 8 pins, 245 pins for Briceno to Bartaire‘s 237.

 

This was Briceno‘s first title on the tour, congratulations Jesus!

 

Essi Pakarinen, Finland was the highest ranked woman, she finished in 13th place.

 

The complete ranking after the 7th tournament can be seen here: Women | Men

 

 

 

 

 

The EBT-Youth Masters 2024 will be conducted in Lövvang Bowling Center, Aalborg, Denmark on the 30 August 2024, in conjunction with the EBT-Youth 2024-2025 Stop2.

Invitation letter is been prepared and sent to all top 8 athletes from each category (1,2,3 – Boys/Girls) now.

In this invitation the information is about format, prize money and schedule.

All top 8 atletes in the ranking as can be seen here have received an invitation direct per email.

 

 

The EWC2024 was conducted in Wittelsheim, France 4-15 June 2024 – 108 athletes from 23 Federations participated in 6 disciplines.

During the Women Championship we saw 2 new records and many exciting matches.

 

The new European Champions are as follows:

Singles: Nora Johansson, Sweden

Doubles: Sabrina Laub and Franziska Czech, Germany

Trios: Janin Ribguth, Sabrina Laub and Franziska Czech, Germany

Teams: Anna Andersson, Sandra De Neergaard, Jenny Wegner, Hanna Engberg, Josefin Hermansson, Nora Johansson, Sweden

All Events: Nora Johansson, Sweden

Masters: Nora Johansson, Sweden

Other results can be found here: https://bowlingresults.info/ewc/2024