Australian Jason Belmonte made history when he received 60 ranking points for finishing fourth in the Aalborg International to become the first non-European bowler to lead the European rankings.
Belmonte, one of the players that use a two-handed delivery, has cashed 310 ranking points in four EBT "major" tournaments. Besides the 4-place finish in Aalborg, the Aussie finished third in the Ballmaster, won the tournament in Thessalonica, landed in second place in Istanbul.
Second place in the men's rankings belongs to another "two-hander", Osku Palermaa from Finland, who was mere one point behind Belmonte before Aalborg. Palermaa earned 44 points for finishing 8th in the rankings for 293 ranking point total.
Previous leader and two-time defending ranking champion Paul Moor ,England, fell to third place with 251 points after failing to make the cut to the finals in Aalborg. Aalborg champion Lasse Lintilä won his second "major" after the Ballmaster Open in January to move into fourth place with 208 points.
The top 8 men and top 8 women in the rankings at the end of the season qualify for the 2007 World ranking Masters to be held in Doha, Qatar. Professionals such as Brian Voss aren't eligible to bowl in the World Ranking Masters, but players from the Asian and American Zone can qualify for the WRM through the European Bowling Tour.
The European Bowling Tour takes a one-week break before heading to the Netherlands for one of the remaining three regular EBT tournaments, The Dutch Open 2006 at Dolfijn Bowling Scheveningen in Scheveningen, Netherlands, June 7-11, 2006.
The top 20 are.......
Players with position, country, ranking point total and Top 50 finishes
1. Jason Belmonte, Australia, 310 (4)
2. Osku Palermaa, Finland, 293 (7)
3. Paul Moor, England, 251 (7)
4. Lasse Lintilä, Finland, 208 (3)
5. Stuart Williams, England, 196 (7)
6. Kai Virtanen, Finland, 183 (6)
7. Nikolay Ovchinnikovs, Latvia, 181 (7)
8. Achim Grabowski, Germany, 150 (4)
9. Sami Konsteri, Finland, 148 (6)
10. Peter Ljung, Sweden, 146 (5)
(tie) Jouni Helminen, Finland, 146 (4)
12. Martin Larsen, Sweden, 136 (4)
(tie) Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 136 (3)
14. Or Aviram, Israel, 132 (5)
15. Tobias Gäbler, Germany, 109 (3)
16. Federico Rossi, Italy, 108 (2)
17. Jari Ratia, Finland, 103 (4)
18. Anders Öhman, Sweden, 98 (4)
(tie) Pasi Uotila, Finland, 98 (4)
20. Gery Verbruggen, Belgium, 85 (2)
(tie) Thomas Gross, Austria, 85 (2)
"Story and pics thanks to bowling digital.com"
Belmonte, one of the players that use a two-handed delivery, has cashed 310 ranking points in four EBT "major" tournaments. Besides the 4-place finish in Aalborg, the Aussie finished third in the Ballmaster, won the tournament in Thessalonica, landed in second place in Istanbul.
Second place in the men's rankings belongs to another "two-hander", Osku Palermaa from Finland, who was mere one point behind Belmonte before Aalborg. Palermaa earned 44 points for finishing 8th in the rankings for 293 ranking point total.
Previous leader and two-time defending ranking champion Paul Moor ,England, fell to third place with 251 points after failing to make the cut to the finals in Aalborg. Aalborg champion Lasse Lintilä won his second "major" after the Ballmaster Open in January to move into fourth place with 208 points.
The top 8 men and top 8 women in the rankings at the end of the season qualify for the 2007 World ranking Masters to be held in Doha, Qatar. Professionals such as Brian Voss aren't eligible to bowl in the World Ranking Masters, but players from the Asian and American Zone can qualify for the WRM through the European Bowling Tour.
The European Bowling Tour takes a one-week break before heading to the Netherlands for one of the remaining three regular EBT tournaments, The Dutch Open 2006 at Dolfijn Bowling Scheveningen in Scheveningen, Netherlands, June 7-11, 2006.
The top 20 are.......
Players with position, country, ranking point total and Top 50 finishes
1. Jason Belmonte, Australia, 310 (4)
2. Osku Palermaa, Finland, 293 (7)
3. Paul Moor, England, 251 (7)
4. Lasse Lintilä, Finland, 208 (3)
5. Stuart Williams, England, 196 (7)
6. Kai Virtanen, Finland, 183 (6)
7. Nikolay Ovchinnikovs, Latvia, 181 (7)
8. Achim Grabowski, Germany, 150 (4)
9. Sami Konsteri, Finland, 148 (6)
10. Peter Ljung, Sweden, 146 (5)
(tie) Jouni Helminen, Finland, 146 (4)
12. Martin Larsen, Sweden, 136 (4)
(tie) Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 136 (3)
14. Or Aviram, Israel, 132 (5)
15. Tobias Gäbler, Germany, 109 (3)
16. Federico Rossi, Italy, 108 (2)
17. Jari Ratia, Finland, 103 (4)
18. Anders Öhman, Sweden, 98 (4)
(tie) Pasi Uotila, Finland, 98 (4)
20. Gery Verbruggen, Belgium, 85 (2)
(tie) Thomas Gross, Austria, 85 (2)
"Story and pics thanks to bowling digital.com"
