Kamilla Kjeldsen finishes fourth to win the women's rankings
In a match between two PBA super stars, 12-time PBA champion Chris Barnes (l.) defeated 35-time PBA champion Pete Weber (r.), 219-187, to win the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria, and the 7.000 Euro top prize. Weber received 5.000 Euro for second place. Tore Torgersen, Norway, pocketed 3.500 Euro for third and women's ranking winner Kamilla Kjeldsen, Denamrk, took 2.200 Euro for fourth place.
Averages 247.5 to lead the top 18 into Final Round 3
Four-time Professional Bowlers Association champion Sean Rash (pictured), United States, fired games of 243, 226, 249, 266, 266 and 235 to lead the top 18 players into Final Round Three in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open. Rash's 1485 six-game series, an average of 247.50, is the highest in the tournament thus far. Or Aviram, Israel, took the 18th and final spot to advance with 1267 and an average of 211.17. Among the 18 players from eight countries are seven women.
Women dominate first round of the finals in 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open
The finals of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open started on Sunday morning at 8am CET at Plus Bowling in Vienna with the first of three six-game rounds. The women got off to a great start as nine out of 12 made the cut for the second round. Bianca Wiekeraad (pictured left, Netherlands, paced the 56-player field - 12 women and 44 men - with 1450 including 48 pins women's handicap to lead the top 22 into the second round. After six games starting from scratch, the field will be trimmed to the top 18.
Palermaa and Tore Torgersen earm the top prize in the Doubles competition
Finland's two-hander Osku Palermaa (r.) won the qualifying in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open after five days and 17 squads at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. The 2005 Vienna Open winner totaled 1462 pins, an average of 243.67 for six games. Palermaa and Tore Torgersen (l.), Norway, teamed to win the
Doubles competition and the 1.600 Euro top prize with 2845 combined
pinfall or an average of 237.08.
U.S. bowlers dominated the 16th and penultimate qualifying squad in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open Saturday evening at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. 4-time PBA champion and 2007 USBC Masters champion Sean Rash led the squad with 1417 six-game total, and an average of 236.17. Wichita State University standout Josh Blanchard was second with 1411 and 12-time PBA champion Chris Barnes was third with 1401.
Tanya Cuva shoots the fifth 300 game of the tournament and the first by a woman
U.S. bowlers dominated the 16th and penultimate qualifying squad in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open Saturday evening at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. PBA champions Sean Rash (1417) and
Chris Barnes (1401) were first and third but unable to improve their high series. Wichita University standout Josh Blanchard (pictured) was sandwiched between the two pros in second place with 1411 to crack the top 8 in the overall qualifying standings. The last qualifying squad 17 started at 8pm. Qualifying ends with the Desperado Squad slated for 11.30 pm.
Teams with Nina Flack to overtake fourth place in Doubles
2009 Women's European Bowling Tour ranking champion Nicki Ainge (pictured), England, became the first woman in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open who cracked the 1400-bar as she rolled a 1400 scratch series in Squad 15 Saturday afternoon at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Ainge had games of 241, 193, 246, 256, 239 and 225, an average of 233.33, and added 48 pins handicap to jump into fourth place in the overall qualifying standings with 1448 total pinfall.
Squad leader Joonas Jehkinen moves into 12th place: cut for 52nd is 1282
The top 11 players in Singles and the 20 cashers in Doubles remained unchanged during Squad 13 in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open Friday night at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Finland's Joonas Jehkinen (l.) led the squad with 1383 six-game total (230.50 avg.) to move into 12th place in tSingles. Nadine Geissler, and Tanya Cuva (right, l-r), Germany, paced Squad 13 in Doubles with 2591, good for 22nd place.
Finn Perttu Jussila cracks top 8 in 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open
Two PBA Payer of the Year, 12-time PBA champion Chris Barnes, United States, and 8-time PBA champion Mika Koivuniemi, (left, l-r) Finland, joined forces in the 12th qualifying squad of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open to move into second place in Doubles with 2828 pinfall total or an average of 235.67. Barnes, also overtook second
place in Singles with 1462. Finnish two-hander Osku Palermaa held on to the lead in Singles and in Doubles with partner Tore Torgersen, Norway.
12-time PBA champion Chris Barnes, United States, rolled the fourth 300-game of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open in qualifying squad 11 on Friday afternoon, Oct. 1, 2010. The PBA Player of the Year 2007-08, who has 40 career 300 games on the PBA Tour, checked in with 1359 to move into 15th place in the overall qualifying standings. Squad 11 was the fourth consecutive qualifying squad which produced a 300 game (Squad 8 - Martin Larsen (SWE); Squad 9 - Mika Koivuniemi (FIN); Squad 10 - Dennis Larsen (DEN).
Chris Barnes rolls the fourth perfecto of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open
Two-hander Osku Palermaa (r.), Finland, had games of 201, 223, 259, 267, 224 and 288 in the 11th qualifying squad Friday afternoon at Plus Bowling in Vienna to shoot into the lead in Singles and Doubles (with Tore Torgesersen, left) at the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open. The 3-time defending EBT ranking champion and 2005 Vienna Open winner felled 1462 pins and averaged 243.67 over six games to overtake team mate Mika Koivuniemi by 13 pins.
Dennis Larsen rolls the third perfecto of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open
Danish national team member Thomas Larsen (l.) and Dutch women's national team members Bianca Wiekeraad and Ghislaine van der Tol moved into 10th place in Singles and Doubles, respectively, during the 10th of 17 qualifying squads of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open Friday morning at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Larsen had i1372 six-game total and an average of 228.67 missing the top 8, who will earn a bye for the Singles finals, by 10 pins. 8-time PBA champion Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, leads the field of 251 players with 1449.
8-time PBA champion Mika Koivuniemi (l.),, Finland, rolled the second perfecto of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open en route to overtake the pole position in Singles qualifying Thursday night. The 2003-04 PBA Player of the Year started his six-game series with games of 214 and 224 before rattling off 12 consecutive strikes. "The Big Finn" added 239, 248 and 224 to overtake Squad 8 leaders Martin Larsen, Sweden, and Sean Rash, United States, by just two pins with 1449 and an average of 241.50.
Larsen shoots tournament's first 300; Rash and Lynda Barnes move into second place in Doubles
Martin Larsen (l.), Sweden, rolled the first 300 game of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open in Squad 8 on Thursday at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria, en route to overtake the lead in the qualifying for the Singles finals on Sunday.
The 3-time world champion totalled 1447 pins an average of 241.17. and was tied with 4-time PBA champion Sean Rash (r.), United States. Rash overtook second place due to Larsen's higher last game.
Martin Larsen, Osku Palermaa Take the lead in Doubles
The international bowlers have arrived in Austria's capital city of Vienna and some of Europe's finest as well as a PBA champion moved to the top of the leaderboard in Singles and Doubles in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open on Thursday afternoon at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Mik Stampe (l.) of Denmark closed out his six-game series in squad 7 with games with a 799 3-game series including games of 255, 265 and 279 to overtake the lead in Singles with 1428 six-game total and an average of 238.00.
No changes atop the Singles and Doubles leaderboards
Alexander Rauascher (l.), Austria, had games of 214, 190, 279, 199, 235 and 192 to win Squad 6 with 1309 six-game total and an average of 218.17. Rauscher, who moved into 6th place in the overall qualifying standings, beat out Manual Mrosek (right with doubles partner Rene lands, left), Germany, for an automatic berth into Sunday's finals by two pins. Qualifying continues on Thursday with Squads 7-9.
Israel's Ben Fishler, Aviv Afital move into third place in Doubles
USBC Silver level coach Thomas Tybl, (l.), Austria, had 1133 after five games and was targeting to overtake the lead in the fifth qualifying squad of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open. Tybl, who won the gold medal in Doubles with defending Vienna Open champion Thomas Gross (r.) at the 2007 Men's European Championships in this center, struggled in his final game but secured the top spot in this squad to qualify for Sunday's finals.
Aviram leads Squad 4 to secure a spot in Sunday's finals
Gal Shemer and Or Aviram from Israel (left) and Finns Timo Alho and Perttu Jussilä (right) moved into first and second place in the Doubles competition of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open during the fourth qualifying squad Wednesday afternoon at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Aviram led the squad with 1355 to
secure his spot in Sunday's Singles finals.
Leads Singles Qualifying and Doubles event with Robert Skach
Austria's No. 1 bowler Thomas Gross (pictured left) fired a 1385 six-game series in the third qualifying squad Tuesday at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria, to overtake the lead in Singles after the first day of qualifying in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open. The defending Vienna Open champion came out of the gates quickly with 270 and added games of 241, 201, 266, 194 and 213, an average of 230.83, to beat Squad 2 leader, Katerina Bestova, Czech Republic, by 37 pins. Gross and his compatriot Robert Skach also overtook the lead iin Doubles with 2508.
In a match between two PBA super stars, 12-time PBA champion Chris Barnes (l.) defeated 35-time PBA champion Pete Weber (r.), 219-187, to win the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria, and the 7.000 Euro top prize. Weber received 5.000 Euro for second place. Tore Torgersen, Norway, pocketed 3.500 Euro for third and women's ranking winner Kamilla Kjeldsen, Denamrk, took 2.200 Euro for fourth place.
Four-time Professional Bowlers Association champion Sean Rash (pictured), United States, fired games of 243, 226, 249, 266, 266 and 235 to lead the top 18 players into Final Round Three in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open. Rash's 1485 six-game series, an average of 247.50, is the highest in the tournament thus far. Or Aviram, Israel, took the 18th and final spot to advance with 1267 and an average of 211.17. Among the 18 players from eight countries are seven women.
The finals of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open started on Sunday morning at 8am CET at Plus Bowling in Vienna with the first of three six-game rounds. The women got off to a great start as nine out of 12 made the cut for the second round. Bianca Wiekeraad (pictured left, Netherlands, paced the 56-player field - 12 women and 44 men - with 1450 including 48 pins women's handicap to lead the top 22 into the second round. After six games starting from scratch, the field will be trimmed to the top 18. 
Finland's two-hander Osku Palermaa (r.) won the qualifying in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open after five days and 17 squads at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. The 2005 Vienna Open winner totaled 1462 pins, an average of 243.67 for six games. Palermaa and Tore Torgersen (l.), Norway, teamed to win the
Doubles competition and the 1.600 Euro top prize with 2845 combined
pinfall or an average of 237.08. 
U.S. bowlers dominated the 16th and penultimate qualifying squad in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open Saturday evening at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. 4-time PBA champion and 2007 USBC Masters champion Sean Rash led the squad with 1417 six-game total, and an average of 236.17. Wichita State University standout Josh Blanchard was second with 1411 and 12-time PBA champion Chris Barnes was third with 1401.
U.S. bowlers dominated the 16th and penultimate qualifying squad in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open Saturday evening at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. PBA champions Sean Rash (1417) and
Chris Barnes (1401) were first and third but unable to improve their high series. Wichita University standout Josh Blanchard (pictured) was sandwiched between the two pros in second place with 1411 to crack the top 8 in the overall qualifying standings. The last qualifying squad 17 started at 8pm. Qualifying ends with the Desperado Squad slated for 11.30 pm. 
2009 Women's European Bowling Tour ranking champion Nicki Ainge (pictured), England, became the first woman in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open who cracked the 1400-bar as she rolled a 1400 scratch series in Squad 15 Saturday afternoon at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Ainge had games of 241, 193, 246, 256, 239 and 225, an average of 233.33, and added 48 pins handicap to jump into fourth place in the overall qualifying standings with 1448 total pinfall. 
For the second consecutive qualifying squad there were no significant changes in Singles and Doubles at the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open. Hans Glasl Jr. (l.) of Germany led Squad 14 in Singles totaling 1360 over six games, (226.67 avg.) to leap into 19th place in the overall qualifying standings. Nicole Heberle and Oliver Blasé (r.), both Germany, paced Squad 14 in Doubles with 2597 but were just three pins off the top 20.
The top 11 players in Singles and the 20 cashers in Doubles remained unchanged during Squad 13 in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open Friday night at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Finland's Joonas Jehkinen (l.) led the squad with 1383 six-game total (230.50 avg.) to move into 12th place in tSingles. Nadine Geissler, and Tanya Cuva (right, l-r), Germany, paced Squad 13 in Doubles with 2591, good for 22nd place.
Two PBA Payer of the Year, 12-time PBA champion Chris Barnes, United States, and 8-time PBA champion Mika Koivuniemi, (left, l-r) Finland, joined forces in the 12th qualifying squad of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open to move into second place in Doubles with 2828 pinfall total or an average of 235.67. Barnes, also overtook second
place in Singles with 1462. Finnish two-hander Osku Palermaa held on to the lead in Singles and in Doubles with partner Tore Torgersen, Norway. 
12-time PBA champion Chris Barnes, United States, rolled the fourth 300-game of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open in qualifying squad 11 on Friday afternoon, Oct. 1, 2010. The PBA Player of the Year 2007-08, who has 40 career 300 games on the PBA Tour, checked in with 1359 to move into 15th place in the overall qualifying standings. Squad 11 was the fourth consecutive qualifying squad which produced a 300 game (Squad 8 - Martin Larsen (SWE); Squad 9 - Mika Koivuniemi (FIN); Squad 10 - Dennis Larsen (DEN).
Danish national team member Thomas Larsen (l.) and Dutch women's national team members Bianca Wiekeraad and Ghislaine van der Tol moved into 10th place in Singles and Doubles, respectively, during the 10th of 17 qualifying squads of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open Friday morning at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Larsen had i1372 six-game total and an average of 228.67 missing the top 8, who will earn a bye for the Singles finals, by 10 pins. 8-time PBA champion Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, leads the field of 251 players with 1449. 
8-time PBA champion Mika Koivuniemi (l.),, Finland, rolled the second perfecto of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open en route to overtake the pole position in Singles qualifying Thursday night. The 2003-04 PBA Player of the Year started his six-game series with games of 214 and 224 before rattling off 12 consecutive strikes. "The Big Finn" added 239, 248 and 224 to overtake Squad 8 leaders Martin Larsen, Sweden, and Sean Rash, United States, by just two pins with 1449 and an average of 241.50.
Martin Larsen (l.), Sweden, rolled the first 300 game of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open in Squad 8 on Thursday at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria, en route to overtake the lead in the qualifying for the Singles finals on Sunday.
The 3-time world champion totalled 1447 pins an average of 241.17. and was tied with 4-time PBA champion Sean Rash (r.), United States. Rash overtook second place due to Larsen's higher last game.
The international bowlers have arrived in Austria's capital city of Vienna and some of Europe's finest as well as a PBA champion moved to the top of the leaderboard in Singles and Doubles in the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open on Thursday afternoon at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Mik Stampe (l.) of Denmark closed out his six-game series in squad 7 with games with a 799 3-game series including games of 255, 265 and 279 to overtake the lead in Singles with 1428 six-game total and an average of 238.00.
Alexander Rauascher (l.), Austria, had games of 214, 190, 279, 199, 235 and 192 to win Squad 6 with 1309 six-game total and an average of 218.17. Rauscher, who moved into 6th place in the overall qualifying standings, beat out Manual Mrosek (right with doubles partner Rene lands, left), Germany, for an automatic berth into Sunday's finals by two pins. Qualifying continues on Thursday with Squads 7-9. 
USBC Silver level coach Thomas Tybl, (l.), Austria, had 1133 after five games and was targeting to overtake the lead in the fifth qualifying squad of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open. Tybl, who won the gold medal in Doubles with defending Vienna Open champion Thomas Gross (r.) at the 2007 Men's European Championships in this center, struggled in his final game but secured the top spot in this squad to qualify for Sunday's finals.
Gal Shemer and Or Aviram from Israel (left) and Finns Timo Alho and Perttu Jussilä (right) moved into first and second place in the Doubles competition of the 8th Columbia 300 Vienna Open during the fourth qualifying squad Wednesday afternoon at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Aviram led the squad with 1355 to
secure his spot in Sunday's Singles finals.