Nina Flack from Sweden and Finn Osku Palermaa are the 2008 women's and men's European Bowling Tour ranking champions. It marks the first victory of a Swedish bowler - man or woman - in the 9-year history of the EBT, while Palermaa followed in the footprints of former men's champions Gery Verbruggen, Belgium (2000-03) and Paul Moor (2004-06) as repeat champion.

It was a perfect season ending for Flack, (pictured left) who won the 17th and last EBT stop, the 8th Qatar International Open, and the highest top prize of 30.000 Euro or approx. U.S. $40,000. The reigning European Masters champion finished the season with 734 ranking point total. She cashed points in 13 out of the 17 tournaments this season (Stop 12, Maribor Open, was cancelled) including four 1st and four 2nd place finishes.

She made the title match of the last three stops in Italy, England and Qatar and won two Open titles, the 5th Oltremare Columbia 300 Open and the 8th Qatar International Open. In an all-woman affair, 2007 women's ranking champion Kirsten Penny (right), England, defeated Flack to win the Ebonite English Open.

As Patricia Luoto (left), Germany, won the 6th Columbia 300 Vienna Open, women have won record four Open titles this season and four out of the last five open tournaments.

Penny finished the 2008 EBT ranking season in second place with 678 points while Luoto ended up in 5th place with 419.

Third and fourth place belonged to Dutch Nicole Sanders (right, 588) and Ghislaine van der Tol (420). 3-time EBT ranking champion Britt Brøndsted, Denmark (2004-06) landed in sixth place with 364.

Rounding out the top 8, who qualified for the 2009 World Ranking Masters in Naples, Italy, were Marilyn Planchard, France (357) and Tina Hulsch (left), Germany (342).

The only male winner in the last three month of the year was Osku Palermaa (right), who captured the title in the Ebonite Lahti Open in October.

The two-hander, who also won the inaugural EBT Masters this year, sealed his second consecutive victory in the men's ranking in the penultimate event in England.

Palermaa cashed ranking points in all but one tournament, the 6th Columbia 300 Vienna Open, as he bowled in the Weber Cup, which clashed with the Vienna Open. Palermaa finished the season with two wins (Aalborg and Lahti) and 689 ranking point total.

Two-time World Youth Championships gold medalist Dominic Barrett (left) finished in second place with 644 points after leading the men's ranking in Qatar. Tore Torgersen, Norway, slipped to third at 623.

Swedes Martin Larsen (right, 540) and Peter Ljung (459) landed in fourth and fifth place with Paul Moor in sixth at 361.

2007 World Ranking Masters champion Stuart Williams, both England, was 7th with 356 points while Robert Andersson, Sweden, took the 8th and final spot to qualify for the World Ranking Masters with 345 points.

In addition, the top 16 men and the top 16 women qualified for the EBT Masters in May 2009 in Aalborg, Denmark.

The 2008 European Bowling Tour ranking season is over but the 2009 European Bowling Tour season will already start in less than a month with the Brunswick Ballmaster Open, which runs from Jan. 3 to 11, 2009 at Tali Bowling Center in Helsinki, Finland.