Denmark wins trios at 2014 World Men's Championships
December 11, 2014
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Denmark's Thomas Larsen has more than enough experience to confidently perform under pressure, but he also needed a little bit of luck to help him lock up the trios gold medal at the 2014 World Bowling Men's Championships in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
The 2014 European Bowling Tour point leader rolled a 2 pin on the second shot of his final frame to help his team to a 647-638 win against top-seeded Team USA at Zayed Sports City's Khalifa International Bowling Centre.
Larsen closed the match with five consecutive strikes for a 257 game and was joined by Carsten Hansen (203) and Frederik Ohrgaard (187).
"This is amazing," Larsen said. "It has been really great for our national team to get to this level in just seven years or so. And to be able to step up in the 10th frame and secure it, especially with a little break, was perfect."
The United States was down by more than 30 pins after seven frames but eliminated the deficit and took its first lead of the match when leadoff bowler Mike Fagan struck out in the 10th frame.
Fagan finished with 223, Sean Rash added 226 and Marshall Kent had a chance to double in the 10th frame to shut out Larsen. He left the 3-6-10 combination on his first shot and finished with 189.
Team USA was dominant all day on the 38-foot Atlanta oil pattern and broke the event's six-game trios record on the way to the No. 1 seed with a 4,144 total.
As the top qualifier, Team USA was able to choose the lane condition for its semifinal match against Australia and for the final against Denmark, and head coach Rod Ross chose Atlanta for both.
"It was great to set the record, and it was nice that it was the top two teams bowling for the gold medal," Ross said. "It came down to the 10th frame, but it didn't go our way. Denmark bowled very well and performed in the clutch. It was a great match, and now we'll turn our attention to the start of the team event tomorrow."
On the way to the gold-medal match, Team USA maintained the momentum after a handful of open frames by Australia and cruised to a 735-647 win. Fagan, Team USA's leadoff bowler, set the tone with a 279 game, while Rash added 239 and Kent contributed 217.
Two-hander Belmonte had 249 for Australia in the loss and was followed by David Porto (206) and Sam Cooley (192).
Denmark chipped away at an early Korea lead and led by seven pins when the anchor bowlers stepped up in the final frame. Larsen struck on his first shot to secure the victory and send Denmark to the gold-medal match with a 668-662 win on the 43-foot Tokyo pattern.
Hansen rolled a 248 game for Denmark in the semifinal and was joined by Ohrgaard (217) and Larsen (203). Hong Haesol had 258 for Korea and was followed by Kim Kyungmin (209) and Park Jongwoo (195).
Korea and Australia each earned bronze medals.
Fagan led Team USA through qualifying with a 1,515 effort and was followed by Rash (1,323) and Kent (1,306). Their teammates, Chris Barnes, Tommy Jones and Bill O'Neill previously held the trios record with 4,101, shot last year in Henderson, Nevada.
With one bowler left in qualifying, Denmark had a chance to pass the United States but came up three pins short, settling for the second seed with 4,141. Korea qualified third at 4,062, and Australia used a big final game to get to fourth with 4,000.
Doubles gold medalist Choi Bokeum tops the all-events standings after 18 games with a 4,174 total, a 231.89 average. Fagan is second with 4,169 and Team USA's Jones is third with 4,118. Martin Larsen of Sweden and singles gold medalist Dan MacLelland of Canada are just outside the top three with 4,113 and 4,101, respectively.
Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded in all-events based on the 24-game totals, and the top 24 in the overall standings will advance to the Masters round Sunday.
Competition continues Friday at 12 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time with the first of two days of team bowling. All teams will bowl six games over the two days - three games on the 43-foot Tokyo oil pattern and three games on the 38-foot Atlanta pattern - before the field is cut to the top four based on their six-game pinfall totals.
The nine-day World Men's Championships features 272 bowlers from 49 countries and runs through Dec. 14 as bowlers compete for medals in six events - singles, doubles, trios, team, all-events and Masters match play.
Singles was contested on the Tokyo oil pattern, doubles was bowled on Atlanta and trios and team competition both include three games on each pattern. Each event includes six games of qualifying before the field is narrowed to the top four for the semifinals.
The 2014 World Men's Championships marks the event's first visit to Abu Dhabi since 1999.
All rounds of the event are being broadcast live on BOWL.com's BowlTV. For a complete schedule in Eastern time, visit BOWL.com/LiveStream.
For more information on the World Men's Championships, visit the official website of the event at adwtbc.com.
2014 WORLD BOWLING MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS
Khalifa International Bowling Centre
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Thursday's results
CHAMPIONSHIP
(Winner earns gold, loser gets silver)
Denmark def. United States, 647-638
SEMIFINALS
(Winners advance, losers tie for bronze)
United States def. Australia, 735-647
Denmark def. Korea, 668-662
The 2014 European Bowling Tour point leader rolled a 2 pin on the second shot of his final frame to help his team to a 647-638 win against top-seeded Team USA at Zayed Sports City's Khalifa International Bowling Centre.
Larsen closed the match with five consecutive strikes for a 257 game and was joined by Carsten Hansen (203) and Frederik Ohrgaard (187)."This is amazing," Larsen said. "It has been really great for our national team to get to this level in just seven years or so. And to be able to step up in the 10th frame and secure it, especially with a little break, was perfect."
The United States was down by more than 30 pins after seven frames but eliminated the deficit and took its first lead of the match when leadoff bowler Mike Fagan struck out in the 10th frame.
Fagan finished with 223, Sean Rash added 226 and Marshall Kent had a chance to double in the 10th frame to shut out Larsen. He left the 3-6-10 combination on his first shot and finished with 189.
Team USA was dominant all day on the 38-foot Atlanta oil pattern and broke the event's six-game trios record on the way to the No. 1 seed with a 4,144 total.
As the top qualifier, Team USA was able to choose the lane condition for its semifinal match against Australia and for the final against Denmark, and head coach Rod Ross chose Atlanta for both.
"It was great to set the record, and it was nice that it was the top two teams bowling for the gold medal," Ross said. "It came down to the 10th frame, but it didn't go our way. Denmark bowled very well and performed in the clutch. It was a great match, and now we'll turn our attention to the start of the team event tomorrow."
On the way to the gold-medal match, Team USA maintained the momentum after a handful of open frames by Australia and cruised to a 735-647 win. Fagan, Team USA's leadoff bowler, set the tone with a 279 game, while Rash added 239 and Kent contributed 217.
Two-hander Belmonte had 249 for Australia in the loss and was followed by David Porto (206) and Sam Cooley (192).
Denmark chipped away at an early Korea lead and led by seven pins when the anchor bowlers stepped up in the final frame. Larsen struck on his first shot to secure the victory and send Denmark to the gold-medal match with a 668-662 win on the 43-foot Tokyo pattern.
Hansen rolled a 248 game for Denmark in the semifinal and was joined by Ohrgaard (217) and Larsen (203). Hong Haesol had 258 for Korea and was followed by Kim Kyungmin (209) and Park Jongwoo (195).
Korea and Australia each earned bronze medals.
Fagan led Team USA through qualifying with a 1,515 effort and was followed by Rash (1,323) and Kent (1,306). Their teammates, Chris Barnes, Tommy Jones and Bill O'Neill previously held the trios record with 4,101, shot last year in Henderson, Nevada.
With one bowler left in qualifying, Denmark had a chance to pass the United States but came up three pins short, settling for the second seed with 4,141. Korea qualified third at 4,062, and Australia used a big final game to get to fourth with 4,000.
Doubles gold medalist Choi Bokeum tops the all-events standings after 18 games with a 4,174 total, a 231.89 average. Fagan is second with 4,169 and Team USA's Jones is third with 4,118. Martin Larsen of Sweden and singles gold medalist Dan MacLelland of Canada are just outside the top three with 4,113 and 4,101, respectively.
Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded in all-events based on the 24-game totals, and the top 24 in the overall standings will advance to the Masters round Sunday.
Competition continues Friday at 12 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time with the first of two days of team bowling. All teams will bowl six games over the two days - three games on the 43-foot Tokyo oil pattern and three games on the 38-foot Atlanta pattern - before the field is cut to the top four based on their six-game pinfall totals.
The nine-day World Men's Championships features 272 bowlers from 49 countries and runs through Dec. 14 as bowlers compete for medals in six events - singles, doubles, trios, team, all-events and Masters match play.
Singles was contested on the Tokyo oil pattern, doubles was bowled on Atlanta and trios and team competition both include three games on each pattern. Each event includes six games of qualifying before the field is narrowed to the top four for the semifinals.
The 2014 World Men's Championships marks the event's first visit to Abu Dhabi since 1999.
All rounds of the event are being broadcast live on BOWL.com's BowlTV. For a complete schedule in Eastern time, visit BOWL.com/LiveStream.
For more information on the World Men's Championships, visit the official website of the event at adwtbc.com.
2014 WORLD BOWLING MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS
Khalifa International Bowling Centre
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Thursday's results
CHAMPIONSHIP
(Winner earns gold, loser gets silver)
Denmark def. United States, 647-638
SEMIFINALS
(Winners advance, losers tie for bronze)
United States def. Australia, 735-647
Denmark def. Korea, 668-662