The organisers of the English Open are pleased to announce some exciting changes to the 2010 edition of the European Tour Stop.

The event has grown each year, and is set to repeat the trend once again in 2010 with the news that the tournament has secured the taping of the Stepladder finals to be broadcast by Sky Sports in partnership with SGTV, over the 2010 Christmas Period. The finals will be taped in HD for a 2 hour programme to be shown on Sky Sports with a minimum of 3 repeat showings which may be increased by an unlimited amount by Sky Sports. The programme will also feature highlights and interviews from the various stages of the tournament.

The event will move from December to November, with the first qualifying squad on 17^th November and finals day on 21^st November.

Whilst the qualifying format will remain at 6 games, the desperado squad has been replaced with a “Turbo Xtra” option. The finals format will also see changes to allow the event to finish earlier than in previous years. Full details will be available on both the ETBF and PTBC websites in the coming days.

Lakeside Superbowl Nuneaton will set the stage for what is sure to be one of the tournament’s most exciting yet!

TV sponsorship packages are available, and interested parties should contact Andy James via andy@ptbc.co.uk

Nineteen year old Matt Chamberlain of Dorset won his way through a field of 12 of the best UK bowlers to earn the PTBC Tour 2008 Masters title, and the prestigious award of a spot on Matchroom Sports TV show, the World Tenpin Masters being held later this year.

The PTBC Tour 2008 Masters is an annual invitation event run by the PTBC at the end of each season. The top 12 points earners are invited to compete in a 12 game round-robin, the last round of which is a position round. 30 pins are awarded for a win, and 15 pins for a draw. This year presented a concern as to whether bowlers would be physically able to get to the venue due to the exceptional weather conditions seen throughout the prior week. Luckily things cleared up for the weekend, and all 12 of the invitees were on the lanes and ready to bowl ahead of schedule.

We were fortunate enough to be given a very kind donation from B&P Fabrications, which helped boost the prize fund for the participants, the winner receiving a spot in the World Tenpin Masters thanks to Matchroom Sports.

So onto the bowling, and after ten minutes of practice the first matches were underway, Nick Froggatt taking the early lead with the highest game of the round,  237 against Adam Scott, whose 175 was the lowest game of the round. Excitement came in round 4, when Matt Chamberlain who started out with the first ten strikes, eventually being denied a 300 due to a nine count on the 11th ball and ending on a 289.

The positions at the top of the table were changing with each game, right up until the last few games, when breakaways Darren Cundy and Matt Chamberlain were steadily in 1st and 2nd. The penultimate game saw the start of a big fight for first by Cundy, shooting the tournaments high game of 299. A flush shot into the pocket on the 12th ball leaving a stone 9-pin, and a perplexed Darren Cundy. Even with this brave effort, Cundy still only gained 30 pins on Chamberlain who threw a 266 and a 30 pin win bonus.

The position round then saw these two bowlers come together to face off and battle it out for number one. Chamberlain having a huge advantage of 109 pins, though effectively with a win against Chamberlain the difference in Cundys eyes would be 79 pins, no easy achievement over the tournament leader who just threw a 266 game! Cundy showed his talent and fighting spirit however and clawed his way through the game ending on a 278 to Chamberlains 205. The effective gain was not enough however to capture top spot from the 19 year old and Chamberlain walked away with the title and TV spot by a 41 pin lead having averaged 231 over the 12 games. Interestingly Cundy out-averaged Chamberlain by 1.6 pins p/game but Chamberlains extra win gave him the edge.

We are thankful to AMF Ilkeston and Barry Joyce for hosting the event and providing us with a great venue once again. Talk Tenpin were also reporting live on-site with the team of Dom Gall and John Egan.

January 28, 2008:          Andy James and Alex Hamilton, the organizers of the PTBC (Premier Tenpin Bowling Club) English Open, announced today that they have joined hands with Ebonite International to become the name sponsor of the 2008 English Open.  The Ebonite English Open will be held at Lakeside Superbowl in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England from December 3 through 7, 2008.

For years, the British Open, was one of the most well organized and well attended events in European Bowling.  Upon its demise several years ago, Andy, Alex, and a group of concerned players and proprietors met to organize a replacement event.  The English Open was first held in 2006 under the sanction of the BTBA.  However, their stated goal from the very start was to become a Major event on the European Bowling Tour.  This goal was accomplished in 2007 as The English Open became an EBT sanctioned Challenger event.

The EBT is a sanctioning body that sets and maintains standards for a group of scratch singles tournaments held throughout Europe.  The 2008 schedule is comprised of 18 events to be held in most major European bowling countries to include Finland, France, Italy, Holland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Catalonia, Turkey, Belgium, Slovenia, Austria, and England.  The 2008 tour also includes its newest and largest event, the Qatar International Open.

Andy and Alex said that they had been looking for a partner in the English Open that brought high visibility, stability, and promotional abilities.  It was decided that Ebonite fit the bill.  “We are looking forward to working with Ebonite and their marketing staff to insure that the English Open continues to grow in stature and prize fund.  Our goal now is to achieve Major status with the EBT.  With the help of Ebonite, we feel that this goal is within range.”

For their part, Ebonite’s Mike Quitter said that, “Andy and Alex have been two of the stalwarts in bowling on the European scene for many years.  They have done wonders for this tournament in the short two years of its existence.  We are hoping to help to make the 2008 event one to be remembered and to work with the committee on achieving their goals.”