Jord Van Weeren of the Netherlands won the Masters Series gold medal at the EBF (European Bowling Federation) European Men's Bowling Championships in Wittelsheim, France.
In the European Championships, which took place from 6th to 17th June, the Dutchman scored 5624 total (234.3 average) in twenty-four qualifying games, finishing fourth out of 172 athletes from 31 countries, and advancing directly to the second round of the Masters Series.
In the second round of the Masters Series, Jord Van Weeren defeated his compatriot Nick De Gelder 2-0 (216-257, 247-232, 224-203), and in the quarter-finals, he defeated Finland’s bowling star Santtu Tahvanainen 2-0 (246-183, 235-191).
On Saturday, in the semi-finals, Jord Van Weeren met the Italian Nicola Pongolini. Although the Dutchman won the first game 256-225, the Doubles event champion Nicola Pongolini brought the intrigue back by winning the second game 205-231. In the decisive match, the Dutchman was the one who pulled ahead and advanced to the European Championship final, winning the match 2:1 (256-225, 205-231, 246-224).
In the Masters final, Jord Van Weeren met Laurynas Narušis of Lithuania, who became a World champion in the Doubles event of the World Championship in Dubai in 2021.
The Lithuanian started the first game with four strikes, while Jord Van Weeren replied with only one. However, in the second half of the game, the Dutchman took the initiative with six accurate shots and seemed to celebrate the victory, but an unsuccessful first shot in the tenth frame gave the Lithuanian a chance to win the first point. The Lithuanian took his first win by eleven pins, 259-248.
In the second match, the Dutchman played flawlessly to even the series. Jord Van Weeren, who scored the maximum 300 points in the game and defeated Laurynas Narušis 300-244.
In the decisive third game, both players fought point to point, but two slightly inaccurate throws by Laurynas allowed the Dutchman to build up an advantage of several pins, which Jord Van Weeren maintained until the end of the match - the Dutchman celebrated the victory with a score of 277-256.
It was the second individual award for Jord Van Weeren, who previously won gold in the Singles event.
