
Sweden's Kevin Melin Wins the 18th Storm San Marino Open 2024 bowling tournament.
The eighteen-lane Rose’n Bowl venue gathered nearly 150 participants from all corners of Europe, competing for the eighth EBT title this season and a prize fund of €62,100.
After a week filled with fierce competition at the renowned bowling center, the six best bowlers—Kevin Melin, Arnar Jonsson, Aidas Daniūnas, Ben Robinson, William Berggren, and Essi Pakarinen—advanced to the final elimination round.
In the first game, Finland's Essi Pakarinen was the first to drop out, finishing sixth. In the following game, Sweden's William Berggren was unable to score over 200, unlike his opponents, and had to leave the competition, finishing in fifth place.
With four players remaining, Iceland's Arnar Jonsson scored 141 (661 total), but his advantage accumulated in the first two games was enough to save him, as England's Ben Robinson scored 170 to finish with a total of 628.
With just one game left before the final, Lithuania's Aidas Daniūnas had a chance to advance but was unable to strike in the tenth frame, whereas Arnar Jonsson managed to strike out.
The final match between Arnar Jonsson and Sweden's Kevin Melin was tense. Although Melin held a 53-pin advantage, Jonsson was determined not to surrender. Iceland's bowler made seven strikes in a row from frame 5 to frame 10, catching up with his competitor. However, in the second throw of the 10th frame, Jonsson missed slightly, leaving the tenth pin standing. This error was just enough for Melin to maintain his lead and win the Storm San Marino Open by 5 pins.
Melin clinched his EBT title along with an €8,000 prize check.
The European Bowling Tour now moves to Germany, as the Brunswick Euro Challenge kicks off on July 13th.