382 players gathered once again at Dream-Bowl Palace in suburban Munich to compete in this year’s Brunswick Euro Challenge (BEC). Players from 34 countries competed for a prize purse of more than €108,000 (around $121,000).
The weeklong 2019 BEC was the only ‘platinum’ tournament of this year’s European Bowling Tour, which is celebrating its 20th year.
Martin Larsen of Sweden won the tournament, his ninth European Bowling Tour (EBT) title, with Maria Jose Rodrigues of Columbia placing second. The 16th annual BEC saw an impressive 1,145 entries from 34 countries.
“Bowlers liked the more difficult pattern this year, which yielded three perfect games,” said Martin Knöbl, Center Manager of Dream-Bowl Palace.
Dream-Bowl Palace has hosted the event since 2015, with a contract to continue hosting through 2021. Dream-Bowl’s size (more than 59,000 sq ft featuring 52 lanes) and centralized location in suburban Munich make it the ideal setting for the tournament. “Hosting the event is a lot of work for our center, but the feedback we get from bowlers and coaches after the tournament makes it all worthwhile,” said Knöbl.
“Dream-Bowl Palace is one of the best venues in Europe, and we’re so pleased with our partnership with them,” said Brunswick CEO Corey Dykstra. “The Euro Challenge is a fantastic event that lets us celebrate talented bowlers and the innovations we’re seeing in this industry. It reminds us of why we’re in this business—to support the passion of bowlers around the world.”
The Brunswick Euro Challenge has become one of the largest bowling events in Europe since its start in 2004. The event attracts a mix of top pros and aspiring amateurs from across Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Dream-Bowl Palace opened in late 2009 and features Brunswick Bowling Pro Lane lanes, GS-X pinsetters, and Frameworx furniture. After using Brunswick’s Vector Plus scoring for almost nine years, Dream-Bowl Palace updated to Brunswick’s Sync scoring and management system.
“For us, Sync is the best option” said Martin Knöbl, manager of Dream-Bowl Palace. “I like Sync’s marketing tool very much, as well as the various games. With so many different choices of games, bowlers will bowl longer and come more often.”