Barnes was also awarded his 14th career PBA title and his first on the World Bowling Tour. In the title match of an all-PBA champions finale, Barnes, the No. 1 seed, defeated reigning PBA player of the Year Sean Rash, United States, 257-214.
5-time PBA titlist Rash, who struck out in the last game in Final Round 3 to jump from fifth to third place, defeated No. 4 seed, Roto Grip staffer Stuart Williams of England in the opening match, 191-181, and then eliminated 13-time PBA champion Tommy Jones, United States, in the semifinal, 189-158.
The 10th Columbia 300 Vienna Open was the 16th stop of the 2012 European Bowling Tour and the last of four EBT "Gold" tournaments (the second-highest category) this season. 303 players from 27 countries competed for an increased total prize fund of 75.130 Euro (approx. $100,000) - 64.900 for Singles and 10.230 for the Doubles event.The tournament was contested on 39 ft. oil pattern with 27.1 ml volume oil total (Kegel LaneMap™ Guide Plus Bowling Vienna).
For the 10th consecutive year, Bowlingdigital covered the Columbia 300 Vienna Open live from Plus Bowling in Vienna with stories and results after each round including live streaming, high definition videos and high quality photos. Live streaming was a partnership between Bowlingdigital.com, Austrian Bowling Federation, Plus Bowling,Columbia 300 and Ottakringer, the official beer of the Vienna Open.
The 2012 European Bowling Tour is made up of 19 events in 16 countries including two Platinum, four Gold, six Silver and seven Satellite tournaments.The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event earn ranking points based on how they finish in the event. The winner of a Platinum tournament receives 250 ranking points, the winner of a Gold tournament such as the Vienna Open gets 150, the winner of a Silver tournament earns 100, and the winner of a Satellite tournament gets 50 ranking points.
Those points will be tabulated throughout the season to determine the top 16 men and top 16 women who will compete in the sixth EBT Masters in Bratislava, Slovakia in Sept. 2013.
The next stop is the Norwegian Open 2012 by Brunswick, which got underway Friday at Veitvet Bowling Center in Oslo, Norway, and runs through Oct. 14, 2012. Bowlingdigital will cover the event live from Oslo starting on Thursday, Oct. 11.
The 10th Columbia 300 Vienna Open was also the 11th and penultimate event of the 2012 World Bowling Tour organized by the World Tenpin Bowling Association. The 2012 WBT consists of 12 tournaments in America, Asia, Europe and Australia - five in the United States and one each in Australia, Austria, Finland, France, Japan, Kuwait and Thailand.
The last event will be AMF Australian Masters 2012 at AMF Rooty Hill RSL in Sydney, NSW, Australia, Oct. 26-27.
The top three men and top three women will be invited to compete in the World Bowling Tour Finals presented by the Professional Bowlers Association to kick off the 2012 PBA World Series of Bowling featuring total prize fund of $70,000.
