Just for a moment I thought that...

Illusions are ephemeral. In my experience here in Finland they stayed for practice time, two games an one frame.

In our first squad here at the Ballmaster Open we had a good start. I have a pretty good reaction and a solid 224 on the first game, with one split.


The second one was one my typical games: 8 strikes for a 186, including a 3 bagger, 7-1 and 3 bagger for ending the game. With one strike instead the split it was a 223. But the third game was the last one: 140.

At the very beginning my reaction, with an Ultrazone playing inside, was good. I had lenght and a very strong reaction on the back end. But, slowly, the lanes got dry and everything become difficult. It was an oil pattern so close to the one we had two years ago over here. You must play inside (and deep inside), but also you need to move quicly and a lot. It seems that the ball reaction is predictable, pero as the games go on everything changes.

That's the reason that only two bowlers cracked the 1400 barrer and that the cut will be around 1310 or so. I had 1040, but without dramas. I had +10 on the second game and -50 after the third. But on the next games, without fighting and even looking for the good line and trying all my equipment, it was hard.

Pacorro started with 188 and 197, but a bad third game killed the squad for him. He has a very good reaction for strike, pero it means throwing the ball over the left gutter through the fifth/sixth arrow. And splits are knocking at his door often.

We will bowl again tomorrow night. The plan is ready, but is not easy. I had a Kinetic sanded to Abralon 500 after noticing the pattern ratios, but there is a lot of hook on the lanes. I will polish it a lot tomorrow for having some weapons on my arsenal, because the Ultrazone and the Rapid Fire could not be enough.

Our impressions of the bowling center are the same it used to be.

You can find the scores here.

Oddly, there only two non-scandinavian bowlers (Barret and Belmoente) on the top-16. Well, perhaps it's not so weird, because only two non-Scandinavian has won this tournament on the past. Do you know who were they?

When you have such a big bowling center it's quite difficult following the squads. Today, Sandbaekken had 299 "close" to my pair and I almopst couldn't watch it. So trying to watch what's going on at the other side of the center is not possible.


By the way, one curiosity that we haven't told you yet. In this tournament, the director like reading the scores, game by game, using the public-adress system. It'r a little bit odd the first time you are going to bowl and this Finnish voice keeps talking loudly in two languages. But that's the way it is.

Tomorrow evening we'll try to improve our scores and 16.00 and 20.00, and Pacorro will do the finals through Desesperado. But, anyway, all luck is welcomed.