Last month also saw the 20th edition of the Eden SuperBowl’s Malta Open Championships, which saw 2010 Champion Marcus Berndt return to successfully retain his title, in one of the Swedish bowling star’s favourite international events.

After three days of qualifying squads, wherein competitors were allowed several bites at the qualification cherry due to the popular re-entry system adapted in the tournament rules, the top sixteen bowlers made it through to the final Sunday stages, joined by another two bowlers from the single game, last chance ‘Desperado’ squad.

Qualifying atop of the field was Irishman Paul Stott Jr., ahead of local star at two time Malta Open Champion Sue Abela in 2nd place. Third was lofty Belgian Christian Vandamme, also a past champion, followed by Berndt the defending champion in fourth place.

Other Maltese bowlers to advance to the latter stages were Mark Spiteri (7th), Kenneth Arpa (9th), Rankin Camilleri (10th), Justin Caruana Scicluna (13th) and Mauro Anastasi in 14th. Joining them from the Desperado was John Balani, who just pipped Paul Baldacchino to qualify on the final ball of the game. Sicilian Mario Palmisano topped the Desperado ahead of Balani by just 4 pins (200 – 196).

With top seeds such as Sue Abela protected through to the later final stages, the remaining qualifiers were to battle through the earlier ones in the hope of also progressing. Final Stage 1’s four-game session was dominated by local bowlers, with a 1-2-3 for Rankin Camilleri, Justin Caruana Scicluna and Kenneth Arpa respectively. The stage also saw a second career 300-game for youth star Caruana Scicluna. Mauro Anastasi and Mark Spiteri also qualified for the next stage, as did John Balani by just scraping through in the ninth spot.

Unfortunately, five of the six Maltese qualifiers were knocked out after a further four games in Final Stage two, leaving only Kenneth Arpa to carry on into Final Stage three, but only just, claiming the fifth and final qualifying spot a mere ten pins ahead of England’s Cliff Dew (853 – 843). The stage was won by Swiss female star, Bigi Manico.

Top seeds Paul Stott, Sue Abela and Christian Vandamme joined the fray in the penultimate Final Stage Three, which is the Round Robin stage, incorporating a system of bonuses for wins, draws and high games, over and above the game scores in the seven game series of head-to-head clashes.

Abela was in stunning form, taking on the formidable field of six men and one lady (Manico) with an air of supreme confidence. Opening with a scratch 269, and closing with a 245 she managed no less than five wins from seven, rolling six 200+ games to further boost her tally with valuable bonus points. That put her in the number one spot at this most crucial of stages, guaranteeing her a place in the grand final.

Also making it to the Stepladder Final stage were Vandamme in second, English newcomer Daniel Davies in third, and 2010 Champ Marcus Berndt in fourth place, with everything to do in order to hang on to his title. Malta’s Kenneth Arpa had a very unlucky run, bowling decent games but never managing to pick up a win, finishing in eighth place.

With top seed Sue Abela waiting patiently to see who she would face in the two-game final, first to compete were Daniel Davies and Marcus Berndt. It was the Swede who prevailed, winning the top quality match with a 224 – 258 score line, moving on to face Vandamme in the Semi Final. This time Berndt had a much easier time of it, dispatching his opponent with a convincing 187 – 268 win as the big Belgian struggled to find his shot on the lanes.

The final match, Abela vs Berndt would see a slight change, as it was to be a best-of-three affair as opposed to the previous two single match confrontations. It was Marcus who took the early advantage, easily winning the opening game 198 – 258, leaving the local supporters with the fear that the local starlet was to make a humble exit after two games. Sue, known for her ability to perform under pressure, was having none of that however, and powered back into the running with an excellent 240 – 189 game two equaliser and set the stage for a very exciting deciding game.

Abela and Berndt did nothing to disappoint the crowd, playing one of the most exiting Malta Open finals in the 20-year history of the tournament. The pair matched each other shot for shot for much of the game, Abela carrying an 8-pin ladies’ bonus against Berndt’s scratch score, and losing out to the young Swede by just three pins to settle for the Runner-Up position (223 – 226), meaning Marcus would raise the championship trophy for the second year running.

Another ‘perfect’ 300-game

for Caruana Scicluna

Before watching his illustrious mum play in yet another tournament final, Sue Abela’s son, Justin Caruana Scicluna – a local bowling star in his own right – provided a few minutes of thrills and excitement at the SuperBowl by bowling a ‘perfect’ 300-game, the second of his career to date.

Justin’s first 300, achieved by shooting twelve consecutive strikes in a single game, was bowled in the 2010 edition of the Malta Open, in the final game of the penultimate Round Robin stage. Number two came earlier on final Sunday this year, in the opening game of Final Stage One.

Bowling just one 300 game is every bowler’s dream, let alone bowling two or even more, and Justin now joins only two other Maltese bowlers who have managed multiple 300s, namely Ray Falzon Reale (4 times) and Dennis Mercieca (two times, including the first ever 300 for a Maltese bowler worldwide). Other locals who achieved that golden score line (during sanctioned competition) are; Leli Baldacchino, Brian Farrugia, Colin Attard, Rankin Camilleri, Kenneth Arpa, John Balani, Ramon Casha and Mark Spiteri (see above).

Unbelievable as it may seem, conspicuous by her absence in that list is Malta’s most prolific and successful bowler of all time, Sue Abela, whose best effort to date came in the 2008 MTBA National Championships when she rolled eleven perfect strikes in a row, but rounded off her game with a 9-count for a brilliant, yet frustrating 299!