Ethan Fiore won the Motiv AIK International Tournament in Sweden after a strong performance through the final stages of the event.
The American bowler secured the title with a final match victory over Sweden’s Robin Ilhammar.
Fiore began the event in qualification, where he finished 14th after six games with a total of 1,385 pins. That result placed him directly into the Tuesday finals.
In the first finals stage, Fiore rolled games of 265, 235, 232, 185, 213, and 218 for a total of 1,348. He finished fifth in that round and advanced to the next stage with the top 24 players.
In the following round, Fiore added another six-game block with scores of 278, 225, 254, 189, 245, and 221. Combined with his earlier total, he reached 2,760 pins and moved into first place with 12 players remaining in the field.
Fiore continued his run in the next step by bowling games of 220, 227, 246, and 194. Those scores secured him the top seed for the three-player stepladder finals.
The first stepladder match featured two Swedish players, Robin Ilhammar and Robin Noberg. Ilhammar won that match 224–203 to advance to the final.
In the championship match, Fiore and Ilhammar faced each other for the title.
Fiore opened the game with six consecutive strikes, while Ilhammar started with five. The match stayed close until Illhamar's open frame late in the game shifted the advantage. Fiore closed out the final 254–223.
With the victory, Fiore earned 50,000 SEK (approx. $5400). Ilhammar received
40,000 SEK for second place, while Noberg took home 25,000 SEK for finishing
third.
Full results of the tournament can be found here.
After the tournament in Sweden, Fiore will have a chance to take another title on European soil, as he will bowl at the Brunswick Ballmaster Open in Helsinki, one of the largest bowling tournaments in Europe.
