06 Mar 2018 at 15:12 | Published by: PatPenguin | Views: 22819 | News search

Marathon Top 4 Pairs  (Photo by Aki Sillman)

The 30th edition of the Finnish marathon gathered 22 pairings to compete in this prestigious event. Players from Austria, Sweden, Germany and Finland were participating in this years competition making it a colourful event once again.

In the public poll, people seemed to believe that either Kungälvs BGK's Aki Sillman & Eirik Seljelid or Tantogårdens BGK's Kosti Salonen & Gustav Björnberg should take home the victory. Björnberg flexed some muscles starting with impressive 19-20 combo but the lead gained from that was soon vanished when Sillman put the double 19 on board. After 10 rounds it seemed that Sillman & Seljelid would cruise to victory with double digit lead, but then the lead pair had a pitch black moment and with the score of 28, the lead was cut in half.

Afterwards the margin grew thinner point by point, but it wasn't Björnberg & Salonen who were closing in, it was Andersson & Kjellström. They managed to get within 2 points off the lead but then the lead pair made even more fantastic 7 round set than the one before - 137 (19.58 average) - and separated themselves from the others before the final two rounds and went to their first victory. Salonen & Björnberg and Kjellström & Andersson were fighting for the second place. Salonen held the little lead he had and so they came second this year. Andersson & Kjellström came third, Marcus Berger & James Lindström came fourth and Pasi Aho & Christian Fuchs with Markku Sillman & Petri Lönngren tied for the fifth place.

So guys, how does it feel to win this event for the first time?

Aki Sillman: It means a lot. Have been chasing this win after blowing it 11 years ago and finally we did it. Huge thanks to my pair Eirik!

Eirik Seljelid: It feels really great to win this year after loosing by only 1 shot to Kosti and Gustav last year. It was also nice to be able to bounce back after my melt down during my 28-round and play well after that.

What do you think about this event?

Eirik Seljelid: I think it's a very nice tournament and I really like the course. It's interesting that it's possible to play low rounds even though the lanes can be really challenging if your game isn't on top.

Aki Sillman: Can relate to what Eirik said really. Course is nice mixture of straight shots and "trick" shots. I like it!

Are you coming back next year?

Both: Of course We're coming back!

Eirik Seljelid: We have to defend our title and keep the trophy safe at Aki's place.

Aki Sillman: At least that's the goal!

Thank you to Aki Sillman for this story.

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