Osku Palermaa Wins Shark Championship
Osku Palermaa came from the #3 spot in the TV finals to win the PBA GEICO Shark Championship. It looked as Jason Belmonte was going to run the table to win the tournament, but he ran into Palermaa in the third round. Belmonte started the TV finals against Mike Fagan, winning 248-223. Belmonte went on to bowl against Tom Smallwood. Belmonte was able to overpower Smallwood and won the match, 208-192, to move on and bowl against fellow two-hander Osku Palermaa. Palermaa won the grueling match, 182-176, and went on to bowl against tournament leader Dan MacLelland as the lanes continued to get tougher. Palermaa was able to win the match, 173-149, as both bowlers struggled on the tough lane conditions. This win gave Osku Palermaa his first PBA Title.
Ziesig Wins Plastic Ball Championship
The PBA GEICO Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship took place this week in West Babylon, New York. The opening match had Wayne Garber bowling against Mike Machuga. Garber won the match, 258-245, and went on to face Walter Ray Williams, Jr. Walter Ray defeated Garber 280-211 to advance. He went on to bowl against amateur Brian Ziesig. Ziesig defeated Walter Ray in another high scoring match, 255-237, and went on to face Jason Belmonte in the finals. The two tied in the final match with a score of 247 and bowled a one ball roll off. Ziesig won the roll off 10-9 to win the tournament. This is Brian Ziesig’s first PBA title and this is the first title won by an amateur since 2002. This event was bowled on the PBA Shark pattern.
Belmonte Leads Plastic Ball Championship Going Into TV Finals
Jason Belmonte was able to hang on to his lead through the round of 16 in the PBA GEICO Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship. Belmonte finished with a score of 8081 (+1681, 243.16 Average) and a 10-8 record to qualify first for the TV finals. Brian Ziesig was close behind in second at 8070 (+1670). Others making the top five include Walter Ray Williams, Jr. (+1544), Wayne Garber (+1512), and Mike Machuga (+1425).
They are using a stepladder format for the TV finals of this event. The #5 and #4 bowlers will face off, with the winner going on to bowl against the #3 qualifier, and so on. Jason Belmonte will take on whoever comes out of the other four bowlers in the final match. This event is being bowled on a modified version of the PBA Shark pattern. This pattern is similar to the shark pattern, but has a much lighter volume of oil to make up for the use of plastic balls.
PBA Plastic Ball Championship Round of 32 Results
The round of 32 has completed in the PBA GEICO Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship. After completing 23 games, there is a very tight race for the few spots around the cut. Jason Belmonte is in the lead at +1125 with a 5-4 record. Brian Ziesig is in second with +1091. Walter Ray Williams, Jr. is in third at +1011. Other bowlers rounding out the top 5 are Bill O’Neill and Mike Machuga.
The field will now be cut to the top 16, with the cut score being at +774. Scores have been high for this event with the lowest bowler in the round of 32 averaging 217.22 for the tournament. The field of 16 will bowl today and the field will be cut to the top five for the TV finals. The TV finals will be aired live on ESPN on Sunday, March 28, 2010 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time.
Belmonte Leads Plastic Ball Championship Round of 64
Jason Belmonte has taken the 14 game lead in the PBA GEICO Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship. After 14 games, Belmonte is leading the field with a score of 3366 (+566, 240.43 Average). Jason has thrown two 300 games and finished his second block with 811 for his last three games.
Walter Ray Williams, Jr. is currently in second with 3339. Others in the top 5 include Mike Fagan (3320), Wayne Garber (3293), and Brian Ziesig (3241). The field will now be cut to the top 32, with the cut score at 3035 (+235, 216.79 Average).
Scores have been pretty high so far for this event, with only one bowler averaging under 200. This event is being bowled on a modified version of the PBA Shark pattern. This pattern is the same length, but has a lighter volume of oil. This volume makes up for the weaker surface of the polyester bowling balls.
Brian LeClair Leads TQR for Plastic Ball Championship
The PBA GEICO Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship is underway this week. This event is being bowled on a modified version of the PBA Shark pattern. This pattern is similar in length, but has a much lighter volume of oil.
The Tournament Qualifying Round of this event was bowled on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. Brian LeClair led the TQR with a score of 1685 (+285, 240.71 Average). The top ten bowlers from the TQR advance into the tournament. Others making the top five in this event included Bobby Hall II (1595), Joseph Costanzo (1588), Johny Petraglia, Jr. (1584), and Ryan Ciminelli (1573). The cut for this event (10th place) was 1542 (+142, 220.29 Average).
The round of 64 is being bowled today (Thursday), with the top 32 bowlers advancing to the round of 32 on Friday.
Upsets Galore in Round 1 of Match Play Championship
The PBA Go RVing Match Play Championship is underway today. The first round of the tournament was full of upsets. Three of the top four seeds lost their opening match. #3 seed Bill O’Neill was the only of the top four to advance into round 2, but not without a struggle. O’Neill needed all seven games to defeat David O’Sullivan.
#1 seed Walter Ray Williams, Jr. lost in his opening match to Justin Warhol. #3 seed Wes Malott lost his match to Ryan Abel. #4 seed Chris Barnes lost his match to Alex Aguiar. Barnes hopes to get his revenge this saturday in the Chris Barnes Challenge.
This event is being bowled on both the PBA Cheetah and PBA Shark patterns. The rounds of 32, 16, and 8 will be bowled tomorrow, Friday, March, 19, 2010.
Go RVing Match Play Championship This Week
This week is the PBA Go RVing Match Play Championship. The Tour Qualifying Round will take place on Wednesday, March 17, 2010. TQR bowlers will bowl 7 games of qualifying and the top 8 bowlers will advance into the tournament. These 8 bowlers will face off against the top 8 ranked bowlers in the tournament. As the tournament starts on Thursday, bowlers will bowl best 4 games out of 7 matches against one another. The winner will go on to the next round. The top four seeds for this tournament are #1 Walter Ray Williams, Jr., #2 Bill O’Neill, #3 Wes Malott, and #4 Chris Barnes. These are the top guys looking to get into the final four. This tournament is the PBA’s version of March Madness. It should be a lot of fun to watch and to participate. To fill out your bracket, head over to PBA.com. This tournament is being bowled on the PBA Cheetah and PBA Shark patterns.
Traber, Yokobosky, Shewmake, Norton Win Regionals Over Weekend
David Traber won the PBA Central Region Suburban Lanes Open this weekend. He defeated high qualifier Jeffrey Roche, Eugene McCune and Brian Kretzer in that order to win the tournament. Traber had an average of 235.07 and a perfect 7-0 record on his way to the championship. Traber was formerly an exempt player, who won his exemption in the 2004 PBA Tour Trials. He has 4 career PBA Tour titles.
Ken Yokobosky won the PBA East Region Leisure Lanes Open. Yokobosky defeated high qualifier Sam Maccarone and Michael Fagan on his way to the championship. Yokobosky posted a 202.24 average and a 7-2 record to win the tournament. Yokobosky is a USBC Gold Coach and Team USA Assistant Coach.
Randy Shewmake won the PBA Southwest Region Young & Pratt Austin Open. Shewmake was the high qualifier with a 227.23 Average and a record of 7-2 for the tournament. He defeated Ryan Boroff and Chris Hibbitts II to win the title.
Scott Norton won the PBA West Silver Nugget Turbo 2-1 Open this weekend. Norton, posted a 229.67 average and a 12-4 record for the tournament. Mike DeVaney and Noel Vazquez were the runners-up for the tournament. Norton was named College Bowler of the Year while bowling at Cal State-Fullerton in 2001.
The Suburban Lanes Open and the Young & Pratt Austin Open were both bowled on the PBA Cheetah pattern. The Leisure Lanes Open was bowled on the PBA Shark pattern. The Silver Nugget Turbo 2-1 Open was bowled on the PBA Scorpion pattern.
Jack Jurek Wins Shark Championship
Jack Jurek defeated Wes Malott, 255-213, to earn his way to the finals of the PBA Shark Championship. Michael Fagan defeated Jason Couch in the semifinals, 224-201. Jurek and Fagan squared off in the finals match, tying with a score of 218. In a one ball rolloff, Jurek beat Fagan by throwing a strike to Fagan’s 8 count.
This is Jurek’s first PBA title of the season, and second of his career.
View the full results on PBA.com
The bowlers will now have a break until December, when the season will pick back up.
DV8 Hell Raiser