2012 USBC Masters TV Finals are Set!
After a week of qualifying and matchplay, the TV finals are set for the 2012 USBC Masters. Earning the top TV spot, going undefeated in match play was Chris Barnes. In Barnes’ final match against Mike Fagan, he finished with an 806 series to seal the deal. Fagan earned the second spot, with his only loss being to Chris Barnes. Having the toughest road to the show was collegiate standout Dan MacLelland. MacLelland lost early in match play, but bounced back and won match after match to earn his spot in the TV finals. Bryon Smith earned the last spot on the telecast. Bryon has been around the PBA for a while, but we haven’t seen much of him lately. This should be a great event, with four great bowlers. This event will air on ESPN at 12:30 PM on Sunday, January 29, 2012.
Tommy Hess Wins USBC Masters
The USBC Masters TV finals started with Mika Koivuniemi bowling against Mike DeVaney. Mika continued to bowl great, as he has done all season and won the match. This put Mika in the semifinals against the #2 bowler, Tom Hess. Tommy Hess bowled a great match and was able to defeat Mika Koivuniemi to move onto the finals against #1 bowler Jack Jurek. The finals match went back and forth between the two bowlers, with Hess being victorious in the end. By winning the USBC Masters, Hess takes home the first prize of $50,000.
Lambert Maintains Lead at USBC Masters
George Lamber IV has kept his lead from day of the USBC Masters throughout day 2 of this event. After 2 rounds of qualifying, Lambert is leading at 2356 (+356, 10 games, 235.6 Average). After the second round, the field was cut to the top 25% (65 bowlers). The remaining bowlers will bowl another 5 game block and the field will then be cut to the top 63 plus last years champion, Walter Ray Williams, Jr. These 64 bowlers will advance to matchplay this evening, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011.
After 2 second round, the top 10 looks like this:
1, George Lambert IV, Canada, 2,356.
2, Bill O’Neill, Southampton, Pa., 2,345.
3, Tommy Jones, Greenville, S.C., 2,299.
4, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 2,297.
5, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 2,274.
6, Mike Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 2,255.
7, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 2,253.
8, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 2,250.
9, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 2,247.
10, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 2,234.
10, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 2,234.
For full results, see the USBC Masters page.
Lambert Leads Day 1 of USBC Masters Qualifying
George Lambert IV has jumped out to an early lead in the qualifying rounds of the 2011 USBC Masters. Lambert has averaged 251.2 for the first 5 games to give himself a 52 pin lead over second place. At the end of day 1, this is what the top 10 looks like:
1, George Lambert IV, Canada, 1,256.
2, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,200.
3, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 1,168.
4, J.R. Raymond, Saginaw, Mich., 1,167.
5, Mathew Jones, Avondale, Ariz., 1,160.
6, Mark Scuderi Jr., Rochester, N.Y., 1,159.
7, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 1,157.
8, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 1,152.
9, Joshua Kierpiec, Scottsville, N.Y., 1,151.
10, Bill O’Neill, Southampton, Pa., 1,150.
Qualifying will continue throughout the day Wednesday and Thursday, with matchplay beginning Thursday evening. Matchplay will conclude on Friday evening, with the top 4 bowlers advancing to the TV finals on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011.
PBA Makes Big Announcements About 2010 – 2011 Season
The Professional Bowlers Association has made some big announcements about next season. The 2010 – 2011 season will have some big changes. As most already know, the PBA has had a pretty difficult year financially. They knew that they had to make some changes in order to save the future of our sport.
The biggest announcement is about the 2011 PBA Tournament of Champions. This event will feature a $1 Million prize fund, with first place being $250,000. This event will be open to any bowler who has won any PBA event (National, Regional, Senior, Women’s). The Tournament of Champions will air on ESPN on January 23, 2011.
The 2010 – 2011 ESPN schedule will include 23 original PBA programs, running from late November through April. ESPN will air PBA telecasts in HDTV. Several events will feature three consecutive days of coverage. The PBA World Championship and the U.S. Open will feature Friday, Saturday, Sunday presentations.
Lumber Liquidators has confirmed that it will remain the title sponsor through September 2011.
The PBA World Series of Bowling will return for the 2010 – 2011 season. This event will feature nine separate TV shows and will finish with the PBA World Championship.
The USBC Masters will take place in the Reno National Bowling Stadium and the TV finals will be aired live on ESPN.
A new PBA Playoffs series will conclude the season, taking up the final six weeks of TV shows. This series will have a separate prize fund and will be heavily weighted in the PBA Player of the Year standings.
A new “Xtra Frame Tour” will be created, having shows that only air on PBA Xtra Frame. These shows will not air on TV and will only be available to Xtra Frame subscribers.
Many people have mixed feelings about these announcements. The added prize money for the TOC is great, but the other side of the deal is that other tournaments will have a lowered prize fund. It will be interesting to see if bowlers are able to hang around with the lowered prize fund in other tournaments. Is this a step in the right direction for the PBA or is it the beginning of the end?
Walter Ray Wins USBC Masters
Walter Ray Williams, Jr. has won his second career USBC Masters title. Walter Ray defeated top qualifier Chris Barnes by a score of 290-217. His first Masters title also came at the hands of Chris Barnes, in 2004. Walter Ray now has eight major titles, tied with Mike Aulby and Pete Weber. Earl Anthony is the only bowler with more, which he has 10 major titles.
To start of the TV finals, Ryan Ciminelli took on Mike Scroggins. Ciminelli won the match, 246-229, and went on to take on Walter Ray Williams, Jr. Walter Ray won that match, 258-224, to go on and face Chris Barnes. In winning the Masters, Walter Ray also takes home $50,000.
See which equipment the pros were using on my InTheBag page for the USBC Masters.
Chris Barnes Earns #1 Seed for USBC Masters TV Finals
Chris Barnes went undefeated in matchplay this week to earn the #1 seed for the TV finals of the USBC Masters. Barnes defeated Walter Ray Williams, Jr. to earn the top seed. Walter Ray earned the #2 seed by winning all of his matches until facing Barnes. Ryan Ciminelli and Mike Scroggins earned the #3 and #4 seeds by winning their ways out of the losers bracket.
In the opening match of the stepladder TV finals, Ciminelli and Scroggins will face off. The winner of that match will go on to bowl against Walter Ray Williams, Jr. This winner will face Barnes in the final round.
Loschetter Leads Going into Matchplay of USBC Masters
Chris Loschetter has retained the lead in the USBC Masters with a third block score of 1155 to bring his 15 game total score to 3498 (+498, 233.2 Average). Jason Belmonte has moved into second place with a score of 3421. Patrick Allen moved up into third at 3404. Chris Barnes and Ryan Shafer are in fourth and fifth with 3377 and 3369.
The field has been cut to the top 63 bowlers plus last year’s champion John Nolen. The cut score for the top 63 is 3068 (+68, 204.53 Average). Double Elimination matchplay will begin this evening at 4:00 Pacific Time, 7:00 Eastern Time. Matchplay will continue tomorrow (Friday) throughout the day. The TV Finals will be bowled Sunday afternoon on ESPN at 3:00 Eastern Time, 12:00 Pacific Time.
Chris Loschetter Takes Over Lead in USBC Masters
Chris Loschetter had a score of 1143 (+143, 228.6 Average) in the second block of the USBC Masters to take over the lead. Loschetter’s leading 10 game score is 2343 (+343, 234.3 Average). Wes Malott had the highest block 2 score of 1215 to move him into third place with a total of 2268. Chris Barnes is currently in second place at 2329. Jason Belmonte and Patrick Allen are in fourth and fifth with 2285 and 2268.
The field has been cut to the top 25% (67 bowlers) with the cut score at 2063 (+63, 206.3 Average). Today the bowlers will bowl 5 more games of qualifying. The field will be cut to the top 63 bowlers and last year’s champion John Nolen will be added as the 64th bowler to begin matchplay.
Brian Voss Takes Early Lead in USBC Masters
Brian Voss came out of the gate on fire Tuesday to start off the USBC Masters. Voss led the B squad, starting with a 5 game total of 1242 (+242, 248.4 Average). Jeff Carter is close behind at 1215. Eugene McCune was the A squad leader at 1214. Chris Loschetter and Chris Barnes round out the top 5 at 1200 and 1192. Currently, the cut to the top 67 is at 1052 (+52). Both squads will bowl 5 more games today (Wednesday) before cutting to the top 25% of all bowlers.
This year’s USBC Masters tournament is taking place at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada.
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