Beginning on Oct. 25, a field of 252 men and women from around the world began competition on five different PBA “animal pattern” lane conditions. The 12-game-per-day marathon on the PBA’s Cheetah, Viper, Chameleon, Scorpion and Shark lane conditions led to five “animal pattern” championships that will be decided in stepladder finals Friday and Saturday. ESPN will tape the finals for delayed airing, beginning on Sunday, Nov. 28, at 1 p.m. Eastern.
In addition, the 60-game composite scores determined the final qualifying standings for the PBA World Championship, including the top eight players who will return to South Point Jan. 14, 15 and 16 for a first-ever three-day live
stepladder event. ESPN2 and ESPN will air the final stages of that event.
The same 60 games decided the field of six United States and six international players who will bowl a first-ever USA vs. The World team championship match Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (Pacific). The event will air on ESPN on Sunday, Dec. 26, at 1 p.m. Eastern.
For bowling fans who attend the PBA’s “pattern” championships Friday and Saturday, here are some of the highlights:
● None of the five top qualifiers has ever led the field in qualifying for a TV show before. Brunswick Pro Bowling Cheetah Championship top qualifier Eugene McCune is the only top qualifier who has won a PBA title – and he
has only won once.
● The other four No. 1 qualifiers – Colombia’s Andres Gomez (Pepsi Viper Championship); Scott Norton of Costa Mesa, CA (Chameleon Championship), Jun-Yung Kim of South Korea (Scorpion Championship) and Canada’s Dan MacLelland (GEICO Shark Championship) – are making their PBA Tour television debuts. Obviously, none of them has ever won a PBA Tour title.
● The Cheetah finale will be the only telecast featuring five PBA Tour players who reside in the United States. Every other final has at least one international player.
● McCune won the No. 1 berth for the Cheetah stepladder by setting a PBA nine-game scoring record in match play, posting a 9-0 record and averaging 274.22 for a total of 2,468 pins. His games were 300, 253, 275, 279, 279, 279,
236, 300 and 267, which translates into three consecutive 800 series including a 279 “triplicate.” McCune also bettered the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) nine-game record of 2,463 set by Doug Vergouven in Kansas City, MO,
April 25-26, 2003.
● Norm Duke is the defending Cheetah champion. He is the only defending champion to make a final in his respective discipline. Other defending champions are Rhino Page (Viper), Bill O’Neill (Chameleon), Mike DeVaney (Scorpion) and Jack Jurek (Shark).
● The Scorpion finale will be the first PBA Tour telecast with four international players vs. a single U.S. player (O’Neill).
● Norton and South Korea’s Yong-Jin Gu (Scorpion) are the only left-handers to reach the five PBA pattern championships. Finland’s Kimmo Lehtonen is the only lefty to make the USA vs. The World final.
● The only international players to win PBA Tour titles are Mats Karlsson (Sweden), Amleto Monacelli (Venezuela), Mika Koivuniemi (Finland) and Jason Belmonte (Australia).
● Finland’s Osku Palermaa and Australia’s Jason Belmonte, the two premier two-handed bowlers in the world, both qualified for the GEICO Shark Championship. It will be the first time two two-handed bowlers have appeared on the same television show. They will be joined on the Shark show by reigning PBA World Champion Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, MI, who might be considered a “one-and-a-half” handed bowler. Smallwood, who uses just the tip of his thumb in his grip, uses both hands to hold onto the ball until he enters his down swing.
● O’Neill (Viper and Scorpion); MacLelland (Scorpion and Shark), Palermaa (Chameleon and Shark) and Belmonte (Scorpion and Shark) are the only players to qualify for two of the “pattern” championships. All four will also bowl in the USA vs. The World team match. All but MacLelland are among the eight PBA World Championship finalists who will return to South Point Jan. 14-16 to conclude the World Series. O’Neill is the top qualifier for the World Championship, Palermaa is third and Belmonte is eighth.
● Mika Koivuniemi’s status for the USA vs. The World match was questionable after he injured his back during a practice session last Sunday. He completed his Viper match play round on Monday, but was forced to withdraw from the Chameleon match play round Tuesday after two games. On Wednesday, he insisted he would be ready to bowl in the team match because he was receiving treatments on his back five times a day. Mika’s wife Leena, who traveled to the World Series with him, is a physical therapist.
● Each “pattern” champion will earn a PBA Tour title, with the possible exceptions of Kim and Gu, who are amateurs. Under PBA rules, PBA Tour titles are not awarded to non-members.
Tickets will be available on-site for all six World Series of Bowling finals.
2010 PBA WORLD SERIES OF BOWLING
South Point Bowling Center, Las Vegas, Nev.
BRUNSWICK PRO BOWLING CHEETAH CHAMPIONSHIP
(After 21 games; stepladder finals at 9 a.m. Pacific Friday; finals will air on ESPN at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, Nov. 28)
1, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 9-0, 5,612.
2, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C., 5-4, 5,386.
3, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 7-2, 5,375.
4, Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 6-3, 5,344.
5, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 5-4, 5,329.
PEPSI VIPER CHAMPIONSHIP
(After 21 games; stepladder finals at 1 p.m. Pacific Friday; finals will air on ESPN at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, Dec. 5)
1, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 6-3, 4,964.
2, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 7-2, 4,962.
3, Mike DeVaney, Murrieta, Calif., 7-2, 4,908.
4, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 5-4, 4,905.
5, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 7-2, 4,893.
CHAMELEON CHAMPIONSHIP
(After 21 games; stepladder finals at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Friday; finals will air on ESPN at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, Dec. 12)
1, Scott Norton, Costa Mesa, Calif., 7-2, 4,932.
2, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 6-3, 4,915.
3, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 5-4, 4,903.
4, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 6-3, 4,846.
5, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 5-4, 4,843.
SCORPION CHAMPIONSHIP
(After 21 games; stepladder finals at 11 a.m. Pacific Saturday; finals will air on ESPN at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, Dec. 19)
1, Jun-Yung Kim, Korea, 7-2, 4,901.
2, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 4-5, 4,898.
3, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 6-2-1, 4,894.
4, Yong-Jin Gu, Korea, 5-2-2, 4,883.
5, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 4-4-1, 4,879.
GEICO SHARK CHAMPIONSHIP
(After 21 games, stepladder finals at 3 p.m. Pacific Saturday; finals will air on ESPN at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, Dec. 26)
1, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 8-1, 5,087.
2, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 6-3, 4,946.
3, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 6-3, 4,921.
4, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 4-5, 4,909.
5, Mike Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 7-2, 4,888.
USA VS. THE WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
(Top six after 60 World Series of Bowling qualifying games; finals at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Saturday; finals will air on ESPN at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, Jan. 9)
USA Qualifiers:
1, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 13,606.
2, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 13,563.
3, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 13,506.
4, Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 13,425.
5, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 13,408.
6, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 13,375.
The World Qualifiers:
1, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 13,544.
2, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 13,496.
3, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 13,405.
4, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 13,365.
5, Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 13,269.
6, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 13,267.
PBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING STANDINGS
(Top 8 after 60 World Series of Bowling qualifying games; finals will air live on ESPN/ESPN2 on Jan. 14, 15 and 16 from South Point Bowling Center)
1, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 13,606.
2, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 13,563.
3, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 13,544.
4, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 13,506.
5, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 13,496.
6, Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 13,425.
7, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 13,408.
8, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 13,405.
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