Barnes and Parkin Win World Bowlers Tour Finals

Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, and Missy Parkin of Lake Forest, CA, successfully concluded two years of international travel when they captured Bayer Advanced Aspirin World Bowling Tour (WBT) men’s and women’s finals titles to kick off the 2012-13 Professional Bowlers Association television season at South Point Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV.

Barnes, a 14-time PBA Tour champion, defeated reigning WBT men’s champion Mika Koivuniemi of Finland, 244-228, while Parkin defeated Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, NY, 238-190, in the women’s finals during the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling (WSOB). Both finals, which featured three players who qualified by earning points in World Tenpin Bowling Association-PBA International Tour events over a span of two years, aired Sunday on ESPN. Both champions earned $20,000.

Barnes, who won the Columbia 300 Vienna Open in Austria in October to lock up his berth in the WBT men’s finals, edged Mike Fagan of Dallas, 258-244, in the semifinal match before closing with a string of six strikes for a come-from-behind victory over his close friend, Koivuniemi, in the title match.

“Any win feels good,” Barnes said. “Mika and I always have good matches. I’ve been fortunate the last three times, but I’m pretty sure it’ll even out whether I like it or not.”

The key to Barnes’ victory was three 10 pins left by his long-time international rival on the right lane in the third, seventh and ninth frames.

“I left a couple of solid 10s on that lane myself,” Barnes said. “I knew that lane was tighter. I threw one shot that I thought was pretty good that didn’t even get back to the pocket.”

Forced to finish his game on the tricky right lane after Koivuniemi’s misfortune in the ninth frame gave him an opening, Barnes made a critical adjustment and threw three strikes in the 10th frame. The first strike was the one that iced the title.

“I knew I was going to move right and have to stay firm with the shot,” Barnes said. “Earlier on in my career I didn’t commit to that shot very well, but I committed to it, and made the shot I wanted to throw. It didn’t quite get up to high flush, but it was good enough today.”

As part of their ongoing rivalry on television, Barnes and Koivuniemi make a side bet that has involved things like the gaudy Madras plaid pair of pants Koivuniemi was forced to wear on television the last time he lost.

“We had a jersey bet on this one,” Barnes said of his WBT win. “I, or my fans, or his daughters will get to design a jersey that he’ll get to wear on a future TV show. And pretty much anything goes as long as it’s legal for TV.”

In the women’s finals, Johnson advanced to the title match after a thrilling 267-260 victory over PBA Tour titlist Kelly Kulick of Union, NJ. But Johnson’s strike shot evaporated in the title match. A 4-6-7 split in the second frame and a 4-6 in the fourth put her in a hole she couldn’t escape.

“I’ve come in second a lot lately,” said Parkin, who lost to Chicago’s Diandra Asbaty in the Australian Masters title match prior to the WSOB and finished second to Kulick in the U.S. Women’s Open earlier in the year. “Today I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I kind of went out with a mindset that I was going to make the pins strike. I know you can’t do that, but it was the mindset I had.

“I only had one game, and I needed to throw 10 really good shots, and I feel like I did. Luckily the pins fell my way and it was enough to win.”

But for Parkin, the victory made her international travels worth the effort.

“This year all of the travel has been particularly hard being away from family and friends,” she said. “It’s really hard; a lot of people don’t understand how much we travel. Winning this tournament after two years and having to accumulate all those points means so much.”

The second annual Bayer Advanced Aspirin WBT Finals presented by the PBA also signaled the start of a new points cycle for the international series. Points earned in WTBA-PBA International Tour events over the next 12 months will replace points earned in the first year of the qualifying cycle, leading into the third WBT Finals which will be part of PBA WSOB V in November 2013.

The 2012-13 PBA Tour season on ESPN continues next Sunday at 1 p.m. ET with the finals of the Alka Seltzer Plus Cold Cheetah Championship. Stepladder finalists will include Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, PA; Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio; Jeff Roche, Dearborn, MI, and top qualifier Mike Wolfe, New Albany, IN.

 

Pre- and post-telecast shows for all PBA-ESPN telecasts will be available on Xtra Frame, PBA’s online bowling channel.

Duke Wins 36th Title at Dick Weber PBA Playoffs

Norm Duke of Clermont, FL, won a hall of fame strikefest with Parker Bohn III of Jackson, NJ, Sunday night to win the Dick Weber Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Playoffs presented by Hammer at Woodland Bowl and secure his 36th career title, third best in PBA Tour history.

Duke’s third victory of the 2010-11 season also put him into the thick of the PBA Player of the Year race with only the PBA Tournament of Champions (TOC) remaining on the schedule. The TOC will be conducted April 9-15 at Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas.

Duke put on a stunning performance Sunday, including his 836-766 victory over Bohn, a 32-time PBA Tour title and a fellow PBA Hall of Famer.

“If you would have told me this morning I would shoot 800 in the title match, I’d have said I was going to win the title,” Duke said, “but I wouldn’t have believed it.”

Just like he had done in three previous elimination rounds, Duke started his match against Bohn with nine strikes for a 289 game and a 60-pin lead with two games to go. It was too much for Bohn to overcome, even though he answered with games of 279 and 258 for his 766 series. Duke followed his 289 with games of 268 and 279.

“That was a match people are going to remember for awhile,” Bohn said.

Duke, a two-time PBA Player of the Year, will take his bid for a third honorary title into the Tournament of Champions, a tournament he last won in 1994.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve won the TOC, but I’d like to do something about that,” Duke said. “It’s a very, very difficult tournament to win, but I’ve been training hard and I live for the majors. I’m ready.”

Four other contenders in the PBA Player of the Year race – two-time 2011-12 title winners Jason Belmonte of Australia, Osku Palermaa of Finland and Mike Fagan of Dallas along with five-time U.S. Open champion Pete Weber of St. Ann, MO – were eliminated earlier Sunday.

Duke’s march to the title match began in the Regional Championships round when he struck on 17 of his first 19 shots, racing away from Michael Haugen Jr. of Carefree, AZ, to win the Southwest Region championship, 792-616.

In the Conference Championship round he defeated Bryon Smith of Roseburg, OR, 751-657, and he advanced to the championship match with a 789 series in the semifinal round. Bohn won the second spot in the title match with a 632 series, edging Sweden’s Martin Larsen by 14 pins.

With his 37 career title, Duke broke a tie with Pete Weber for third on the PBA Tour titles list. Walter Ray Williams Jr. is the all-time leader with 47 titles and the late Earl Anthony is second with 43.

The PBA playoffs involved six groups of PBA Tour, Senior Tour and regional players bowling a series of elimination rounds. Champions from six Regional groups advanced through Regional and Conference Championship rounds leading up to the semifinals and championship rounds. All rounds of the final Xtra Frame Tour event of the season were webcast live on the PBA’s exclusive online bowling channel, Xtra Frame.

DICK WEBER PBA PLAYOFFS PRESENTED BY HAMMER
Woodland Bowl, Indianapolis, Sunday

CHAMPIONSHIP (three games)

Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla. ($20,000) def. Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J. ($10,000), 836-766.
SEMIFINAL ROUND (three games, top 2 of 3 advance to championship match)
Duke 789, Bohn 632, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 618 ($5,000).

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS (three games, players eliminated earned $2,500):
Eastern Conference Championship (winner advanced to semifinal round)
Bohn def. Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 734-657.

Midwestern Conference Championship (winner advanced to semifinal round)
Larsen def. Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 725-655.

Western Conference Championship (winner advanced to semifinal round)
Duke def. Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 751-657.

REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (three games, players eliminated earned $1,700):
East Region (winner advanced to Eastern Conference Championship)

Bohn def. Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 642-630.

South Region (winner advanced to Eastern Conference Championship)

Rash def. Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 697-690.

Central Region (winner advanced to Midwest Conference Championship)

Malott def. Brian Himmler, Cincinnati, 624-575.

Midwest Region (winner advanced to Midwest Conference Championship)

Larsen def. Bill O’Neill, Southampton, Pa., 748-669.

Southwest Region (winner advanced to Western Conference Championship)

Duke def. Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 792-616.

West/Northwest Region (winner advanced to Western Conference Championship)Smith def. Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 750-694.

ROUND FOUR (five games; players eliminated earned $1,400): 

East Region (top 2 of 4 advanced to Regional Championships)
1, Kretzer, 1,174. 2, Bohn, 1,156.
Did not advance:

3, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 1,130.
4, Rick Graham, Lancaster, Pa., 1,082.

South Region (top 2 of 4 advanced to Regional Championships)
1, Rash, 1,241. 2, Jurek, 1,150.
Did not advance:

3, Dom Barrett, England, 1,141.
4, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 1,101.

Central Region (top 2 of 4 advanced to Regional Championships)
1, Malott, 1,239. 2, Himmler, 1,032.
Did not advance:

3, Pete Weber, St. Ann, MO, 1,029.
4, Jeff Zaffino, Warren, Pa., 1,019.

Midwest Region (top 2 of 4 advanced to Regional Championships)
1, O'Neill, 1,214. 2, Larsen, 1,179.
Did not advance:

3, Mike Fagan, Dallas, Texas, 1,167.
4, Kevin Andes, Wichita, Kan., 1,009.

Southwest Region (top 2 of 4 advanced to Regional Championships)
1, Haugen, 1,236. 2, Duke, 1,230.
Did not advance:

3, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 1,140.
4, Mike Bailey, Frisco, Texas, 1,122.

West/Northwest Region (top 2 of 3 advanced to Regional Championships)
1, Barnes, 1,275. 2, Smith, 1,249.
Did not advance:

3, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 1,084.

ROUND THREE (five games; players eliminated earned $1,200):

East Region (top 4 of 8 advanced to Round Four)
1, Bohn, 1,213. 2, Page, 1,191. 3, Kretzer, 1,190. 4, Graham, 1,179.
Did not advance:

5, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 1,138.
6, Jason Stadtler, Cherry Hill, N.J., 1,076.
7, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 1,070.
8, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 1,001.

South Region (top 4 of 8 advanced to Round Four)
1, Jurek, 1,249. 2, Jaros, 1,208. 3, Barrett, 1,204. 4, Rash, 1,187.
Did not advance:

5, Dan MacLelland, Saginaw, Mich., 1,145.
6, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 1,136.
7, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 1,129.
8, Christopher McSwain, Kings Mountain, N.C., 1,045.

Central Region (top 4 of 8 advanced to Round Four)
1, Weber, 1,219. 2, Malott, 1,210. 3, Zaffino, 1,186. 4, Himmler, 1,137.
Did not advance:

5, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 1,081.
6, Carleton Chambers, Detroit, 1,067.
7, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 1,052.
8, Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 900.

Midwest Region (top 4 of 8 advanced to Round Four)
1, Fagan, 1,229. 2, O'Neill, 1,197. 3, Andes, 1,178. 4, Larsen, 1,170.
Did not advance:

5, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 1,149.
6, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,128.
7, Walter Ray Williams Jr, Ocala, Fla., 1,097.
8, Kurt Pilon, Warren, Mich., 1,032.

Southwest Region (top 4 of 8 advanced to Round Four)
1, Scroggins, 1,222. 2, Duke, 1,201. 3, Haugen, 1,185. 4, Bailey, 1,159.
Did not advance:

5, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 1,124.
6, Rick Lawrence, Waxahachie, Texas, 1,078.
7, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 1,028.
8, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 983.

West/Northwest Region (top 3 of 6 advanced to Round Four)
1, Smith, 1,117. 2, Barnes, 1,105. 3, Gomez, 1,074.
Did not advance:

4, PJ Haggerty, Roseville, Calif., 1,063.

5, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 1,044.

6, Stuart Williams, England, 1,031.

GEICO World Bowling Tour Finals Kicks Off Bowling Coveage

An international journey that began in Helsinki, Finland, in January 2011 and ended 10 months later in Las Vegas will kick off the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA)’s 2011-12 television season Sunday when the men’s and women’s finals of the inaugural GEICO World Bowling Tour (WBT) Finals presented by the Professional Bowlers Association airs at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The men’s field will feature reigning PBA Player of the Year Mika Koivuniemi, a resident of Hartland, MI, who returned to his native Finland to win the Brunswick Ballmaster Open and take a lead in the WBT points race that he never gave up. The World Tenpin Bowling Association’s inaugural World Bowling Tour series included stops in France, Kuwait, Thailand, Korea and Australia, plus the U.S. Open and United States Bowling Congress Masters. 

 

In Sunday’s WBT men’s final, Koivuniemi will meet the winner of a one-game match between No. 2 qualifier Sean Rash of Suburban Chicago (Montgomery, IL), and No. 3 Jason Belmonte of Australia. Rash and Belmonte made news over the summer after a confrontation over distractions Belmonte allegedly made with his plastic water bottle during the PBA’s GEICO Team Shootout series in Chicago.

In the one-hour women’s finals which immediately follows the men’s finals on ESPN, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of Keller, Texas, a PBA Women’s Series champion and 20-time Professional Women’s Bowling Association title winner, will meet the winner of a match between veteran Swedish star Nina Flack and her Team Sweden teammate, 20-year-old Sandra Andersson.

The winner in each division will receive $10,000. Second place will pay $6,000 and third will receive $4,000.

The GEICO World Bowling Tour Finals are the first shows in an 18-event PBA Tour series that will air on Sundays on ESPN, concluding with the live PBA Tournament of Champions telecast from Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas on April 15. In addition to the ESPN telecasts, the PBA will produce four Xtra Frame Tour events which will be webcast exclusively on the PBA’s online bowling channel.

Xtra Frame also will air a World Bowling Tour Finals pre-game show starting Wednesday and will immediately follow the ESPN telecast with a post-game show. To subscribe to Xtra Frame, visit pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame logo.

PBA OFFERS MORE ‘XTRA’

From the Bowlers Journal e-Bowler.
The Professional Bowling Association has added new features to its online video service, Xtra Frame, for the 2008-09 season, which kicks off on Sunday with the the airing of the Chris Paul PBA Charity Invitational, presented by the brands of Ebonite International, at 1 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.

Xtra Frame is the only place on the Web for behind-the-scenes videos of the PBA Tour, including interviews with bowling stars, special features, cover-age of the Senior Tour and Women’s Series, and archived ESPN telecasts. Fans can currently tune in to see Women’s Series and Tour Trials interviews, and activity from the Chris Paul event.

Once the regular season starts, Xtra Frame will be adding new content six days a week. Fans will be able to tune in on Fridays (or Saturdays in the cases of the PBA World Championship, U.S. Open and Don Johnson Buckeye State Eliminator Championship) and watch Round of 8 or round robin action streaming live. Xtra Frame is available for $5.95 per month and features videos in Windows Media On-Demand and Streaming Windows Media.