Belmonte Wins Second PBA Titile

Australia’s Jason Belmonte ended his nearly three-year quest for his second Professional Bowlers Association title, stringing eight strikes to run away from Sean Rash of Montgomery, IL, 268-191, in the finals of the Chameleon Open at South Point Casino and Hotel.

The Chameleon Open finals, the second of four PBA “animal pattern” championships contested during the third annual PBA World Series of Bowling, aired Sunday on ESPN.

Belmonte, who came into the Chameleon elimination-format finals as the leading qualifier, barely survived the first two games before finding his groove in the title match.

In the opening game, Belmonte’s two-handed rival, Osku Palermaa of Finland, led the four-man field with a 213. Rash was second with a 201, and Belmonte nipped Venezuela’s Ildemaro Ruiz, 189-187, to avoid elimination as low man in the round. 

In game two, Rash led the survivors with a 226 while Belmonte edged Palermaa, 200-190, to advance to the title match. Belmonte had lost to Palermaa in the only two previous meetings of the two-handed rivals, and barely escaped a third loss. After throwing a strike on his first ball in the 10th to take the lead over Palermaa, Belmonte left the 3-6-9-10 on his next shot to hand a one-pin lead back to the Finn. But Palermaa then left a 10 pin on his first shot in the 10th frame and failed to convert the spare to hand the game back to Belmonte.

In the title match, the Australian kicked in the afterburners. After converting the 6-10 spare in the first frame, the 2008-09 PBA Rookie of the Year ran off a string of eight consecutive strikes to run away with the $15,000 first prize and a berth in the Round of 36 for the end-of-season PBA Tournament of Champions. Belmonte won his only previous PBA Tour title in the 2009 Bowling Foundation Long Island Open.

“This feels a million times better than my first title,” Belmonte beamed. “I bowled one of the best games of my life.

“In the second match, I got very lucky,” he added. “When you get a break like that, you have to take it, pardon the expression, in both hands and I was able to do that.”

By winning the Chameleon Open, Belmonte became the third straight international player to win a PBA World Series of Bowling title. In two previous events, Palermaa captured the PBA World Championship and England’s Stuart Williams won the Bayer Viper Open.

The third “animal pattern” championship, the Scorpion Open, will be settled next Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN. The finalists will be England’s Dom Barrett; Dave Wodka of Henderson, NV; Rash and Patrick Allen of Wesley Chapel, FL.

PBA CHAMELEON OPEN

South Point Exhibition Hall, Las Vegas

Round One (lowest score eliminated): Osku Palermaa, Finland, 213; Sean Rash, Montgomery, IL, 201; Jason Belmonte, Australia, 189; Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 187 ($4,000).

Round Two (lowest score eliminated): Rash 226, Belmonte 200, Palermaa 190 ($4,500).

Championship: Belmonte ($15,000) def. Rash ($7,500), 268-191.

PBA Chameleon Open Sunday at 3 p.m. ET

This Sunday on ESPN: PBA Chameleon Open at 3 p.m. ET. from the South Point Bowling Center, Las Vegas. The PBA Chameleon Open is the second of four PBA “animal pattern” championships conducted during the World Series of Bowling.  
Four finalists will bowl a one-game match. The player with the lowest score will be eliminated. The three survivors will bowl another game, with the low man ousted. The two finalists will then bowl a final game for the title. 

Sean Rash, who qualified for the ESPN finals in a record six PBA World Series of Bowling events, will meet two-handed rivals Jason Belmonte of Australia and Osku Palermaa of Finland in the Chameleon Open finals Sunday on ESPN. Rounding out the field of four will be Venezuelan Ildemaro Ruiz, making his third career PBA television appearance. 

Rash, a four-time PBA Tour champion who is trying for his first title since the 2007 USBC Masters, will try to derail the two international two-handed stars who finished one-two in Chameleon Open qualifying. Belmonte averaged 236.29 to pace the Chameleon field with Palermaa averaging at a 235.14 pace. Rash was another 25 pins behind Palermaa while Ruiz qualified fourth for the four-man eliminator format finals. 

Belmonte, the 2008-09 PBA Rookie of the Year, is trying for his second career title. He won his only Tour title in the 2009 Bowling Foundation Long Island Open. In the meantime, Palermaa has won twice including the 2012 PBA World Championship. Ruiz is trying for his first PBA title. 

In their only two previous meetings in PBA Tour televised competition, Palermaa is 2-0 vs. Belmonte. Palermaa defeated Belmonte, 182-176, in the 2010 GEICO Shark Championship semifinal match and he nipped the Aussie, 10-6, in a one-ball rolloff after they tied at 203-203 in round one of the PBA World Championship elimination finals, knocking Belmonte out of title contention in that event. 

Last Season: Rookie Scott Norton of Costa Mesa, CA, started the title match at the South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas with eight strikes before converting a 4-7 spare in the eighth frame to defeat Sean Rash of Wichita, KS, 256-181. Rash had won three consecutive matches to reach the championship contest. 

PBA:39X60 Pre-game Show: (Free on PBA.com, PBA YouTube Channel) Tune into PBA.com’s Xtra Frame for interviews with the finalists as they give their insight into strategy and equipment selection. All World Series of Bowling preview shows on Xtra Frame are available the Wednesday before each Sunday ESPN telecast for free.  

PBA:39X60 Post-game Show: (Free on PBA.com, PBA YouTube Channel) Sunday 4:30 p.m. ET – Xtra Frame interviews the winning player and provides in-depth ball rep analysis of the winner’s equipment selection and ball preparation.

Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, MI, who won his only Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) title in the 2009 PBA World Championship, heads the field of four players who will do battle in the Billy Hardwick Division finals of the PBA World Championship Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in high-definition on ESPN.

The Hardwick Division is the second of four eliminator rounds that will trim the PBA World Championship field of 16 finalists down to four for a Sunday, Jan. 15, battle for the $50,000 first prize, the Earl Anthony Trophy and the PBA Tour’s first major title of the 2011-12 season.

All World Championship competition will be conducted on a pair of lanes specially installed in an exhibit hall at South Point Hotel and Casino.

Smallwood, 34, became an instant hero among America’s blue-collar work force when he defeated former PBA Player of the Year Wes Malott for the 2009 PBA World Championship. Smallwood, who had lost his job with General Motors, had decided to pursue his dream to become a professional bowler and stunned the bowling world with his upset victory in Wichita, KS. Last season, he won $100,000 as runner-up to Mika Kovuniemi in the PBA Tournament of Champions. 

Now Smallwood is back in position to try for another major title as the top qualifier in the Hardwick Division. He earned his place in the Hardwick group as the No. 2 qualifier over 40 games of World Championship qualifying on five different lane conditions, averaging 226.63 to finish 296 pins behind leader Sean Rash. As top qualifier in his group, Smallwood has selected the PBA’s Scorpion lane conditioning pattern for Sunday’s event when he will face Venezuela’s Ildemaro Ruiz, Colombia’s Andres Gomez and 25-year PBA Tour veteran Ryan Shafer of Horseheads, NY, in a battle for a berth in the World Championship finals.

Both South American players are trying for their first PBA Tour titles. Ruiz, who is making his PBA television debut, qualified for the elimination rounds in seventh place. Gomez was 10th and Shafer tied for 14th. No international player has ever won the PBA World Championship.

In Sunday’s eliminator round, all four players will bowl a one-game match. The player with the lowest score will be eliminated. The three survivors will bowl another game, with the low man knocked out. The two finalists will bowl a final game, with the survivor advancing to the World Championship finals.

The four World Championship divisional finals have been named for PBA superstars who excelled in the event during their careers. Finland’s Osku Palermaa has already won the Don Carter Division berth. The Johnny Petraglia and Mike Aulby Division finals, which will air on ESPN on Jan. 1 and Jan. 8, respectively, will complete the divisional elimination rounds. The championship trophy is named in honor of Anthony, the only player ever to win the event six times.

Second Bracket For PBA World Championships on Sunday



Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, MI, who won his only Professional Bowlers Association title in the 2009 PBA World Championship, heads the field of four players who will do battle in the Billy Hardwick Division finals of the PBA World Championship Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in high-definition on ESPN.

The Hardwick Division is the second of four eliminator rounds that will trim the PBA World Championship field of 16 finalists down to four for a Sunday, Jan. 15, battle for the $50,000 first prize, the Earl Anthony Trophy and the PBA Tour’s first major title of the 2011-12 season.

All World Championship competition will be conducted on a pair of lanes specially installed in an exhibit hall at South Point Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV.

Smallwood, 34, became an instant hero among America’s blue-collar work force when he defeated former PBA Player of the Year Wes Malott for the 2009 PBA World Championship. Smallwood, who had lost his job with General Motors, had decided to pursue his dream to become a professional bowler and stunned the bowling world with his upset victory in Wichita, KS. Last season, he won $100,000 as runner-up to Mika Kovuniemi in the PBA Tournament of Champions.

Now Smallwood is back in position to try for another major title as the top qualifier in the Hardwick Division. He earned his place in the Hardwick group as the No. 2 qualifier over 40 games of World Championship qualifying on five different lane conditions, averaging 226.63 to finish 296 pins behind leader Sean Rash. As top qualifier in his group, Smallwood has selected the PBA’s Scorpion lane conditioning pattern for Sunday’s event when he will face Venezuela’s Ildemaro Ruiz, Colombia’s Andres Gomez and 25-year PBA Tour veteran Ryan Shafer of Horseheads, NY, in a battle for a berth in the World Championship finals.

Both South American players are trying for their first PBA Tour titles. Ruiz, who is making his PBA television debut, qualified for the elimination rounds in seventh place. Gomez was 10th and Shafer tied for 14th. No international player has ever won the PBA World Championship.

In Sunday’s eliminator round, all four players will bowl a one-game match. The player with the lowest score will be eliminated. The three survivors will bowl another game, with the low man knocked out. The two finalists will bowl a final game, with the survivor advancing to the World Championship finals.

The four World Championship divisional finals have been named for PBA superstars who excelled in the event during their careers. Finland’s Osku Palermaa won the Don Carter Division berth. The Johnny Petraglia and Mike Aulby Division finals, which will air on ESPN on Jan. 1 and Jan. 8, respectively, will complete the divisional elimination rounds. The championship trophy is named in honor of Anthony, the only player ever to win the event six times.

A special preview of the Hardwick Division finals will be webcast on pba.com’s Xtra Frame beginning Wednesday, and a post-game show will be presented on Xtra Frame Sunday immediately following the ESPN finals.