GEICO PBA Summer Shootout on ESPN

Reigning U.S. Open champ Pete Weber of St. Ann, MO, put 12 points on the board in Round 4 of the GEICO PBA Summer Shootout at 10pin bowling lounge, helping his Storm team take the early lead in the annual Manufacturers Cup competition.

The first four rounds of one ball, low-man-out singles elimination matches aired Sunday on ESPN2. In each round, nine players representing nine different bowling ball brands competed in three groups of three players each. The survivor of the low-man-out preliminary matches advance to a final match where the winner earned 12 points, runner-up 8 points and third-place finisher 7 points. Those eliminated in the preliminary matches earned lesser points.

Weber, behind a flawless seven-strike performance (three in his preliminary match and four in a row in a Round 4 showdown with Roto Grip’s Brian Kretzer of Dayton, Ohio), helped Storm take a three-point lead over Ebonite and DV8 in the bowling ball manufacturers’ contest. Brunswick’s Chris Loschetter finished third in Round 4 after an eight-count on his first shot in the three-player final match.

In the first round, Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, NY, threw four strikes in a row – two in his preliminary match and two more in the final showdown to eliminate Storm’s Osku Palermaa of Finland and DV8’s Ronnie Russell of Camby, IN, staking Brunswick to an early lead in the team competition. Russell struck on his first shot in the final match, but had a nine-count on his second shot. Palermaa finished third after an eight-count on his first attempt.

Round 2 went to Columbia 300’s Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, who struck on his first three shots to edge DV8’s Mike Machuga of Erie, PA (double and nine-count). Ebonite’s Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, SC, was third after a nine-count on his first shot in the final match.

Newly-inducted PBA Hall of Famer Jason Couch, who announced his retirement from PBA Tour competition at the start of the Summer Shootout, temporarily put Ebonite into the team lead when he claimed 12 points in Round 3, ousting 900 Global’s Robert Smith of Las Vegas, who left three pins standing on his second shot. Hammer’s Bill O’Neill of Southampton, PA, was knocked out with a seven-count on his first ball.

Five more rounds of singles and doubles low-man-out elimination rounds will determine the team seeding positions for an elimination position round contest leading into the Baker doubles format stepladder finals. All remaining rounds of the GEICO PBA Summer Shootout will air on ESPN on Saturday, July 14, at noon ET and Sunday, July 15, at 1 p.m. ET.

GEICO PBA SUMMER SHOOTOUT

10pin bowling lounge, Chicago, thru July 8

Singles Low-Man-Out Elimination Format (points awarded to each team based upon finishing position in each round)

Round 1: 1, Ryan Ciminelli, Brunswick, 12 points. 2, Ronnie Russell, DV8, 8 points. 3, Osku Palermaa, Storm, 7 points. 4th-6th (5 points each) - Jason Couch, Ebonite; Bill O’Neill, Hammer; Brian Voss, 900 Global. 7th-9th (2 points each) - Brian Kretzer, Roto Grip; Dan MacLelland, Columbia 300; Mike Fagan, Track. 

Round 2: 1, Chris Barnes, Columbia 300, 12. 2, Mike Machuga, DV8, 8. 3, Tommy Jones, Ebonite, 7. 4th-6th (5 points each) – Mika Koivuniemi, Track; Pete Weber, Storm; Missy Parkin, 900 Global. 7th-9th (2 points each) – Sean Rash, Brunswick; Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Roto Grip; Mike Wolfe, Ebonite. 

Round 3: 1, Jason Couch, Ebonite, 12. 2, Robert Smith, 900 Global, 8. 3, Bill O’Neill, Hammer, 7. 4th-6th (5 points each) – Wes Malott, Roto Grip; Jason Belmonte, Storm; Brian Valenta, DV8. 7th-9th (2 points each) – Dan MacLelland, Columbia 300; Ryan Ciminelli, Brunswick; Mike Fagan, Track. 

Round 4: 1, Pete Weber, Storm, 12. 2, Brian Kretzer, Roto Grip, 8. 3, Chris Loschetter, Brunswick, 7. 4th-6th (5 points each) – Mike Wolfe, Ebonite; Ronnie Russell, DV8; Chris Barnes, Columbia 300. 7th-9th (2 points each) – Mika Koivuniemi, Track; Missy Parkin, 900 Global; Tommy Jones, Ebonite. 

Manufacturers Cup Standings (points after four rounds): 1, Storm 29. 2 (tie) Ebonite and DV8 26. 4, Brunswick 23. 5, Columbia 300 21. 6, 900 Global 20. 7, Hammer 19. 8, Roto Grip 17. 9, Track 11.

PBA GEICO Summer Shootout on ESPN/ESPN2

ESPN’s coverage of the PBA GEICO Summer Shootout from 10pin bowling lounge in Chicago has been modified. The series of 15 30-minute shows will debut with four back-to-back shows on Saturday, July 7, at 2 p.m., followed by five consecutive shows on Saturday, July 14, starting at noon. All times are Eastern. The final six half-hour shows will air on Sunday, July 15, starting at 1 p.m.

ESPN2 will re-air the entire series starting with the first five shows on Sunday, July 8, at 1:30 p.m. Two shows will re-air on Saturday, July 21, at 4 p.m., and Saturday, July 28, at 3 p.m. Re-airs continue with five back-to-back shows on Saturday, Aug. 4, at 1 p.m. and two shows on Sunday, Aug. 5, starting at 3 p.m.

PBA Summer Shootout Returns to Chicago

Four of the top 2012 PBA Chris Schenkel Player of the Year candidates—Jason Belmonte, Mike Fagan, Sean Rash and Pete Weber — are among the star-studded players who will return to upscale 10pin bowling lounge in downtown Chicago May 27-29 for the 6th annual PBA Summer Shootout. 

The made-for-TV event will once again feature a battle of bowling stars representing bowling ball manufacturers in a fast-paced PBA Summer Shootout series for telecast on ESPN. 

The PBA Summer Shootout weekend will get underway with a special pro-am event at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 27. Eight Eliminator Round tapings will be conducted Monday, starting at noon. On Tuesday, the final two Eliminator Rounds get started at 1 p.m., followed by the Eliminator Doubles Shootout and four Baker Doubles stepladder finals matches. 

The preliminary Shootout telecast schedule begins on ESPN Saturday, July 7 and continues Saturday and Sunday, July 14 and 15. ESPN2 will carry re-airs of Shootout telecasts on Sunday, July 8, Saturday, July 21, Saturday, July 28, Saturday, Aug. 4, and Sunday, Aug. 5. 

Telecast times will be announced at a later date. 

“It’s great to get to come back to downtown Chicago for Memorial Day weekend,” said PBA Commissioner Tom Clark. “The city has a rich bowling history and last year's event had one of the best pro-ams I've ever seen in 10pin's cool surroundings with 20 of the top players in the world.” 

The 2012 installment of the PBA Tour’s post-season special will include the sport’s most accomplished players representing nine of the bowling industry’s best-known bowling ball franchises in a series of elimination and Baker doubles contests along with a pro-am event for Chicagoland grassroots league bowlers. 

Teams must include a minimum of two players and teams with more than two players on their roster may substitute at their discretion: Teams and players competing are: 

Storm: Jason Belmonte, Osku Palermaa and Pete Weber 

900 Global: Robert Smith, Missy Parkin and Brian Voss 

Roto Grip: Wes Malott, Brian Kretzer and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard 

DV8: Mike Machuga, Ronnie Russell and Brian Valenta 

Brunswick: Sean Rash, Ryan Ciminelli and Chris Loschetter 

Track: Mike Fagan and Mika Koivuniemi 

Columbia 300: Dan MacLelland and Chris Barnes 

Hammer: Mike Wolfe and Bill O’Neill 

Ebonite: Tommy Jones and Jason Couch 

The 2012 PBA Summer Shootout will get underway with one member of the nine ball-brand teams bowling in each of 10 “Eliminator Rounds.” 

In the Eliminator Rounds, each player will throw one shot, with the low score in each frame eliminated. In cases of ties, the players involved will bowl sudden-death until one survivor remains. 

“Make no mistake, while this event is guaranteed to be fun and exciting for fans to watch on site and as it plays out over the summer months on ESPN, the radical format means it will be a unique tightrope walk for players that will have them on edge fighting for survival from the first ball,” Clark said. 

“Players who represent the top bowling ball brands will be fighting for bragging rights and the prize money is significant, so it figures to be intense competition.” 

In each Eliminator Round, players will earn points for their respective teams based upon how long they survive. The winner of each round will earn 12 points, second place eight points, third seven points, etc., down to one point for the first player eliminated (ninth place). 

There will be 10 Eliminator Rounds, each resulting in a half-hour show for delayed telecast on ESPN. At the conclusion of the 10 shows, teams will be seeded for the Summer Shootout finals based upon their points totals. The top four teams automatically advance to the Baker Doubles stepladder finals. 

Teams seeded five through nine will then bowl in an “Eliminator Doubles Shootout” with the winning team claiming the fifth spot in the stepladder finals). 

In the Eliminator Doubles Shootout, both members of each team will throw one shot and their scores will be combined for the frame. The low doubles score each frame will be eliminated until one team remains. 

The final four half-hour shows will feature Baker format matches where one member of each team will bowl five frames per game. The No. 5 team will take on Team No. 4 in the first show. The winner will take on Team No. 3 in the second match. The match two winner will bowl Team No. 2 in the semifinal contest, and the semifinal match winner will meet Team No. 1 for the title. 

Admission will be free for the entire weekend. For pro-am entry information, visit pba.com and look for the PBA Summer Shootout logo.