PBA Announces Summer Series Details
18 stars selected for team competition at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Ill.

The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) and Six Flags announced today details of the PBA Team Shootout Hosted by Six Flags Great America, the second consecutive summer the two have teamed up for a special event featuring some of the top stars of the Dennys PBA Tour.

A total of 18 bowlers will compete in the made-for-TV team event which will air throughout the summer on ESPN.

The PBA Team Shootout Hosted by Six Flags, also sponsored by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC), will take place June 5-8 at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Ill. The 18 players include the 16 champions from the 2007-08 Dennys PBA Tour along with one additional player designated by the PBA, PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber, and another designated by major sponsor USBC, World Bowler of the Year Jason Belmonte from Australia. Belmonte just recently became a PBA member.

The 18 bowlers will be divided into three teams with players being selected by three captains  PBA Hall of Famers Mark Roth, Carmen Salvino and Brian Voss. The three captains will draft the players during a ceremony on Thursday, June 5, following the official practice session.

We are excited about teaming with Six Flags and the USBC to once again showcase the best bowlers in the world for this special summer event, PBA Commissioner and CEO Fred Schreyer said. We feel we have an exciting and talented field of athletes, mixing the top young stars with the legends of today and yesterday. An international flavor should also add a level of excitement for the fans and players.

Starting Friday, June 6, the three teams will compete in round robin, Baker style match play with a total of 12 matches taking place. Each team will bowl four matches against the other two teams, with each match taking place on a different oil pattern. The only one of the five PBA oil patterns which will not be used during round robin play is the Cheetah pattern as that pattern will be used in the championship round.

With six players on a team, one bowler will sit out each game for the five-man Baker style matches. Team captains will designate which five players will compete during the matches.

After the 12 matches are complete, the top two teams based on match play record will advance to the championship round on Saturday, June 7. The championship round will consist of one singles match, one doubles match and one Baker-style match, with the captains choosing the participants for each match.

The singles and doubles matches will each be worth one point while the Baker match will be worth two points. Should the teams tie, one player from each team  who will be determined prior to the start of the competition by the team captains  will participate in a one-ball sudden death roll-off. The winning team will split $100,000.

One special feature that will carry over from last years summer event is the Endless 10th Frame, which will only be used in the round robin match play portion of the event. Should a bowler strike with his fill ball in the 10th frame, his team will continue to bowl until they do not strike again, with each additional strike adding 10 pins to the teams total score.

Additionally, a total of $1,000 in bonus money is up for grabs in each round robin match with $100 on the line in each frame. In every frame, the bowlers on opposite teams will compete against each other for the bonus money. The bowler with the most successful frame will receive $100 for their team. Should the bowlers tie in a given frame that money will carry over to the next frame. If a tie takes place in the 10th frame, bonus money goes to the team that won the match. Endless 10th frames do not factor into the individual frame bonus money.

Below is a look at the participants:

Name Qualified
Patrick Allen 2007 Lumber Liquidators Championship
Chris Barnes 2008 Bayer Classic/2008 Don Johnson Buckeye State Classic
Jason Belmonte USBC selection
Parker Bohn III 2007 Spartanburg Classic
Norm Duke 2008 Dennys World Championship/65th Dennys U.S. Open
Mike Fagan 2008 PBA Exempt Doubles Classic
Michael Haugen Jr. 2007 Lake Co. Indiana Classic/2008 Tournament of Champions
Tommy Jones 2008 ConstructionJob.com Championship/2008 GEICO Classic
Mika Koivuniemi Dydo Japan Cup 2008
Wes Malott 2008 Lumber Liquidators Earl Anthony Medford Classic
Rhino Page 2008 Go RVing Classic
Sean Rash 2007 USBC Masters
Mike Scroggins 2008 Motel 6 Dick Weber Open/2008 Pepsi Championship
Robert Smith 2007 CLR Windy City Classic
Pete Weber PBA selection
Walter Ray Williams Jr. 2007 Motor City Classic/2007 Great Lakes Classic
Danny Wiseman 2008 PBA Exempt Doubles Classic
Mike Wolfe 2007 Etonic Championship


CAPTAINS
Mark Roth 34-time Dennys PBA Tour titlist, PBA Hall of Famer
Carmen Salvino 17-time Dennys PBA Tour titlist, PBA Hall of Famer
Brian Voss 24-time Dennys PBA Tour titlist, PBA Hall of Famer

Last years PBA All-Star Shootout Hosted by Six Flags was the first outdoor PBA event since 2001 when Jason Couch won The Villages Sun Bowl in The Villages, Fla. Norm Duke and Walter Ray Williams Jr. teamed up to win the doubles event at Six Flags St. Louis last year, which featured 16 PBA All-Stars.

This years event will mark the fifth outdoor PBA event in the organizations 50-year history. The finals of a PBA Senior Tour event in 2000 were also televised from The Villages while the finals of the 1999 Brunswick Long Island Open/New York City Experience  won by Eric Forkel  were held in Bryant Park in New York City.

The PBA Team Shootout Hosted by Six Flags will air over five consecutive weekends beginning with the first three of 15 shows airing on June 22 from 1-1:30 p.m. ET.

Below is a complete list of air times. All dates and times are subject to change.

Date Network Times (Shows)
Sun., June 22 ESPN 1  2:30 p.m. ET (3)
Sun., June 29 ESPN 1  3 p.m. ET (4)
Sun., July 6 ESPN 1  2 p.m. ET (2)
Sun., July 13 ESPN 3  4 p.m. ET (2)
Sat., July 20 ESPN 1  3 p.m. ET (4)

Six Flags Great America is a world-class family entertainment destination with a theme park and water park. Six Flags Great America is located 45 minutes north of Chicago and 45 minutes south of Milwaukee.

About the PBA
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) features the best bowlers in the world competing in National, Regional and Senior Tour events. The organization has more than 4,000 members spanning 13 countries, and nearly one million viewers tune-in to watch the Dennys PBA Tour every Sunday on ESPN throughout the season. PBA sponsors include Aaron Rents, Bayer, Brunswick, CLR, ConstructionJobs.com, Denny's, Etonic, Flomax, GEICO, Go RVing, H&R Block, Lumber Liquidators, Motel 6, Pepsi-Cola and the USBC, among others. For more information on the PBA, log on to www.pba.com.