Friday, March 15, 2019

Belmonte Averages 239 to Surge Into PBA Scorpion Championship
and PBA World Championship Leads in WSOB X
Field cut to 45 players for Friday’s World Championship cashers’ rounds

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (March 14, 2019) – Four-time PBA Player of the Year Jason Belmonte bowled a 2,396 10-game pinfall total to top qualifying in the PBA Scorpion Championship Thursday which also propelled him to the top of the World Championship standings in PBA World Series of Bowling X at Thunderbowl Lanes.

The Australian two-hander, a 19-time PBA Tour winner, who owns a record-tying 10 major titles including the 2017 World Championship, bowled games of 258, 210, 257, 213 and 236 in Thursday’s first Scorpion round and 257, 194, 265, 258 and 248 in the second round.

Belmonte led 16 players who advanced to best-of-five single elimination match play on March 20. After match play, the top four players will advance to the Scorpion Championship finals live on FS1 March 20 at 8 p.m. ET.

Another one of the tour’s premier two-handers, six-time tour winner Anthony Simonsen of Little Elm, Texas, finished second in Scorpion qualifying with a 2,332 pinfall. Overcoming a slow start with games of 185, 170, 273, 231 and 237 in the first round, he came back with games of 276, 258, 224, 279 and 199 in the second round.

With the conclusion of Scorpion qualifying, the top 45 players from the 135-player WSOB X field advanced to two five-game World Championship cashers’ rounds on Friday at 12:30 and 6:30 p.m. ET which will be conducted on the PBA 43-foot Earl Anthony lane condition. After the cashers’ rounds, the field will be cut to 16 players for two eight-game round robin match play rounds Saturday at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. which will determine the top five players for the World Championship finals that will be aired live March 21 on FS1 at 8 p.m. ET.

The 35-year-old Belmonte has made a steady climb in the World Championship standings since finishing 37th in Cheetah Championship qualifying on Tuesday.  After Scorpion qualifying, he finished with a 6,877 30-game pinfall total (229 average) to lead World Championship qualifying.

“For this event, the start can be an added challenge for me because the shorter lane conditions are usually my Achille’s heel plus the fact I’m just getting in from Australia so I pretty much know going in I have to build up as the event progresses,” said Belmonte, who is trying to win a record 11th major title in the third major tournament of the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season. “I just concentrate on getting as many pins as I can early and then look to capitalize as much as possible when I get to a condition where I have a good ball reaction.”

Belmonte holds a 103-pin lead over 10-time tour winner Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pa., who is second in World Championship qualifying with 6,774 heading into Friday’s cashers’ rounds. 

Also determined after Scorpion qualifying were the top five U.S. and international scorers for The USA vs. The World team competition which will be taped March 21 at 4 p.m. and will air March 22 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

Based on 30-game pinfall totals from the Cheetah, Chameleon and Scorpion rounds, representing the U.S. will be O’Neill (6,774), EJ Tackett (6,663), Tom Daugherty (6,641) Simonsen (6,605) and Kyle Sherman (6,605).  Representing the international team will be Belmonte (6,877); Andres Gomez, Colombia (6,437); Dom Barrett, England (6,411); Sam Cooley, Australia (6,399) and Pontus Andersson, Sweden (6,374).

The U.S. team will be managed by PBA Hall of Famer Marshall Holman and the international team will be managed by fellow hall of famer Amleto Monacelli.

All qualifying and match play rounds are live-streamed by PBA’s online streaming partner, FloBowling. For subscription information, visit FloBowling.com. FloBowling also will live-stream all five FS1 telecasts as they air to its international audience.
Fans also can track WSOB scoring as it happens by visiting the Live Scoring link on PBA.com.
PBA SCORPION CHAMPIONSHIP
Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., Thursday

Final Qualifying Standings (after 10 games; top 16 advance to Scorpion Championship Round-of-16 single-elimination match play on March 20)
1, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 2,396.
2, Anthony Simonsen, Little Elm, Texas, 2,332.
3, Kurt Pilon, Sterling Heights, Mich., 2,287.
4, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 2,258.
5, EJ Tackett, Bluffton, Ind., 2,242.
6, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 2,229.
7, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 2,227.
8, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 2,210.
9, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 2,206.
10, Kris Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 2,203.
11, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 2,200.
12, Matt Kuba, Chicago Ridge, IL, 2,194.
13 (tie), Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, and Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 2,178.
15, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 2,177.
16, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa., 2,167.
Did not advance:
17, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 2,159.
18, Sam Cooley, Australia, 2,152.
19, Matt McNiel, Minneapolis, 2,139.
20 (tie), Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., and Andres Gomez, Colombia, 2,135.
22, Nick Kruml, Downers Grove, Ill., 2,132.
23, Arturo Quintero, Mexico, 2,127.
24, AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa, 2,126.
25, DJ Archer, Spring, Texas, 2,122.
26, Sean Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 2,121.
27, Zac Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 2,118.
28, Kevin Donovan, Painted Post, N.Y., 2,116.
29 (tie), Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, and AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 2,112.
31, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 2,111.
32, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 2,110.
33, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 2,107.
34, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 2,099.
35, Blake Demore, Springfield, Mo., 2,098.
36, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 2,097.
37, Mykel Holliman, Collierville, Tenn., 2,095.
38, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 2,094.
39, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 2,093.
40, Rhino Page, Orlando, 2,091.
41, Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, 2,089.
42 (tie), Alfred Berggren, Sweden, and Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 2,081.
44, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 2,079.
45, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 2,077.
46, Mike Eaton Jr., Wyoming, Mich., 2,075.
47, Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 2,067.
48, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 2,061.
49, Dick Allen, Lexington, S.C., 2,055.
50, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 2,054.
51, Michael Davidson, Versailles, Ohio, 2,045.
52 (tie), Kamron Doyle, Brentwood, Tenn., and Francois Lavoie, Canada, 2,044.
54, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 2,041.
55, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 2,039.
56, Ryan Ciminelli, Clarence, N.Y., 2,038.
57, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 2,037.
58, Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 2,036.
59, Zachary Wilkins, Canada, 2,034.
60 (tie), Anthony Pepe, East Elmhurst, N.Y., and Matt Sanders, Indianapolis, 2,025.
62, Patrick Girard, Canada, 2,024.
63, Christopher Sloan, Ireland, 2,022.
64, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 2,020.
65, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 2,019.
66, Jim Pratt, Avondale, Ariz., 2,018.
67, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 2,017.
68 (tie), Dom Barrett, England, and Cristian Azcona, Puerto Rico, 2,015.
70, Francois Louw, South Africa, 2,014.
71, Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 2,009.
72, Brad Miller, Lees Summit, Mo., 2,008.
73, Darren Alexander, Canada, 2,007.
74 (tie), JR Raymond, Clinton Twp., Mich.; Tim Pfeifer, Oakdale, Pa., and Graham Fach, Urbana, Ohio, 2,006.
77, Matthew Ogle, Louisville, Ky., 2,003.
78, Carsten Hansen, Denmark, 1,999.
79, Kim Bolleby, Sweden, 1,998.
80, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 1,993.
81, Tobias Boerding, Germany, 1,992.
82, Richard McCormick, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1,991.
83 (tie), John Furey, Howell, N.J., and Darren Tang, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,988.
85, Marco Moretti, Costa Rica, 1,984.
86, Mitch Hupe, Canada, 1,983.
87, David Krol, Nixa, Mo., 1,982.
88, Markus Jansson, Sweden, 1,981.
89, Aaron Lorincz, Center Line, Mich., 1,975.
90 (tie), Stuart Williams, England, and Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., 1,973.
92, Greg Young, Viera, Fla., 1,972.
93, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 1,960.
94, Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 1,959.
95, Andrew Suscreba, Clifton, N.J., 1,958.
96, Jon Van Hees, Charlestown, R.I., 1,956.
97, Anthony LaCaze, Hanover Park, Ill., 1,955.
98, Jason Sterner, Fayetteville, Ga., 1,949.
99, Richie Teece, England, 1,947.
100, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 1,943.
101, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 1,942.
102, Eduardo Astiazaran, Mexico, 1,941.
103, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 1,936.
104, Kenneth Ryan, Farmingdale, N.J., 1,935.
105, Jake Rollins, Glen Rock, N.J., 1,933.
106, Michael Tang, Johnstown, Ohio, 1,931.
107, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 1,929.
108, Justin Knowles, Okemos, Mich., 1,927.
109, Jean Perez, Puerto Rico, 1,922.
110, Jonathan Hocsman, Argentina, 1,918.
111 (tie), Greg Ostrander, Brick, N.J., and Rafiq Ismail, Malaysia, 1,915.
113, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 1,914.
114, Pascal Winternheimer, Germany, 1,912.
115, Mason Brantley, Detroit, 1,906.
116, Billy Rogers, Mesquite, Texas, 1,902.
117, Tyler Wilds, Three Rivers, Mich., 1,886.
118, Mike Coffey, Melbourne, Fla., 1,875.
119, Nicholas Pate, Inver Grove Heights, Minn., 1,867.
120, Patrick Hanrahan, Wichita, Kan., 1,864.
121 (tie), Ryan Graywacz, Canastota, N.Y., and Andrew Klingler, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1,863.
123, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 1,856.
124, Zach Doty, Campbellsville, Ky., 1,852.
125, Jimmy Cook, Indianapolis, 1,850.
126, Travis Cauley, Hamilton, Ont., Canada, 1,846.
127, Charlie Brown Jr, Grandville, Mich., 1,836.
128, Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., 1,767.
129, David Williams Jr., Omaha, Neb., 1,766.
130, Keven Williams, Springfield, Mo.,, 1,762.
131, Brodie Rountree, Australia, 1,722.
132, Tristan Butler, Fort Wayne, Ind., 1,698.
133, Mateo Hernandez, Argentina, 1,645.
134, Dave Miller, Kalamazoo, Mich., 1,585.

300 games – Bill O’Neill

PBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Final Qualifying Standings (after 30 qualifying games; top 45 after 10-game Cheetah, Chameleon and Scorpion rounds advance to two five-game cashers’ rounds on Friday at 12:30 and 6:30 p.m. ET)
1, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 6,877.
2, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 6,774.
3, EJ Tackett, Bluffton, Ind., 6,663.
4, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 6,641.
5 (tie), Anthony Simonsen, Little Elm, Texas, and Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 6,605.
7, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa., 6,604.
8, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 6,598.
9, Matt McNiel, Minneapolis, 6,590.
10, Kris Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 6,576.
11, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 6,551.
12, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 6,546.
13, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 6,545.
14, AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa, 6,510.
15, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 6,504.
16, Kurt Pilon, Sterling Heights, Mich., 6,498.
17, Dick Allen, Lexington, S.C., 6,471.
18, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 6,460.
19, Rhino Page, Orlando, 6,457.
20, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 6,437.
21, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 6,414.
22, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 6,413.
23, Dom Barrett, England, 6,411.
24, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 6,407.
25, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 6,401.
26, Sam Cooley, Australia, 6,399.
27, Anthony Pepe, East Elmhurst, N.Y., 6,388.
28, Mykel Holliman, Collierville, Tenn., 6,385.
29, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 6,382.
30, Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 6,374.
31, Mitch Hupe, Canada, 6,363.
32, Nick Kruml, Downers Grove, Ill., 6,346.
33, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 6,338.
34, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 6,332.
35, Patrick Girard, Canada, 6,324.
36, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 6,317.
37, Francois Lavoie, Canada, 6,313.
38, Darren Tang, Las Vegas, Nev., 6,307.
39, Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, 6,297.
40, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 6,290.
41, Brad Miller, Lees Summit, Mo., 6,289.
42, DJ Archer, Spring, Texas, 6,284.
43, Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., 6,280.
44, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 6,274.
44, Graham Fach, Urbana, Ohio, 6,274.
Did not advance:
46, Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 6,273.
47 (tie), Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, and JR Raymond, Clinton Twp., Mich., 6,270.
49, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 6,261.
50, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 6,224.
51, Tim Pfeifer, Oakdale, Pa., 6,220.
52 (tie), Ryan Ciminelli, Clarence, N.Y., and Michael Davidson, Versailles, Ohio, 6,219.
54, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 6,218.
55, Stuart Williams, England, 6,215.
56, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 6,213.
57 (tie), Greg Ostrander, Brick, N.J., and Osku Palermaa, Finland, 6,212.
59, Tobias Boerding, Germany, 6,205.
60, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 6,204.
61, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 6,199.
62, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 6,195.
63, Matt Kuba, Chicago Ridge, Ill., 6,188.
64 (tie), Kamron Doyle, Brentwood, Tenn., and Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 6,178.
66, Richie Teece, England, 6,175.
67, Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, 6,173.
68, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 6,172.
69, Arturo Quintero, Mexico, 6,159.
70, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 6,152.
71, Rafiq Ismail, Malaysia, 6,146.
72, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 6,145.
73, Kim Bolleby, Sweden, 6,140.
74, Nicholas Pate, Inver Grove Heights, Minn., 6,137.
75, Matthew Ogle, Louisville, Ky., 6,136.
76, Kevin Donovan, Painted Post, N.Y., 6,134.
77, Pascal Winternheimer, Germany, 6,133.
78, Jim Pratt, Avondale, Ariz., 6,113.
79, Richard McCormick, Cincinnati, Ohio, 6,109.
80, Francois Louw, South Africa, 6,108.
81, Mike Eaton Jr., Wyoming, Mich., 6,095.
82, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 6,094.
83 (tie), Jason Sterner, Fayetteville, Ga., and Markus Jansson, Sweden, 6,086.
85, Ryan Graywacz, Canastota, N.Y., 6,084.
86, Kenneth Ryan, Farmingdale, NJ, 6,065.
87, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 6,057.
88, Darren Alexander, Canada, 6,055.
89, Sean Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 6,052.
90, Jon Van Hees, Charlestown, R.I., 6,045.
91, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 6,041.
92, Carsten Hansen, Denmark, 6,030.
93, Michael Tang, Johnstown, Ohio, 6,029.
94, Matt Sanders, Indianapolis, 6,022.
95, Jimmy Cook, Indianapolis, 6,018.
96, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 6,012.
97, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 6,011.
98, Zacharay Wilkins, Canada, 6,005.
99, Cristian Azcona, Puerto Rico, 5,998.
100, Christopher Sloan, Ireland, 5,966.
101, David Krol, Nixa, Mo., 5,951.
101, Greg Young, Viera, Fla., 5,951.
103, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 5,945.
104 (tie), Blake Demore, Springfield, Mo., and Aaron Lorincz, Center Line, Mich., 5,944.
106 (tie), Jake Rollins, Glen Rock, N.J., and Mason Brantley, Detroit, 5,940.
108, Patrick Hanrahan, Wichita, Kan., 5,937.
109, Marco Moretti, Costa Rica, 5,913.
110, Mike Coffey, Melbourne, Fla., 5,911.
111, Charlie Brown Jr, Grandville, Mich., 5,906.
112, Justin Knowles, Okemos, Mich., 5,905.
113, Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 5,900.
114, Jean Perez, Puerto Rico, 5,872.
115, John Furey, Howell, N.J., 5,871.
116, Alfred Berggren, Sweden, 5,860.
117 (tie), Zac Tackett, Huntington, Ind., and Tyler Wilds, Three Rivers, Mich., 5,824.
119, Keven Williams, Springfield, Mo.,, 5,817.
120, Zach Doty, Campbellsville, Ky., 5,805.
121, Eduardo Astiazaran, Mexico, 5,754.
122, Billy Rogers, Mesquite, Texas, 5,743.
123, Travis Cauley, Canada, 5,718.
124, Andrew Suscreba, Clifton, N.J., 5,716.
125, Anthony LaCaze, Hanover Park, Ill., 5,680.
126, Jonathan Hocsman, Argentina, 5,670.
127, Andrew Klingler, Grand Rapids, Mich., 5,657.
128, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 5,647.
129, Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., 5,637.
130, David Williams Jr., Omaha, Neb., 5,518.
131, Tristan Butler, Fort Wayne, Ind., 5,328.
132, Brodie Rountree, Australia, 5,202.
133, Dave Miller, Kalamazoo, Mich., 4,971.
134, Mateo Hernandez, Argentina, 4,547.

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