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ENTRIES OPEN FOR PBA WORLD SERIES OF BOWLING VIII

Entries are now open for the PBA World Series of Bowling VIII, presented by Silver Legacy, which returns to the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., Nov. 27–Dec. 11 with a number of enhancements. The multi-event competition will include four animal pattern championships, each offering a guaranteed $20,000 first prize, and the live nationally-televised ESPN finals of PBA World Championship, offering a $60,000 first prize.

Entries are open to PBA members only on a first-come basis by contacting PBA Membership Services Manager Mary von Krueger (email: maryvk@pba.com; phone: 206-332-9688; fax: 850-564-1717).  Before entering, players must provide a confirmation number for their hotel reservations at the Silver Legacy Resort and Casino, the tournament’s official sponsor. Room rates for players, support staff, industry representatives and fans attending the event are $49.99 Sunday-Thursday and $59.99 for Saturday-Sunday. Each room reservation (single or double) that includes a weekend stay also includes two buffet coupons.

For reservations call 800-687-8733 or visit silverlegacyreno.com and use the code WSOB16 when making reservations.

The eighth annual World Series will include modified lane conditioning patterns, adjusted competition formats and special prizes to women, PBA50 and PBA60 participants. Overall, WSOB VIII will award five PBA Tour titles and pay out an estimated $750,000 in prize money.

COUNTDOWN ENTERS FINAL TWO MONTHS FOR PBA REGIONAL PLAYERS

As the calendar flips over to August, the countdown for PBA regional and women’s regional players begins its two-month countdown in competition points races awarding paid entries into PBA World Series of Bowling VIII in Reno along with berths in the QubicaAMF Regional Tour’s Regional and PWBA/PBA Women’s Regional Challenge events which will be held as part of WSOB VIII.

In each of the seven domestic PBA regions, players have until the Sept. 30 cutoff date to earn berths in the eight-player PBA and PWBA/PBA Challenge events as the points leaders in their respective regions. Each points leaders also will be awarded paid entries into WSOB VIII worth $1,000. Qualifiers from the PBA’s East, South, Central, Midwest, Southwest, West and Northwest Regions will join players from the PBA Japan Region in eight-game round-robin match play and Xtra Frame stepladder final rounds on Sunday, Nov. 27 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno. The PBA Challenge finals will be covered live, exclusively on PBA’s Xtra Frame online bowling channel.

The PBA50 Tour Challenge, which also is part of the WSOB program, will include the top eight points leaders at the conclusion of the 2016 PBA50 Tour schedule.

NEXT UP ON XTRA FRAME: PBA50, “LUCI” MIXED DOUBLES ON TAP THIS WEEK

PBA50 Tour coverage of the annual South Shore Open, presented by DV8, from Olympia Lanes in Hammond, Ind., today and Thursday highlights this week’s exclusive Xtra Frame coverage of the PBA “senior tour.”

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, attention turns to the PBA-PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles from Bowl on Bellaire (formerly Palace Bowl) in Houston, Texas, where more than 300 men and women will not only compete for PBA/PWBA Tour titles, but help raise money in the ongoing search for a cure for breast cancer. Qualifying begins on Friday and the tournament concludes Sunday afternoon.

Three-day ($3.99), 30-day ($7.99) and full year ($64.99) Xtra Frame subscriptions are available by clicking on the Xtra Frame link on pba.com. As a bonus, new monthly or full-year Season Ticket Xtra Frame subscribers are automatically entered into a monthly sweepstakes where they have three chances to win a new high-performance bowling ball from Brunswick, DV8 or MOTIV.

QUBICA AMF PBA REGIONAL UPDATE: MALDONADO DOMINATES FOR EIGHTH TITLE

Houston two-hander Shawn Maldonado dominated the match play finals to win his eighth PBA Southwest Region title Sunday in the seventh annual PBA Fort Sill Southwest Open, presented by DV8, at Twin Oaks Bowling Center in Fort Sill, Okla.

After dropping two of his first three games in the eight-game modified round robin finals, Maldonado won his next four matches to build a 213-pin lead over runner-up Francois Lavoie, a member of Team Canada who is now living in Wichita, Kan., going into the final position round match. The Houston two-handed player then put an exclamation point on his dominance, beating Lavoie, 300-221, to claim the $2,500 winner’s check by a margin of 321 pins. Maldonado finished the event with 5,398 total pins, including bonus pins. Lavoie held on to second place with 5,077 pins, and collected $1,650.

Nathan Bohr of Austin, Texas, finished third with a 5,074 pinfall total to win $1,100 in his return to PBA Southwest Region competition while Jakob Butturff from Phoenix, Ariz., rounded out the top four with 5,057 total pins for $900.

● Ronnie Russell of Marion, Ind. defeated Brad Angelo of Lockport, N.Y., by 58 pins to win the PBA Farmer’s Sate Bank Central/Midwest Open presented by Roto-Grip at Angola Bowl in Angola, Ind., Sunday.

Russell finished with a 6-2 match play record and a total of 4,727 pins for 21 games, including match play bonus pins, to win his first QubicaAMF PBA Regional title of the year and the eighth of his career. He also earned $2,600.

● Closing the July schedule over the July 29-31 weekend will be the PBA Romeo Chevrolet-GMC-Buick Open presented by Ebonite at Patel’s Kingston Lanes in Kingston, N.Y.; the PBA and PBA50 Boise West and Northwest Opens presented by Ebonite at 20th Century Lanes in Boise, Idaho; the PBA50 Beverly Lanes Midwest/Central Open in Arlington Heights, Ill.; the PBA50 Sparetimes Hampton South Open at Sparetimes Bowling Center in Hampton, Va., and the PBA Greater Marion Central Open at BlueFusion Fun Center in Marion, Ohio.

● QubicaAMF PBA Regional competition in August gets underway Aug. 4-6 with the PBA50 Progressive/Gerdman Insurance Agency/Al Smith Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep Center-Midwest Classic at Al-Mar Lanes in Bowling Green, Ohio. Events on tap for the Aug. 5-7 weekend include the PBA Bowlers Supply Storm Eastern Open at Colony Park Lanes in York, Pa.; the PBA AMF Western Branch South Open presented by Hammer in Chesapeake, Va., and the Tony Reyes Memorial Member/Non-Member Doubles at Fourth Street Bowl in San Jose, Calif.

● Sandwiched in between the PBA50 DeHayes Insurance Group Championship presented by Pro Bowl West and Ebonite in Fort Wayne, Ind., Aug. 6-9, and the PBA60 Dick Weber National Championship presented by Hammer, Aug. 11-13, PBA50 players are invited to compete in the PBA50 Fort Wayne Central/Midwest Shootout – a one-day reduced entry fee event, on Wednesday, Aug. 10. Pro Bowl West will host all three events.

● Over the Aug. 12-14 weekend, QubicaAMF PBA Regional action will include the Poplar Creek Midwest Open in Hoffman Estates, Ill.; the Killeen Southwest Open at Hallmark Lanes in Killeen, Texas; the Lefeld Implement Central Classic at Pla-Mor Lanes in Coldwater, Ohio, and the PBA Japan Region’s DHC Women’s Chameleon Open and Chameleon Open, both in Syama, Japan.

● The Aug. 19-21 weekend will be headlined by the PBA Gene Carter Pro Shop Classic, presented by Xtra Frame, at Mid-County Bowling and Entertainment Center in Middletown, Del. The PBA Xtra Frame Tour event is projecting a $15,000 first prize along with a PBA Tour title. Also over the Aug. 19-21 weekend, the QubicaAMF PBA Regional schedule includes the Emerald Bowl Southwest Challenge for non-champions and the PWBA-PBA Emerald Bowl Open for women. Both events in Houston, Texas, will be presented by Hammer.  Also on tap is the Dave Husted Northwest Open presented by 900 Global at Milwaukie Bowl in Milwaukie, Ore.

● Concluding the August schedule of QubicaAMF PBA Regional events over the Aug. 26-28 weekend will be the Fayetteville South Open presented by MOTIV along with the PWBA-PBA Fayetteville South Open – a women’s only event - at Lafayette Lanes in Fayetteville, N.C.; the AMF Garland Lanes Southwest Open, presented by Classic Products & Ultimate Bowling Products, in Garland, Texas, and the Aquimo West Open at Mesa East Bowl in Mesa, Ariz.

● Looking ahead to Labor Day weekend, the QubicaAMF PBA Regional calendar includes the PBA60 Wilson & Sons Pest Control South Open followed by the PBA50 Budweiser Open presented by Mooresville Ford and Columbia 300 at George Pappas’ Victory Lanes in Mooresville, N.C.; the PBA50 Strike Zone Open presented by Columbia 300 in Pottsville, Pa., and the PBA Japan Region’s Viper Open presented by Ebonite in Iruma, Japan.

● For complete QubicaAMF PBA Regional schedules, rules and entry information, visit pba.com, open the “schedules” tab and click on QubicaAMF Regional Tours to find the event(s) in your area. For more information about QubicaAMF, visit www.qubicaamf.com or, for social media posts, visit http://bit.ly/QAMFSponsorship1.

QUICK NOTES

● Seven-time PBA Tour titlist Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pa., was the guest of Ebonite International and the Chicagoland Bowling Proprietors’ Association in throwing out the ceremonial first pitch during CBPA’s 15th annual “Bowlers’ Night with the White Sox” game at U.S. Cellular Field on July 24.