PBA Fall Swing Returns to Detroit’s Historic Thunderbowl Lanes
Multi-event Wolf, Bear, Badger, Detroit Opens and King of Swing to air on CBS Sports Network
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (Aug. 23, 2016) –
Detroit’s Thunderbowl Lanes has seen enough bowling history to fill a
half dozen books on bowling lore, and it isn’t finished making an impact
of the sport’s history.
The
next chapter will be written when Professional Bowlers Association
players from around the world return to suburban Allen Park Sept. 4-11
for the multi-event PBA Fall Swing, featuring the Wolf, Bear, Badger and
Detroit Opens plus a Fall King of the Swing special event. All five
events will conclude with stepladder finals televised by CBS Sports
Network on five consecutive Wednesday nights beginning Sept. 21 at 9
p.m. ET.
There
is a lot on the line for PBA Tour players during this event, including
berths in the lucrative DHC PBA Japan Invitational next January in Tokyo
and four PBA Tour titles that could have a significant impact on the
2016 PBA Player and Rookie of the Year races.
In
addition to Wolf, Badger, Bear and Detroit Open titles, PBA members
will be competing for invitations to participate in the 2017 Japan
Invitational. The top 10 based on total earnings for the Fall Swing will
be invited to participate in Japan along with defending champion Amleto
Monacelli, one PWBA-PBA Women’s member, three players selected by
tournament sponsor DHC, one Korea PBA member, and 16 Japan PBA
representatives. The 32-game head-to-head match play event in Japan will
offer a $189,000 prize fund with $40,000 and a PBA Tour title to the
winner (if he/she is a PBA member).
Thunderbowl
Lanes was the birthplace of the multi-event PBA tournament concept,
originating with the inaugural PBA World Series of Bowling in 2009. The
PBA Fall Swing, previously called the PBA Summer Swing when it was held
previously in Milwaukee (2013) and Shawnee, Okla. (2014 and ’15), is a
modified version of the WSOB. The Fall Swing will include competition on
three diverse lane conditions – the 32-foot Wolf pattern, the shortest
lane oiling pattern in PBA competition; the 52-foot Badger pattern, the
longest application of oil in PBA competition, and the 40-foot, flat,
U.S. Open-style Bear pattern, one of the most difficult lane conditions
in the sport. Cumulative qualifying pinfall totals for all three diverse
animal pattern events will determine the 24 match play finalists for
the Detroit Open.
The
King of the Swing special event is unique to the Fall Swing, featuring a
made-for-TV showdown including the winners of the four Fall Swing
tournaments plus the player with the highest points total in the four
events without a title.
Something
else that will be new to Detroit bowling fans will be a showcase for
the newest generation of high-rev young players, led by Sweden’s
two-handed lefty, Jesper Svensson, PBA’s 2015 Rookie of the Year and the
only player in PBA history to win five PBA Tour titles by the time he
turned 21, and Texas two-handed teenager Anthony Simonsen, a two-time
winner in 2016, including becoming the youngest player ever to win the
USBC Masters. Detroit fans also will get a chance to watch Gary Faulkner
Jr., who became the second African-American to win a PBA Tour title
when he won the PBA World Championship during the 2015 PBA World Series
of Bowling VII in Reno.
These
talented young players, plus several others, will do battle against a
group of established PBA stars, including Hall of Famers Pete Weber,
Norm Duke, Parker Bohn III, Amleto Monacelli, Walter Ray Williams Jr.,
and the most successful Summer/Fall Swing player, Bill O’Neill, who has
made nine television appearances and won two titles plus two King of the
Swing special events in the first three years of the “swing.”
The
Fall Swing also could play a significant role in Australian two-handed
star Jason Belmonte’s bid to win a fourth consecutive PBA Player of the
Year award. Belmonte has yet to win a title in 2016, trailing the new
generation of two-handed players he helped influence, but he has an
excellent record in Summer/Fall Swing competition, second only to
O’Neill with seven TV finals and two titles in previous three events.
All
preliminary rounds of the PBA Fall Swing will be covered live,
exclusively by PBA’s online video-streaming service, Xtra Frame. For
subscription information, visit pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame
link. Three-day, 30-day and full year subscriptions are available.
The
five CBS Sports Network stepladder finals will be conducted on Saturday
and Sunday, Sept. 10-11, in the famous Thunderbowl Arena. Admission
tickets for the television shows are available on pba.com/tickets for
$30 for a full-day pass, or $20 for each individual show. Admission for
the preliminary qualifying and match play rounds will be $10 for
individual squads and $15 for all-day passes.
PBA FALL SWING SCHEDULE
Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich.
Sunday, Sept. 4
11 a.m. – A Squad practice session.
2:30 p.m. – B squad practice session.
6 p.m. – Pro-am.
Monday, Sept. 5, Wolf Open
8 a.m. – A Squad, 6 qualifying games.
2 p.m. – B Squad, 6 qualifying games.
Top 18 after 6 games advance
7:30 p.m. – Top 18 qualifiers, 6 qualifying games.
Top 5 after 12 games advance to CBS Sports Network stepladder finals.
Tuesday, Sept. 6, Bear Open
8 a.m. – B Squad, 6 qualifying games.
2 p.m. – A Squad, 6 qualifying games.
Top 18 after 6 games advance
7:30 p.m. – Top 18 qualifiers, 6 qualifying games.
Top 5 after 12 games advance to CBS Sports Network stepladder finals.
Wednesday, Sept. 7, Badger Open
8 a.m. – A Squad, 6 qualifying games.
2 p.m. – B Squad, 6 qualifying games.
Top 18 after 6 games advance
7:30 p.m. – Top 18 qualifiers, 6 qualifying games.
Top 5 after 12 games advance to CBS Sports Network stepladder finals.
Top 18 based on 18-game qualifying totals for Wolf, Bear and Badger Opens advance to Detroit Open match play finals.
Thursday, Sept. 8, Detroit Open
10 a.m. – 6 games round-robin match play, Wolf pattern.
2 p.m. – 6 games round-robin match play, Bear pattern.
6 p.m. – 6 games round-robin match play, Badger pattern.
Top 5 after 36 games of qualifying and match play advance to CBS Sports Network stepladder finals.
Friday, Sept. 9
Television setup and PBA practice day.
Saturday, Sept. 10 (Thunderbowl Arena)
10 a.m. – PBA Wolf Championship stepladder finals (CBS Sports Network, to air Wednesday, Sept. 21, 9 p.m. ET).
2 p.m. – PBA Bear Championship stepladder finals (CBS Sports Network, to air Wednesday, Sept. 28, 9 p.m. ET).
4:30 p.m. – PBA Badger Championship stepladder finals (CBS Sports Network, to air Wednesday, Oct. 5, 9 p.m. ET).
Sunday, Sept. 11 (Thunderbowl Arena)
11 a.m. – PBA Detroit Open stepladder finals (CBS Sports Network, to air Wednesday, Oct. 12, 9 p.m. ET).
1:30 p.m. – PBA Fall King of the Swing stepladder finals (CBS Sports Network, to air Wednesday, Oct. 19, 9 p.m. ET).
About the PBA
The
Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is an organization of more than
3,200 of the best bowlers from 27 countries who compete in PBA Tour, PBA
International Tour, PBA Regional and PBA50 Tour events. The PBA is in
its 56th consecutive year of nationally-televised competition, reaching
more than one million American households and thousands more around the
world who watch PBA activities on Xtra Frame, the PBA’s exclusive online
bowling channel. PBA sponsors include Barbasol, Bowlmor AMF, Brunswick,
Concrete Software, Ebonite International, GEICO, HotelPlanner.com,
MOTIV, Rolltech, Storm Products and the United States Bowling Congress,
among others. For more information, log on to www.pba.com.
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