2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour Top Earners Battle in PBA Clash Sunday on FOX

Belmonte, Butturff, O’Neill, Prather, Tackett, Simonsen, Rash and Duke

compete for $50,000 winner-take-all first prize in second eliminator showdown 

 The top eight money earners from the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season will battle for a $50,000 winner-take-all first prize when the second edition of the PBA Clash airs on FOX Sunday from the renowned Kegel Training Center.

Four-time PBA Player of the Year and 22-time Go Bowling! PBA Tour titlist Jason Belmonte of Australia leads an elite field that also includes 2019 standouts Jakob Butturff, Bill O’Neill, Kris Prather, EJ Tackett, Anthony Simonsen, Sean Rash and PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke.

As a preamble to the 2020 season on FOX Sports, competition begins Sunday with “eliminator” rounds leading up to a full-game championship match between the two survivors.  In the first round, all eight players beginning with the No. 8 qualifier will bowl a 10th frame. The player with the lowest pinfall will be eliminated. The non-title special event converts to a one-ball format for rounds 2-6 with the player rolling the lowest pinfall eliminated until the surviving two players are determined for the championship match.

All competition will be conducted on a mixed (or dual) lane condition – 44-foot PBA Billy Hardwick lane condition on the left lane and 37-foot Johnny Petraglia lane condition on the right lane.

The PBA Clash airs on FOX adjacent to the NFL Singleheader on Sunday, Nov. 3 (2:30 p.m. ET or 4:30 p.m. ET) depending on region. Viewers should check their local listings for air times in their areas.  

Here’s a look at the eight competitors along with their season highlights:

Jason Belmonte, Australia – Making his second Clash appearance, the two-hander from Australia and four-time PBA Player of the Year, won the 2019 PBA Tournament of Champions and PBA World Championship earlier this year for his 10th and 11th PBA Tour major victories to top the all-time major titles list. With nine television appearances in 2019 that also included a runner-up finish in the PBA Players Championship, the only four-time winner this season also won the Chameleon Championship and DHC Japan Invitational to bring his career titles total to 22.

Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Arizona – With three wins and eight television appearances in 2019, the seven-time tour champion won the PBA Oklahoma Open, Lubbock Sports Shootout and USBC Masters for his first major title. Making his second Clash appearance, the 25-year-old left-hander also was runner-up in the season-opening PBA Hall of Fame Classic, the DHC PBA Japan Invitational and PBA World Championship.

Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pennsylvania – With six television appearances, the inaugural PBA Playoffs runner-up won the season-opening PBA Hall of Fame Classic and the Harry O’Neale Chesapeake Open for his 10th and 11th career titles. He won the $25,000 first prize in the FloBowling PBA ATX Invite, a non-title event, and finished third in the PBA Scorpion Championship and fourth in the PBA World Championship.

Kris Prather, Plainfield, Illinois – Won the inaugural PBA Playoffs and a $100,000 first prize in July. Also won the PBA Scorpion Championship for his first Go Bowling! PBA Tour title. Had eight top-10 finishes in 2019 including a third in the Storm PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles, fourth in the Go Bowling! PBA Jonesboro Open and fifth in the Barbasol PBA Tour Finals.

EJ Tackett, Bluffton, Indiana – Won his second Barbasol PBA Tour Finals in 2019 for his 13th career tour title. Making his second Clash appearance, he has five television appearances this season which also included runner-up finishes in the PBA Tournament of Champions, Bear Open and FloBowling PBA Illinois Open.

Anthony Simonsen, Little Elm, Texas – Also qualifying for his second Clash, the 22-year-old two-hander won the 2019 PBA Players Championship to become the youngest player ever to win two majors. He also won the PBA Bear Open for his seventh career tour title.  Among his five other television appearances were a runner-up finish in the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Jonesboro Open and a tie for third in the Barbasol PBA Tour Finals.

Sean Rash, Montgomery, Illinois – Won the Mark Roth-Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship with Matt Ogle and the PBA Wolf Open for his second win of the season and 14th of his career. The 2011-12 PBA Player of the Year also had runner-up finishes in the PBA Wilmington Open, Lubbock Sports Open and PBA Bowlerstore.com Classic. He also won the USBC Cup as the FloBowling PBA Summer Swing points winner, which netted him $20,000.

Norm Duke, Clermont, Florida – Landmark season for the 55-year-old PBA Hall of Famer included winning the Go Bowling! PBA Indianapolis and Go Bowling! PBA Jonesboro Opens to become the oldest player to win back-to-back PBA Tour titles. The Jonesboro win was the 40th of his career as he joined all-time PBA Tour title winners and fellow Hall of Famers Walter Ray Williams Jr. (47) and Earl Anthony (43) as the third player to win 40 or more PBA Tour titles.

Marshall Kent won the 2018 PBA Clash at the Kegel Training Center with a 218-215 championship match win over Dom Barrett to win the $25,000 first prize. Neither player qualified for the 2019 PBA Clash. 

The 2020 PBA Tour season begins with the PBA Hall of Fame Classic Jan. 14-19 at the Bowling International Training Center in Arlington, Texas. The stepladder finals will air live on FS1 Sunday, Jan. 19 at 1 p.m. ET.