PBA National Championship



$200,000 PBA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Ducat's Imperial Lanes, Toledo, Ohio, Jun 2-8, 1996
Soper Captures His First Major At PBA National Championship

At age 46, some may have considered Butch Soper a long shot to win the PBA National Championship, especially since he had never made the championship round in any Triple Crown event and would have to defeat the PBA's No. 1 ranked bowler in the title match.

But Soper, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., overcame all odds and knocked off tournament leader Walter Ray Williams Jr., 226-210, to win his sixth title, $30,000 and a three-year exemption into the Brunswick World Tournament of Champions.

Soper said, "I've bowled so rotten during my career in the majors. I know I've paid my dues out here, I guess it was just my time to win a major."

Williams, who set PBA scoring records for 56 games scratch (13,366) and 56 games with bonus pins (13,816) on his way to leading the tournament by 261 pins, was not his usual reliable self in the final match.

The final match was a see-saw affair which saw missed spares and plenty of opportunities.

"It was really a crazy match," said Williams. "We are two of the best spare shooters on tour and we both missed spares. After he left the split in the seventh, I thought the match had turned around again, but the 4-9 just killed me."

Soper, finishing first, struck in the ninth frame and then on his first two shots in the 10th to leave Williams holding the second-place check for $16,000.

Earlier matches saw Tim Criss defeat Mark Williams, 268-179, before losing to Justin Hromek in match two, 217-205. Hromek then lost a narrow two-pin decision to Soper in the semifinal, 216-214, which set up Soper's heroics in the title match.

Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, earned $5,500 for fifth. Criss collected $6,500 for fourth and Hromek received $8,000 for third.

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

Pos.Name, City/StateTotalAmount
1Butch Soper, Lake Havasu City, AZ442 (2 games)$30,000
2Walter Ray Williams Jr., Stockton, CA210 (1 game)16,000
3Justin Hromek, Andover, KS431 (2 games)8,000
4Tim Criss, Bel Air, MD473 (2 games)6,500
5Mark Williams, Beaumont, TX179 (1 game)5,500

PLAYOFF RESULTS-Criss defeated Mark Williams, 268-179; Hromek defeated Criss, 217-205; Soper defeatedHromek, 216-214; and in the championship game, Soper defeated Williams Jr., 226-210.

56-GAME TOTALS

 Name, CityPinsAvg  WLT+TotAmt
1Walter Ray Williams Jr., Stockton, CA 13366 238.7 15-9-0 450 13816 
#2Butch Soper, Lake Havasu City, AZ 13015 232.4 18-6-0 540 13555 
#3Justin Hromek, Andover, KS 12921 230.7 13-10-1 405 13326 
4Mark Williams, Beaumont, TX 12872 230.0 14-9-1 435 13307 
5Tim Criss, Bel Air, MD 12905 230.5 12-12-0 360 13265 
#6Mike Miller, Albuquerque, NM 12866 229.8 13-11-0 390 13256 $4,500
7Mike Edwards, Oklahoma City 12889 230.2 12-12-0 360 13249 4,250
8Jim Johnson, Wilmington, DE 12820 220.9 13-11-0 390 13210 4,000
9Leroy Johnson, Chicago 12799 228.6 10-12-2 330 13129 3,750
10Tom Baker, Buffalo, NY 12673 226.3 14-9-1 435 13108 3,500
11Rick Steelsmith, Wichita, KS 12657 226.0 13-10-1 405 13062 3,125
 Pete Weber, St. Ann, MO 12657 226.0 13-10-1 405 13062 3,125
13Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela 12669 226.2 12-11-1 375 13044 2,800
14David Traber, Woodstock, IL 12686 226.5 11-12-1 345 13031 2,600
15Don Moser, San Jose, CA 12650 225.9 11-13-0 330 12980 2,400
#16Don Genalo, Perrysburg, OH 12631 225.6 11-12-1 345 12976 2,200
17Steve Jaros, Bolingbrook, IL 12609 225.2 11-13-0 330 12939 2,100
#18Ernie Schlegel, Vancouver, WA 12651 225.9 9-14-1 285 12936 2,000
19Dennis Jacques, Brooklyn, NY 12506 223.3 10-13-1 315 12821 1,900
20Len Blakey, Tacoma, WA 12377 221.0 13-9-2 420 12797 1,800
#21Ryan Shafer, Elmira, NY 12508 223.4 9-14-1 285 12793 1,700
22Dale Traber, Cedarburg, WI 12462 222.5 8-16-0 240 12702 1,650
23Steve Wilson, Tamarac, FL 12308 219.8 8-15-1 255 12563 1,600
24Bill Oakes, Lawton, OK 12205 218.0 7-17-0 210 12415 1,550

OTHER CASHERS

Pos.Name, City/StateAmount
*25Wayne Webb, Barberton, OH$1,460
26Eric Forkel, Tucson, AZ1,320
27Tommy Delutz Jr., Jamaica, NY1,300
28John Handegard, Las Vegas1,280
29Brian Voss, Atlanta1,260
30Steve Hoskins, Tarpon Springs, FL1,250
#31Mike Shoemaker, San Antonio1,240
32Dave Wodka, Las Vegas1,230
33Bill Ligotti, Akron, OH1,220
#34Paul Koehler, Stuart, FL1,210
35Billy Orlikowski, Grand Rapids, MI1,200
36David Ozio, Vidor, TX1,190
37Dale Eagle, Evansville, IN1,180
38Bob Learn Jr., Erie, PA1,170
39Brian Himmler, Cincinnati1,160
40Danny Streeter, Arvada, CO1,150
41Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, KS1,140
42Philip Ringener, Big Spring, TX1,130
43Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, NY1,120
44Joe Firpo, Bedford, TX1,110
45Doug Kent, Canandaigua, NY1,100
46Charlie Tapp, Kalamazoo, MI1,090
47Aix Arizala, Tualatin, OR1,080
48Jimmy Keeth, West Palm Beach, FL1,070
49Michael Azcarate, Sunrise, FL1,055
 Curtis Odom, Winston-Salem, NC1,055
51Ken Yokobosky, Fairfield, NJ1,040
52Jimmy Johnson, Columbus, OH1,030
53Jeffry Kwiatkowski, Maumee, OH1,020
54Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, TX1,010

*-Match play alternate. 32-game qualifying leader-Walter Ray Williams Jr., 7570. 24th place-Steve Jaros, 7177. 54th place-Mike Scroggins, 6760. #-Don Genalo, Justin Hromek (2), Paul Koehler, Mike Miller (2), C.K. Moore, Ryan Shafer, Butch Soper (2), Ernie Schlegel and Mike Shoemaker rolled 300 games ($100 each). PRO-AM CASHERS-Aix Arizala, Len Blakey, Parker Bohn III, Marshall Holman, Justin Hromek, Steve Jaros, Jimmy Keeth, Rick Meneley, Mike Miller, Billy Myers Jr., Andy Neuer, Mike Shoemaker and Pete Weber ($50 each), Robby Callan and David Ozio ($25 each).