March 20, 2020 spopp

PBA competition may be suspended at the moment, but you can still enjoy the spirit of competition in the comfort of your living room by playing one of the most popular mobile device games in the world – PBA Bowling Challenge for mobile devices – or the new PBA Pro Bowling game for consoles and mobile devices.

Concrete Software’s PBA Bowling Challenge for mobile devices can be downloaded at no cost at Google Play or the App Store. Millions of users currently enjoy the challenges of bowling in a variety of tournaments, making equipment choices and competing in a wide range of venues.

PBA Pro Bowling is a newer virtual game, offering players multi-player and tournament options. PBA Pro Bowling is offered for XBoxOne, PS4, Nintendo Switch and Steam platforms for $19.99. To learn more, visit: http://probowling.com/.


LEFTOVER NEWS FROM THE STORM PBA WORLD SERIES OF BOWLING

Bowling fans around the world are aware of mass postponements and cancellations of bowling activities at all levels in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, including the premature ending of the Storm PBA World Series of Bowling XI.

Left in suspended animation as the PBA – along with thousands of other sporting events – rapidly shut down activities in the interest of complying with urgent safety standards intended to keep players, fans, staff and others as insulated as possible from exposure to the virus were a few news items of interest. Among them:

• The joint announcement by PBA and Storm Products that Storm had become titled sponsor of the Storm PBA World Series of Bowling XI.

• The USA vs. The World team event that was scheduled to conclude WSOB XI was subsequently cancelled. Before the cancellation, however, three-time PBA Tour titlist Bob Learn Jr. was named captain of the United States team, and the players who had qualified for his team were Jakob Butturff, EJ Tackett, Chris Via, Darren Tang and Bill O’Neill, the five highest-finishing American players in PBA World Championship qualifying. The World team, captained by England’s Stuart Williams, would have included Sweden’s Jesper Svensson, Canada’s Francois Lavoie, Australia’s Jason Belmonte, Denmark’s Carsten Hansen and England’s Dom Barrett.

• WSOB XI was full of stories, but one of the most unusual was the extreme case of “lost-and-found” involving second-year PBA Tour competitor Michael Martell of Brooklyn, N.Y. Martell averaged 178.2 with a high game of 196 for his first five games in Go Bowling Cheetah Championship qualifying, finishing the round with a 891 total and sitting in 117th place in the 120-player field. Then, in an historical reversal, the 22-year-old lefthander averaged 267.8 for his next five games, including rolling back-to-back 300 games (the only perfect games among 1,200 games bowled by the entire field in Cheetah qualifying) for a 1,339 block, moving up 96 places to finish 21st – 12 pins shy of making the cut to 16 finalists for Cheetah match play.

• PWBA titlist Danielle McEwan was one of two women in the World Series field, qualifying out of the Pre-Tournament Qualifier, and the only woman to qualify for the match play elimination rounds. McEwan qualified sixth in the Scorpion Championship round, but what happens next remains unresolved as all three of the animal pattern championships were postponed. The domino effect of WSOB postponements also meant PBA competition points races affecting the 2020 PBA Playoffs and PBA League Draft eligibility also remain unresolved. Marie Jose Rodriguez, also a PWBA champion and wife of PBA competitor Nathan Bohr, also made it into the WSOB field, advancing out of the PTQ as “first alternate” but earning a spot in the field when a previously entered player withdrew.

• All PBA tournament activity at all levels (PBA Tour, PBA50 Tour and Regional) have been suspended indefinitely because of the coronavirus. Partly because of the PBA’s extensive participation internationally, all parties affected should expect the hiatus to continue until global leaders are certain the virus pandemic is under control. Please watch for official news from the PBA through direct communications, pba.com and the PBA’s official social media outlets.

• The United States Bowling Congress has also suspended all tournament activities, including postponements of several events directly impacting PBA members: the USBC Masters, USBC Open Championships, USBC Senior Masters and USBC Super Senior Classic.

PBA REGIONAL UPDATE: PERFECT GAME HELPS DANNY CLARK WIN FIRST PBA TITLE

• Prior to the suspension of PBA Regional competition, Danny Clark of New Palestine, Ohio fired a 300 game in the position round match play finale as he defeated Dave Johnson of Ashtabula, Ohio by 207 pins to win the PBA50 Strike Zone Lanes Central Classic for his first PBA50 Regional title in Canton, Ohio on Sunday, March 8.

Clark finished with an 11-1 match play record and a total of 5,120 pins for 20 games, including match play bonus pins. Along with his first PBA50 Regional title, he also earned $2,100.

• Chris Collins of Myrtle Beach, S.C., defeated Chris Johnson of Nashville, N.C., 217-180, to take the $2,000 first prize in the PBA50 Fayetteville South Open at Lafayette Lanes in Fayetteville, N.C., on Sunday, March 8, improving his all-time PBA Regional titles record to 15.

Collins, who qualified No. 1 for the four-man stepladder finals with a 7-1 match play record and a 16-game total of 3,906 pins, had one of two perfect games in the event. Brett Caramagno of Goose Creek, S.C., had the other.

In the first stepladder match Johnson defeated Jimmy Jean of Kathleen, Ga., 172-155. Johnson then defeated Craig Auerbach of Sunrise, Fla., 203-194, to set up the championship match.

• For an update on PBA Regional activity when it resumes, visit pba.com and open the “schedules” tab periodically to check on PBA Regional Tours.

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