Matt Russo Extends World Championship Lead, Shota Kawazoe Leads Shark Championship
With two rounds of qualifying of the PBA Shark Championship in the books, Shota Kawazoe of Japan leads the 108-player field at the World Series of Bowling XV with a total pinfall of 2,497 (+497).
Defending champion Matt Ogle, Matt Russo, EJ Tackett and AJ Johnson round out the top five.
Kawazoe has competed in the main field of three events this season prior to the WSOB XV with a high finish of 49th. In the WSOB, Kawazoe finished 46th in the Roth/Holman Doubles Championship with Nobuhito Fujii, 57th in the Cheetah Championship and 100th in the Scorpion Championship.
But on the 48-foot Shark pattern, Kawazoe has found his stride, averaging nearly 250 across 10 games at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich.
Five games remain of Shark Championship qualifying. The top 16 players after Saturday's final round of qualifying will advance to match play on Saturday evening.
BJ Moore and Nate Stubler (+325) are tied for 16th place after 10 games.
Anthony Simonsen sits three pins outside the cut in 20th place. Simonsen shot 1,039 (+39) in Friday’s first round of qualifying and threw a backup ball for the majority of Games 1, 2 and 5.
The two-handed righty came out Saturday evening playing the more conventional part of the lane, with a touch of loft early in the block, and shot 1,283 (+283) to rise from 88th to 20th.
“I was fortunate enough to put together 822 the first three games while being able to camp out,” Simonsen said. “I made a couple good guesses in terms of balls trying to figure out strategies to be able to put some strikes together later in the block. I would’ve liked to have made a better shot in the 10th of Game 5, but I told my ball reps, overall tonight was a better executed block. Mentally, when we got into some tricky spots we hunkered down and made some good shots. That made it easier to see the lane and put up a really good set tonight.”
Russo seized the lead of the PBA World Championship, which includes qualifying across the Cheetah, Scorpion and Shark Championships, earlier on Friday. Now through 40 games, Russo has extended his lead to 210 pins with a total pinfall of 9,681 (+1,691).
Justin Knowles, Jesper Svensson, EJ Tackett and Packy Hanrahan round out the top five.
“I've always wanted to lead the World Championship,” said Russo, who won the 2021 PBA Jonesboro Open for his lone title. “Parker Bohn III won this tournament about 10 years ago, and I was there when he won. I thought hopefully one day I will get to do that.
“I'm just really comfortable, really confident and making smart choices,” Russo added. “My spare game has been phenomenal, but the strike ball is really good. I'd like to have a little bit of a buffer (heading into World Championship match play), so I don't have to worry about winning so many matches as much as just trying to bowl well. That was my mentality tonight, just trying to bowl a good block.”
After a 42nd place finish in the season-opening PBA Players Championship presented by Snickers, the two-handed lefty switched to a thumb-less delivery. In the subsequent weeks, he earned a championship round appearance in the Pete Weber Missouri Classic, plus top-20 finishes in the U.S. Open, Just Bare Indiana Classic and Delaware Classic.
At the WSOB XV, across three different patterns with lengths of 35, 42 and 48 feet, Russo has averaged more than 242.28 and could be in the midst of a breakout week.
“It does feel different,” Russo said. “I think the Masters really pissed me off with how it went. Coming into this season, I felt like if I win this year, this could be my last time out here with being married and wanting to start a family. I was thinking, do I take a few years off and kind of do something different?
“This week, I have definitely been on a mission,” Russo added. “I bowled well here last year at the Masters. I just feel like I deserve to be on another show. I deserve to win again. I deserve to show how good I am and the scoreboard speaks for itself.”
The top 16 players in the World Championship standings after Saturday’s final round of the Shark Championship will advance to match play, which will take place on Thursday, April 18.
Zach Wilkins (+1,181) sits in 16th place, with Simonsen (+1,088) lurking less than 100 pins behind.
Qualifying resumes at 11 a.m. ET and elimination match play for the 16 advancing players begins at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday.
The four players who win two matches, plus the highest-qualifying player defeated in the Round of 8, will advance to the PBA Scorpion Championship finals.
Shark Championship Leaders After 10 Games
- Shota Kawazoe, 2,497 (+497)
- Matt Ogle, 2,472 (+472)
- Matt Russo, 2,463 (+463)
- EJ Tackett, 2,439 (+439)
- AJ Johnson, 2,439 (+439)
- Ric McCormick, 2,415 (+415)
- Mitch Hupé, 2,408 (+408)
- Matt Sanders, 2,400 (+400)
- Jake Peters, 2,391 (+391)
- Rasmus Edvall, 2,379 (+379)
Full standings are available here.
World Championship Leaders After 40 Games
- Matt Russo, 9,691 (+1,691)
- Justin Knowles, 9,481 (+1,481)
- Jesper Svensson, 9,475 (+1,475)
- EJ Tackett, 9,447 (+1,447)
- Packy Hanrahan, 9,422 (+1,422)
- Deo Benard, 9,376 (+1,376)
- Jason Belmonte, 9,303 (+1,303)
- Michael Martell, 9,259 (+1,259)
- Nate Purches, 9,250 (+1,250)
- Chris Via, 9,243 (+1,243)
- Kyle Sherman, 9,224 (+1,224)
- Michael Schlabach, 9,219 (+1,219)
- Eric Jones, 9,212 (+1,212)
- Keven Williams, 9,208 (+1,208)
- William Svensson, 9,192 (+1,192)
- Zach Wilkins, 9,181 (+1,181)
Full standings are available here.
WSOB XV Schedule
Thunderbowl Lanes | Allen Park, Mich.
All times Eastern
Saturday, April 13
11am — Shark Championship Qualifying Round 3 (five games)
- Top 16 players advance to elimination match play
- Top 16 players through 45 games of Cheetah, Scorpion and Shark Championship qualifying advance to World Championship round-robin match play
6pm — Shark Championship Match Play Round of 16 (best of five games)
8:30pm — Shark Championship Match Play Round of 8 (best of five games)
- Four winners and highest-defeated qualifier in Round of 8 advance to Shark Championship stepladder finals, airing live April 17 at 7pm on FS1
Sunday, April 14
Noon— Roth/Holman PBA Doubles Championship finals on FS1
1pm — Pro-am
Monday, April 15
7pm — PBA Cheetah Championship finals on FS1
Tuesday, April 16
7pm — PBA Scorpion Championship finals on FS1
Wednesday, April 17
7pm — PBA Shark Championship finals on FS1
Thursday, April 18
10am — World Championship Match Play Round 1 (eight games)
5pm — World Championship Match Play Round 2 (eight games)
- Top nine players advance to PBA World Championship stepladder finals
Saturday, April 20
7pm — PBA World Championship semifinals on FS1 (seeds 5-9)
Sunday, April 21
Noon — PBA World Championship finals on FOX