March 31, 2024 Nolan Hughes

DeeRonn Booker of Albuquerque, N.M. entered Sunday’s championship round of the USBC Masters as the undefeated top seed. The relative unknown to those outside of the bowling community and devout The Price is Right fandom left Suncoast Bowling Center in Las Vegas a bowling celebrity and a PBA Tour major champion.

Booker defeated Patrick Dombrowski to win the 2024 USBC Masters, earning his first career PBA Tour title and the $100,000 top prize.

“With the amount of work that I put in, I knew I was going to be here someday,” Booker said. “I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere. I hope you guys can see me.”

“It's just the perfect opportunity at the right time,” Booker said. “I've worked really hard to get to this moment, learning the lanes, learning the PBA, learning equipment, learning myself. I had a feeling that I was going to do well because I prepared myself physically, mentally and emotionally. I was able to keep my emotions in check. I was able to embrace myself in the surroundings. I felt like I really prepared myself for this and I couldn't be more excited.”

Booker became the third Black player to win on the PBA Tour. All three, including five-time champion George Branham III and Gary Faulkner Jr., won major championships.

“What this does is keep inspiring me to keep inspiring others to do this, to get here, to be here. When I get back home, come and see me. Let’s do this together,” Booker said. “There are people out there that need help, that want help, that want inspiration. This win is going to help inspire them. This win means I can continue to do this. I can continue to inspire. I can continue to coach. I can continue to bowl. I can continue to do everything that I want to do for everyone else.”

Booker, who qualified tied for 58th of 465 players, went undefeated in the 64-player, double-elimination bracket to earn the top seed of the five-player stepladder finals. Along the way, he beat two-time defending Masters champion Anthony Simonsen and throttled reigning PBA Player of the Year EJ Tackett by shooting 300 and 784 in the three-game total pinfall match.

“I was able to channel a level of myself that I didn't even know I had,” Booker said. “Bowling against arguably one of the best bowlers to do this game, I said to myself, ‘DeeRonn focus, but let's really focus.’ I was able to be so focused that to be perfectly honest, it wasn't even about the 279 or 300. It was about focus and keeping myself in the moment. I can't miss against (EJ) because he can throw a nine-bagger at any moment.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Players advanced to the championship round through the 64-player, double-elimination match play bracket. Booker went undefeated, winning six consecutive three-game total pinfall matches to earn the top seed. Dombrowski went 5-1, falling to Booker in the seeding round match.

Jason Belmonte, Sam Cooley and Richie Teece all lost at various points in the bracket, but emerged from the elimination bracket to earn the final berths on the show.

EJ Tackett, who sought to make his sixth consecutive televised championship round, finished sixth.

In the title match, Booker took down Dombrowski, 217-177. Booker converted a 9-pin in the 10th frame, then needed just two pins to clinch the title.

The crowd, which included over two dozen of Booker's friends and family in attendance, chanted his name as he soaked in the life-changing, career-redefining moment.

Dombrowski reached the title match after escaping from a chaotic 198-193 semifinal against four-time Masters champion Belmonte.

Dombrowski opened in the ninth frame, which meant Belmonte only needed a mark in the 10th frame to win the match. However, after failing to recalibrate after a distracting noise, Belmonte missed right and left an 8-10 split.

Belmonte won the battle of Australia in the previous match, besting Cooley 222-191.

The Australians each started strong, but Cooley’s pin carry faded in the second half of the game. Belmonte fired a hambone from the sixth through ninth frames while Cooley left and missed a 3-10 split in the ninth frame.

In the opening match, Cooley defeated England’s Teece, 206-180. After an opening double, Teece threw just two more strikes and missed a 10-pin in the fifth frame.

The PBA Tour continues with the World Series of Bowling XV in Allen Park, Mich. Roth/Holman PBA Doubles Championship qualifying gets underway on Wednesday.

With the win, Booker earned an exemption into the WSOB and April’s PBA Tournament of Champions.

“The next step is preparing myself for the next tournaments,” Booker said. “(The Masters) is here and it’s gone. Now let’s work to prepare myself for the upcoming tournaments. Let’s do two majors. Let’s go back to back.”

Championship Round Scores

Match 1: No. 4 Sam Cooley def. No. 5 Richie Teece, 206-180
Match 2: No. 3 Jason Belmonte def. No. 4 Sam Cooley, 222-191
Match 3: No. 2 Patrick Dombrowski def. No. 3 Jason Belmonte, 198-193
Championship: No. 1 DeeRonn Booker def. No. 2 Patrick Dombrowski, 217-177

Final Standings

  1. DeeRonn Booker, $100,000
  2. Patrick Dombrowski, $50,000
  3. Jason Belmonte, $25,000
  4. Sam Cooley, $15,000
  5. Richie Teece, $10,000

More information on the USBC Masters is available here.