July 27, 2025 Nolan Hughes

On Sunday evening, Chris Via and Bryanna Coté executed a triumph worthy of the Storm PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles’ 25th anniversary.

The tournament is more commonly called “The Luci” in honor of Luci Bonneau, a long-time PWBA Tour player and close friend of SABC founder Donna Conners.

The longtime teammates brought home the title at Copperfield Bowl in Houston, marking the long-awaited second career PBA Tour title for Via and the sixth of Coté’s PWBA Tour career.

“We feel like we've had a pretty good showing every year,” Via said. “The first year we bowled together, we had a pretty close call with a chance to win going into the last game. I feel like that has only fueled the fire a bit more for us in this tournament. Last year wasn't our greatest, but to come back and have a year like this, it's awesome, especially for the 25th anniversary.

“We'll have this one in our hearts for a long time."

Through 46 combined games, including 24 total of round-robin match play, Via and Coté tallied a total pinfall of 10,416 (+1,216). They entered the position round with a 260-pin margin over second place.

Kyle Troup and Liz Johnson (+1,042) finished in second place, followed by Darren Tang and Li Jane Sin (+839).

Andrew Anderson and Erin McCarthy (+752) and Tommy Jones and Shannon Pluhowsky (+718) rounded out the top five finishing teams.

“I think the lanes were a little harder this year, and we are two players that tend to thrive when they become harder. We’ve both won the U.S. Open,” Coté said. “It was our time to shine. We focused on making shots and if the pins fell, great. If not, we made our spares and kept chugging along. We knew big scores would come for certain pairs. On other pairs, it was about managing the pocket, making your spares and moving on.”

Coté, the 2021 PWBA Player of the Year, notched her first title since her U.S. Women’s Open victory in 2023.

“It's exciting that now I have number six,” Coté said. “I didn't win last year and I was on a few shows, which was kind of a bummer. Winning this one and doing it with Chris is really high up there, especially being in the 25th anniversary. It takes teamwork to really make the dream work.”

Via, a seven-time member of Team USA, has been searching for his second career title ever since his 2021 U.S. Open title. There were many close calls, including a second-place finish in the PBA Owen’s Illinois Classic earlier this season.

“Relief would come to mind first,” Via said. “You never want to be the one-hit wonder. I feel like I've gotten close a lot. To be able to finally put it together — especially a doubles tournament, I feel like they're even harder to win because you have to have both people going at the same time — is really special. Being able to say I’m a multi-time PBA titleist is pretty sweet.

Via, the first and only player to throw two multiple televised 300 games, also threw the only two 300 games of this year’s tournament. For each perfect game, he received a $300 bonus and each time he donated the proceeds back to the Striking Against Breast Cancer foundation.

Two-time defending champions Anthony Simonsen and Danielle McEwan finished in 22nd place.

EJ Tackett came up short in his attempt to set the PBA’s single-season average record. His final season average of 228.92 average for 381 games left him just shy of breaking Jason Belmonte’s 2017 record of 229.39.

The final PBA Tour title event of the season, the Storm Lucky Larsen Masters, will take place August 22-31 in Helsingborg, Sweden.

Final Standings

  1. Chris Via and Bryanna Coté, $25,000
  2. Kyle Troup and Liz Johnson, $12,500
  3. Darren Tang and Li Jane Sin, $10,500
  4. Andrew Anderson and Eric McCarthy, $8,000
  5. Tommy Jones and Shannon Pluhowsky, $6,250
  6. Mitch Hupé and Julia Bond, $5,750
  7. Deo Benard and Nicollette Gaudette, $5,250
  8. Frank Snodgrass and Jordan Richard, $5,000
  9. François Lavoie and Crystal Elliott, $4,750
  10. Nick Pate and Lauren Russo, $4,500
  11. Julian Salinas and Lara Kurt, $4,250
  12. Kris Prather and Hope Gramly, $4,000

More information on the event is available on the Striking Against Breast Cancer website and Facebook page.