Mark Clark Earns Emotional Win in PBA50 World Championship

Jackson, Michigan – Just 12 days ago, Mark Clark received the call nobody every wants to get. His best friend and PBA50 Tour roommate Brian Dennis passed away unexpectedly. He was in disbelief knowing he would never have a conversation with him again. Yet, during the 2025 PBA50 World Series of Bowling III, Clark had regular talks with Dennis. He knew his buddy would be there for him because this was the moment they had both dreamed about.

After posting a 16-2 match play record on Friday and Saturday, Clark earned the No. 1 seed over Chris Barnes for the stepladder finals of the World Championship. They had bowled together during qualifying for the Ballard and Monacelli Championships. Barnes admits he is not much of a conversationalist while bowling but he knew Clark was, so he wanted to make Clark feel comfortable. They fed off one another and that mutual respect and connection continued leading up to the title match in the World Championship. 

They each started with doubles. Barnes was walking out his third shot, which resulted in a solid 8-pin that he picked up. He followed that up with two strikes. Clark picked up back-to-back single pins then rolled a clutch double, which he walked out to the right. 

Barnes went through the nose in the sixth frame leaving the 3-10 split. He picked that up and then made a 10-pin. With the game tied at 136 in the sixth, Clark went through the nose in the seventh frame leaving the 3-6. He picked that up and on his next shot, he let the ball go and swung his right arm toward the ground in confidence as he struck. Barnes came back with a spare and strike through nine frames. 

“I knew the ball was in my court. I got up on the right lane and said, 'Just throw it like Brian.' That was my whole thought. Don’t try to be perfect and fit it in there, just do what he would do, and I did,” Clark said of his ninth frame strike. “I took a re-rack and calmed myself down again, got up and same thing; make a good shot. I re-racked again because nine-spare is a possibility of a tie. It was really good off my hand. That was really big and amazing.”

Clark, who chose to finish the match first because he thought he had a better look on the left lane, had just delivered the biggest and most emotional shots of his life. He clenched both fists and yelled emphatically. He immediately hugged ball rep, Jeff Johnson, who had kept him calm throughout the game.

Barnes stood up clapping for Clark and asked him to throw the last shot. Clark had also thrown the ceremonial first shot at the start of the World Series of Bowling in honor of Dennis. Barnes finished with a strike and nine for 223. After hugging a few friends and wiping away tears, Clark got nine on the final shot for 245. This was Clark's first PBA50 Tour title and he earned $25,000. 

“We did it. I had everybody in the building, including probably Chris Barnes, pulling for me. That was awesome and it seems very surreal,” Clark said. “This is the storybook ending. This is made-for-TV stuff. This is what the movie is supposed to be. I wanted to do something so bad for him (Dennis), for Reneé (Dennis's wife), for my wife and everyone who is hurting.”

“Early in the week, I was worried I was going to let them down, if I didn’t win. I didn’t want to disappoint them,” he added. “After that, not winning was not going to be an option for me. I had a conversation with him like, 'I know you have some stuff going on, but I am going to need you around.' There were moments when I was like that is my boy back there playing with the pins.”

When asked what Dennis would have told him after the win, Clark knew Dennis would tell him that was pretty good. They had accomplished one goal but after a nice steak dinner, it would be time to focus on getting Dennis a title. 

Clark admits he had originally written off the possibility that he could win Rookie of the Year, which is based on points, but now he and Tom Daugherty have each won a major title. After the tournament, Daugherty posted on Facebook: "What I saw Mark Clark do in the 10th frame today is something I don't think I will ever see again. To perform like that in that situation with everything you were bowling for was awesome to see. You can't even write a story like that. Congratulations to you, sir." 

“Maybe if I win another tournament or the Tournament of Champions, which I am now eligible to bowl, it could happen,” Clark said. “The dream is not over. I thought it was over, but it’s not. Maybe now that is what we go do. It’s nuts that I just bowled Chris Barnes for a major title, and I won.”

Clark already knows what color combination he is going to want when asked about his national championship banner. “Tar Heels blue with white lettering because Brian was a through-and-through Tar Heels fan and that way I can look up at it and he will always be here. It is a no-brainer.”

The opening match featured No. 5 seed Tom Hess against No. 4 John Janawicz. Both were seeking to become the first player in PBA50 history to win the Senior Super Slam, having won each of the other four major senior titles. Janawicz picked up the 3-6-10 in the first frame and never let up from there. Hess, who powered his way into the stepladder after starting his Saturday in ninth place, was still in the match going spare, double, spare then double, yet he had a costly 6-7-10 split for an open in the seventh. Janawicz rolled the next 11 strikes in a row for the 290-190 victory. 

The strikes continued in Game 2. Tom Daugherty, making his third show of the PBA50 WSOB III, started out with five straight strikes. Janawicz threw the front four and picked up a 10-pin, falling behind by 10 pins. Daugherty had three spares in a row with a strike. He finished the match first with a strike followed by a solid 9-pin and a strike for 236. Janawicz, making a ball change, rolled a strike, a solid 9-pin and spare followed by four more strikes for 258.  

In the semifinal match, Janawicz faced Barnes. Barnes started the game by picking up the 10-pin. Janawicz left the 2-10 split in his opening frame. He hit the 2-pin on the left side looking like he got it, yet the pin went around the 10-pin. He followed that up with a 7-10 split for an open. Barnes responded with three strikes and picked up a 7-pin. Janawicz came back with a double followed by a spare and another double. Yet, he chopped the 3-6-10 in the eighth frame. 

Barnes left the 6-7-10 split for an open in the sixth followed by spare and strike. In the ninth frame, Barnes’s shot went through the nose as he waved both hands sideways. He left just the 6-10 and got the spare. Janawicz finished the match first with four straight strikes for 202. Barnes closed it out with a double and nine for 214.

Overall, five titles were earned at the WSOB III. Jason Couch won the Ballard Championship. Janawicz won the Monacelli Championship. Mika Koivuniemi won the Petraglia Championship and Barnes won the Holman Championship. The successful event ended with Clark’s emotional win that answered a lot of questions he had about being able to bowl professionally. 

“Brian and I had won everything on the amateur side. We just made different life decisions. I really wanted to do it (bowl professionally) and now that I am in a place where I am with my career, I have two beautiful children, a beautiful wife, and a nice house. I would not change it for the world,” he said. “We wondered if we could compete against the best in the world and those were the answers we were seeking. I hope for my kids, they find something that gets their competitive juices going and satisfies it in some form or fashion. If you don’t get to do that, why do you live? It doesn’t have to be at the elite level, but if you think you are in that level and you can actually compete, it really answers a lot of questions in your head.” 

The next stop on the PBA50 Tour is the Hamtramck Singles in Westland, Mich. Qualifying begins on Tuesday, and you can watch that tournament on BowlTV.

PBA50 World Championship Final Standings:

1. Mark Clark, $25,000
2. Chris Barnes, $13,000
3. John Janawicz, $7,000
4. Tom Daugherty, $6,000
5. Tom Hess, $5,000

MATCH SCORES:
Match 1: Janawicz def. Hess 290-190 
Match 2: Janawicz def. Daugherty 258-236
Match 3: Barnes def. Janawicz 214-202 
Championship match: Clark def. Barnes 245-223 

Final standings - PBA50 World Championship

Overall standings from the WSOB III are available here.