Major Mika Strikes Again Winning Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship
Sterling, Virginia — It was only fitting that a battle for a major title between longtime friends, Mika Koivuniemi and Chris Barnes, would come down to the final frame.
But before that happened, the stage was set on two private bowling lanes inside tournament sponsor Bill Moore’s home.
After earning the top seed at Bowl America Woodbridge on Wednesday, Koivuniemi returned to Moore’s home where he finished in second place in 2024. This time the Finland native would face his PBA and PBA50 Tour roommate Chris Barnes in the 2026 Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship.
They matched each other with strikes through three frames before Koivuniemi left a 7-10 on the lane he chose to finish on for an open frame in the fourth.
“I didn’t come off my hand as good as I wanted. I knew that it was a light mixer, so I was hoping that it would strike,” Koivuniemi said. “That was really disappointing.”
Barnes kept his strikes going through six until he spared a 4-pin in the seventh frame. Koivuniemi bounced back with a double, picked up the 10-pin and struck in the eighth frame. In Barnes’ eighth frame, he jumped up in the air after releasing his ball only to leave a ringing 10-pin. As soon as he fired his ball down the lane on his spare attempt, he watched it drive toward the left of the pin and missed it, posting a score of 197 in the eighth.
“I did not expect that for sure,” Koivuniemi said. “We all make mistakes and this time he paid the maximum penalty for that.”
Barnes responded with a strike in the ninth then watched Koivuniemi finish his game. Koivuniemi struck in the ninth followed by a clutch 10th frame with three more strikes for 245. Barnes stepped up needing to strike yet delivered another ringing 10-pin. He immediately put both hands behind his head in disappointment. He made the spare and got eight for 235.
“This feels extremely good. I feel like the breaks have not gone my way for a while. Chris threw a really good shot and didn’t strike, so I finally got the break,” Koivuniemi said. “In the end, it came down to Chris missing the spare, especially because he didn’t strike on the first ball in the tenth.”
This is Koivuniemi’s third PBA50 Tour title — two are major wins — and he earned the $20,000 first-place prize. He was thrilled to get another opportunity to bowl at Bud Moore Lanes.
“This is very special. The whole week, Bill has taken good care of all of us,” Koivuniemi said. “Last time I did not bowl a good game here and I ended up losing. My main goal was to bowl a good game and see what happens. In the end, it was perfect and it was even good TV, how everything ended up. That was the bonus. Of course, I feel bad for Chris. He bowled great this week, too.”
He also got the chance to speak with Moore’s dad, Bud, who the tournament is named after. Bud offered his congratulations while Koivuniemi thanked him for his support of the sport. Koivuniemi and Barnes always have side bets going when they compete and this time was no different.
“It is the same bet nowadays. I, for the first time ever, have a chance to design a new jersey for Chris. I can’t wait,” Koivuniemi said laughing. “It is not going to be anything mean. It will be funny. The first one he did for me was on the PBA Tour. He did a Swedish hockey jersey with unicorns and flowers. That was kind of mean. I think we are too old for that.”
The opening match of the stepladder finals featured two previous champions of this tournament in No. 5 seed Pete Weber against No. 4 Tom Hess. Hess, the frontrunner for Player of the Year, started out with a double as Weber picked up two straight spares. Hess made three straight spares before a washout for an open frame in the sixth.
Weber struck three straight times before leaving the 7-10 split. He was able to bounce back with a double, while Hess threw four straight strikes and a spare for 213. Weber picked up a 9-pin in the ninth frame and struck out in the 10th for 224.
In match two, Weber got a strike before making two straight 10-pins. His opponent, Brad Angelo, picked up a 9-pin in the first frame followed by three straight strikes. Weber rolled four consecutive strikes as Angelo alternated spares and strikes through eight frames. Weber covered the 3-6-10 and a ringing 10-pin. Angelo got his second strike on the right lane for a key double and added two more strikes and nine for 247. Weber finished with 224.
The semifinal match included more strikes between Angelo and No. 2 seed Chris Barnes. Angelo got a double then a 7-count spare. Barnes, who was making his third stepladder this year, began with a double then picked up back-to-back 10-pins. Angelo rolled three straight strikes and picked up the 10-pin in the seventh frame. Barnes fired off six straight strikes and got nine for 256. Angelo’s run ended after failing to convert the 4-9 split in the eighth frame. He finished the match off with four strikes for 233.
Tournament host Bill Moore was also acknowledged for his incredible support of the Bowlers to Veterans Link (BVL) charity. Executive Director Jessica Abel and BVL spokesperson Johnny Petraglia presented Moore with a BVL Best Award plaque for raising more money for the charity than any other non-chain bowling center in the country.
The next stop on the PBA50 schedule is the Norfolk Classic in Virginia, which begins on July 28. You can see it all on BowlTV.
MATCH SCORES
Match 1: Weber def. Hess 224-213
Match 2: Angelo def. Weber 247-224
Match 3: Barnes def. Angelo 256-233
Championship match: Koivuniemi def. Barnes 245-235
Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship Final Standings:
- Mika Koivuniemi, $20,000
- Chris Barnes, $11,000
- Brad Angelo, $7,000
- Pete Weber, $5,000
- Tom Hess, $4,000
