PBA World Championship
The PBA World Championship is one of five major PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) bowling events. Prior to 2002, the tournament was called the PBA National Championship. The PBA National Championship was first contested on November 28, 1960, then called the First Annual National Championship; the winner was PBA Hall of Famer Don Carter. Tournament champions currently win the Earl Anthony Trophy, named in honor of the late PBA legend who won this title a record six times (1973–75 and 1981–83).[1] The World Championship has occasionally offered a $100,000 top prize, and as much as $150,000 in 2020.
Background
The National Championship and World Championship have been contested over the years using a variety of formats. Currently, the PBA World Championship format is different from normal PBA Tour events. Since the 2009–10 season, the initial qualifying scores for the World Championship have come from other stand-alone tournaments at the PBA World Series of Bowling, which celebrated its 11th anniversary in 2020. Thus, the current tournament is open to any PBA member who also enters the World Series of Bowling.
For the 2009–10 season, the PBA World Championship was part of the World Series of Bowling held in Allen Park, Michigan, and was contested in a split format. The qualifying rounds of the tournament were contested August 31 – September 4, with the televised finals being broadcast live on ESPN December 13, 2009.[2] The PBA's second World Series of Bowling in 2010 was contested in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was again used as qualifying for the 2010–11 PBA World Championship. This time, the 60-game qualifying scores for the five "animal pattern" championships held at the World Series were used to determine the 8-bowler TV field for the PBA World Championship finals. The World Championship finals were televised live over three consecutive days (January 14–16, 2011), a PBA first.[3]
Currently (as of the 2019 WSOB X), combined scores from the 30 games of qualifying (10 games each) on the Cheetah 33, Chameleon 39 and Scorpion 42 oil patterns determine the top 45 for the cashers round of the PBA World Championship. These 45 players then bowl ten more games (two five-game blocks) on the Earl Anthony 43 oil pattern, which is named after the six-time winner of this event. The cashers field is subsequently cut to 16 players for two eight-game, roundrobin match play rounds. Total pinfall from all 56 qualifying games, including 30 bonus pins for head-to-head match play wins, determines the five players that advance to the televised finals.[4]
World Champions
2020 event
A five-player stepladder format was used in the 2020 PBA World Championship finals, contested March 15 at the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas, Nevada. The tournament had 120 entries and a total prize fund of $484,350. One-third of the field (40 players) cashed, with the champion earning $150,000.[5]
Number 1 seed and two-time defending champion Jason Belmonte successfully defended his title, defeating Anthony Simonsen 213–190 in the final match for his 24th PBA title, 3rd consecutive PBA World Championship title and record-extending 13th career major overall.[6]
| Match #1 | Match #2 | Match #3 | Championship Match | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Jason Belmonte | 213 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | E. J. Tackett | 177 | 3 | Anthony Simonsen | 190 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Anthony Simonsen | 224 | 3 | Anthony Simonsen | 215 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | François Lavoie | 259 | 4 | François Lavoie | 204 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Chris Via | 258 | ||||||||||||||||
- Prize Pool:
- 1. Jason Belmonte (Orange, New South Wales, Australia) – $150,000
- 2. Anthony Simonsen (Little Elm, Texas) – $70,000
- 3. EJ Tackett (Bluffton, Indiana) – $40,000
- 4. François Lavoie (Quebec City, Quebec, Canada) – $30,000
- 5. Chris Via (Springfield, Ohio) – $20,000
Past winners
+ Due to the 2012–13 "Super Season" running from November 2012 to December 2013, there were two PBA World Championship events: one in November 2012 and one in November 2013.
References
- ^ Schneider, Jerry (January 11, 2015). "Mike Fagan Wins PBA World Championship for Fifth Tour Title and Second Major". PBA.com. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ^ "FAQs for PBA World Series of Bowling." Article at pba.com/worldseries Archived 2009-04-02 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Vint, Bill. "O'Neill Wins Top Berth for PBA World Championship." Article at www.pba.com on October 29, 2010. [1]
- ^ Schneider, Jerry. "Belmonte Averages 239 to Surge Into PBA Scorpion Championship and PBA World Championship Leads in WSOB X". pba.com. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
- ^ "Tournament Details - PBA World Championship". pba.com. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ Schneider, Jerry (15 March 2020). "Belmonte Beats Simonsen to Win Third Consecutive PBA World Championship Title". pba.com. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ Vint, Bill (May 9, 2018). "PBA's 10th Anniversary World Series of Bowling Returns to Its Detroit Roots in March 2019". PBA.com. Retrieved May 11, 2018.