Thanks in part to a gold-medal performance in All-Events in the World Men Championships in Hong Kong last week, EJ Tackett of Bluffton, Ind., claimed the third berth in the 2019 World Bowling Tour Men’s Finals that will be contested on Sunday, Jan. 6, at the International Research and Training Center in Arlington, Texas, for broadcast on FS1 on March 10.

Featured photo from left, Team USA members Kyle Troup, Tommy Jones, Chris Barnes, EJ Tackett, Andrew Anderson and Jacob Butturff.

Tackett will join 2018 WBT points leader Anthony Simonsen of Little Elm, Texas, and Stuart Williams of England in the men’s finals. The WBT Women’s Finals, presented by the PBA, will feature Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, N.Y.; Liz Johnson of Palatine, Ill., and Daria Pajak of Poland.

On his way to winning the all-events gold medal (right) in Hong Kong, Tackett also won gold in trios with Team USA teammates Andrew Anderson and Kyle Troup (left), silver in the team event also featuring Chris Barnes, Tommy Jones and Jakob Butturff, and a silver medal in doubles with Anderson, PBA’s newly-crowned 2018 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year. Anderson and Troup also shared bronze in Singles. Anderson was also silver-medalist in all-events and Troup got silver in Masters.

WBT Men’s and Women’s Finalists were determined based on competition points earned in WBT events during calendar year 2018.

International Bowling Museum to unveil PBA Hall of Fame exhibit

The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame in Arlington, Texas, will unveil a new PBA Hall of Fame exhibit featuring items on loan from 2019 PBA Hall of Fame inductees Patrick Allen, Mika Koivuniemi, Bob Johnson and Jim Doty.

The PBA Hall of Fame exhibit, which will celebrate the organization’s role as the “major league of bowling in the world,” will hold its premier on Saturday, Jan. 5, in conjunction with the newest inductions. The Arlington-based IBM/HF serves as the home of the PBA Hall of Fame.

PBA Regional Update: Harry Sullins win PBA50 Victory Lanes Open

Harry Sullins (pictured above) of Chesterfield Twp., Mich., defeated top qualifier Mike Steil of Wheeling, Ill., 224-194, to win the PBA50 Victory Lanes Midwest/Central Open at Victory Lanes in Kankakee, Ill., Sunday. The tournament was Rich Weber’s final tournament as PBA Midwest Region tournament manager. Weber will officially retire on December 31.

Sullins, who earned $1,500 along with his 36th overall PBA Regional title and his fourth at Victory Lanes, defeated Gary Alstott of Washington, Ill., 267-214, in the semifinal game to advance to the championship match after Alstott eliminated Brian Kretzer of Dayton, Ohio, 234-221, in the first match.

Mike Moore and non-PBA member partner Shawn Naumann, both of Orlando, Fla., defeated Cristian Azcona of Puerto Rico and non-member Justin Dunn of Deland, Fla., 451-335, in a total pinfall match to win the $4,000 first prize in the PBA South Region Member/Non-Member Doubles at Break Point Alley Bowling Center in Tavares, Fla., Sunday.

Moore and Naumann won six of their eight matches and finished with a 16-game total of 7,042 pins to qualify first. Azcona and Dunn, who shared $2,000 for second place, eliminated Dave Stouffer of Lehigh Acres, Florida, and Lee Rathjen of Naples, Fla., 446-377, in the first stepladder match.

Scott Kinkaid of Elizabethtown, Pa. (pictured left with sponsor Mark Kimball), defeated Steven Kotowski of Clark, N.J., 278-236, to win the PBA MJK Pro Shop/Knob Hill Eastern Challenge presented by Brunswick in Manalapan, N.J., on Saturday.

PBA Challenge events are open to any member or non-member who has never won a PBA event.

Kinkaid, a 44-year-old non-PBA member, was bowling in his 12th PBA event. He qualified sixth and then dominated the field in the bracket elimination finals. He posted 6-1 record, averaging 262.4 over the seven games. Kotowski, also a non-member who was competing in only his second PBA event, posted a 5-2 record.

Kinkaid earned $1,500 for the win, but does not receive credit for a PBA Regional title because he is a non-member.

In the semifinal matches, Kinkaid topped Michael Markis of Tafton, Pa., 269-234, and Kotowski defeated Jeremy Milito of Holbrook, N.Y., 223-214.

The PBA50 Timber Lanes East Open, originally scheduled for the Dec. 7-9 weekend in Oxford, Pa., has been postponed until 2019.

As the PBA heads toward the year-end holidays, a limited schedule of PBA Regional competition is on tap for the Dec. 14-16 weekend, including the Reality Check/CareHawk South Classic at Sawgrass Lanes in Tamarac, Fla., and the Warren Harley-Davidson Central-East Challenge for non-title winners at Freeway Lanes of Warren, Ohio.

Closing out PBA’s 2018 regional calendar will be the PBA50/PBA Houston Emerald Bowl Doubles presented by Bowling Dynamix over the Dec. 21-23 weekend, and the PBA Japan Region’s Scorpion and Women’s Scorpion Open tournaments at Tokyo Hagashiyamato Grand Bowl.

For complete PBA Regional schedules, rules and entry information, click here to find the event(s) in your area.

Quick Notes

Del Ballard Jr., recipient of the 2017 PBA Tony Reyes Memorial Community Service Award, and wife Carolyn Dorin-Ballard (pictured during the 2014 PBA League quarterfinals between Del’s Detroit Motown Muscle and Carolyn’s New York King Pins, with PBA’s Kimberly Pressler, center) have announced a $72,000 contribution to Cancer Care Services in the wake of their annual “Ballard Vs. The Big C” fund-raiser in Dallas.

Chris Barnes, the 2018 PBA Tony Reyes Memorial Community Service Award recipient, and wife Lynda Barnes (pictured during the 2015 Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles tournament) drew a field of 241 participations for their 14th annual Barnes Thanksgiving Classic tournament at Plano Super Bowl in the Dallas area, awarding a total of $17,750 in scholarships.

Correction: the correct dates for the 20th anniversary Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles tournament in Houston, Texas, are Thursday, July 25 through Sunday, July 28. The tournament will be part of the 2019 USBC Cup points series and will be covered live from start to finish by PBA Xtra Frame on FloBowling.

Related Articles

2018 PBA Spare Shots #48 – December 1, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #47 – November 22, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #46 – November 17, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #45 – November 9, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #44 – November 3, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #43 – October 23, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #42 – October 19, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #41 – October 12, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #40 – October 4, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #39 – September 27, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #38 – September 20, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #37 – September 14, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #36 – September 7, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #35 – August 31, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #34 – August 23, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #33 – August 16, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #32 – August 10, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #31 – August 2, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #30 – July 27, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #29 – July 20, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #28 – July 14, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #27 – July 7, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #26 – June 30, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #25 – June 21, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #24 – June 16, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #23 – June 9, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #22 – June 2, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #21 – May 19, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #20 – May 19, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #19 – May 11, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #18 – April 27, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #17 – May 3, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #16 – April 19, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #15 – April 12, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #14 – April 6, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #13 – March 30, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #12 – March 23, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #11 – March 16, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #10 – March 8, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #9 – March 2, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #8 – February 24, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #7 – February 16, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #6 – February 9, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #5 – February 1, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #4 – January 24, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #3 – January 20, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #2 – January 12, 2018
2018 PBA Spare Shots #1 – January 6, 2018
2017 PBA Spare Shots