Brad Angelo (pictured left) of Lockport, N.Y., rolled a 279 final game Sunday to win the top berth in the Professional Bowlers Association's Viper Championship stepladder finals during the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling at South Point Bowling Center.

Angelo, who won his only PBA Tour title in the 2008 Pepsi Viper Championship, bowled games of 236, 258, 199, 227, 236 and 279 during the six-game semifinal round to finish the day with a 14-game total of 3,344 pins.

Angelo topped the field of four players who will compete for the Viper Championship title in the ESPN stepladder finals on Saturday, Nov. 10, at 4 p.m. at South Point's Exhibition Hall area. The Viper Championship will air on ESPN on Sunday, Dec. 23.

He will be joined in the Viper finals by PBA Player of the Year Sean Rash (above right) of Montgomery, Ill., 3,326; Finnish native Mika Koivuniemi (left) of Hartland, Mich., 3,283, and Mike Fagan (right) of Dallas, 3,267. Fagan held on to win the fourth spot in the finals by one pin over Scott Norton of Costa Mesa, Calif., who led the field after the eight-game qualifying round.

"I've been executing well for the last few years, but getting that little half-pocket strike to keep a string going hasn't been there," Angelo said. "At this level, if you don't get those strikes, you can't compete. And today, I got some of those. I don't know what it was, but the chips fell.

"If you don't have speed and rev rate in today's world, you can't keep up. My little trick has been a slow float and still being able to get the ball through the pins. When I can do that, I'm pretty tough to beat. That's my uniqueness, and it hasn't been there for me lately. But to be the leader? You can't beat that."

Earlier Sunday, Rash, the reigning PBA Player of the Year, posted an eight-game qualifying total of 2,035 pins to advance from 30th place after Saturday's Cheetah Championship round into first place in the PBA World Championship race with a 16-game, 3,949 pinfall total, 16 pins ahead of Chris Loschetter of Avon, Ohio.

Eight-game qualifying totals from Saturday's Cheetah, Sunday's Viper, Monday's Chameleon and Tuesday's Scorpion Championships will be combined to produce the 32-game totals that will determine the 24 PBA World Championship match play finalists. Three eight-game World Championship match play rounds will take place Wednesday and Thursday at South Point Bowling Center.

PBA fans can follow scoring as it happens by clicking on the "live scoring" feature on pba.com, or by watching the action live on Xtra Frame, PBA's online bowling channel.

GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling competition continues Monday with Chameleon Championship qualifying squads bowling at 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., followed by the Chameleon semifinal round at 8 p.m.

 

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PBA Viper Championship - Semifinal Round

Players with position, hometown and 14-game total. The top four advance to stepladder finals Saturday, Nov. 10, at 4 p.m. PT. Places 5 to 16 show earnings.

1, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 3,344
2, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 3,326
3, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 3,283
4, Mike Fagan, Dallas, 3,267

Missed Cut:
5, Scott Norton, Costa Mesa, Calif., 3,266, $4,000
6 (tie), Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, and Dan MacLelland, Canada, 3,259, $3,450
8, Craig Nidiffer, Trenton, Mich., 3,245, $3,000
9, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3,209, $2,700
10, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 3,170, $2,500
11, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 3,153, $2,300
12, Mohamed Sultan, Bahrain, 3,144, $2,100
13, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 3,137, $2,000
14, Jeff Frankos, Daly City, Calif., 3,123, $2,000
15, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 3,089, $1,800
16, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 3,015, $1,700