Hard-throwing left-hander Ryan Ciminelli (pictured left) of Cheektowaga, N.Y., averaged 233.8 Wednesday to lead qualifying in the Professional Bowlers Association's GoBowling.com Viper Championship presented by Xtra Frame at the National Bowling Stadium while England's Stuart Williams assumed the early lead in Rolltech PBA World Championship qualifying.

Ciminelli, who is trying to become the PBA's first three-time title winner in 2015, rolled games of 190, 279, 224, 217, 245, 257, 247, 225 and 221 to pace the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling VII field of 246 players through the nine-game Viper qualifying event.

In October Ciminelli won the PBA Xtra Frame Las Vegas Open for his third PBA Tour title and he then won his first major title in early November in the Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open.

"I made about four ball changes that first (190) game," Ciminelli said. "I had a plan, but the lane condition wasn't allowing me to do what I wanted. Then I picked up the magic ball and that was pretty much it. I could do what I wanted.

"The condition was similar to the modified Viper pattern I won on in Las Vegas in October, so I was able to come in with the same game plan, same equipment, same philosophy and it worked. I was a little worried about this condition in practice, but once I picked up the right ball, that was it."

England's Stuart Williams (right), who became the first player from his country to win a title when he won the 2011 Viper Championship, averaged 229.6 Wednesday to finish with 2,067 pins, 38 behind Ciminelli. But he had the same kind of doubts coming into the round.

"Last night we were talking about the Viper and I had no idea what I was going to do," Williams said. "In practice Monday, the condition was really difficult, but the guess I made today worked out. The length of (oiling) pattern (39 feet) seems to work out well with my ball roll."

After finishing sixth in the Cheetah Championship presented by PBA Bowling Challenge Mobile Game on Tuesday, Williams' performance in the Viper qualifying round gave him the lead in Rolltech PBA World Championship qualifying with an 18-game total of 4,258 pins.

With the Chameleon and Scorpion qualifying rounds yet to be contested over the next two days, Marshall Kent (left) of Yakima, Wash., was in second place in World Championship qualifying with a 4,225 pinfall total.

"It's been a really good start to the week," Williams said.

The Viper Championship is the second of four qualifying legs leading into the PBA World Championship. It also is the second of five PBA Tour title events that are part of the 14-day GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling VII presented by Silver Legacy. Ciminelli and Williams will held the field of 24 qualifiers who will advance to the Viper Championship best-of-five-game match play elimination rounds next Monday.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts (right), who is making his debut in professional bowling competition this week, had a solid round in the Viper event with two exceptions, rolling games of 210, 204, 148, 201, 186, 195, 149, 207 and 237 for a 1,737 total – finishing in a tie for 148th place. The two 140 games dropped his overall average to 193 for the round.

"I got lost for two or three games," the 23-year-old Betts said, "but it was a good learning experience. I kind of have an idea of what to do moving forward. "On Tuesday we played on the outside of the lane (in the Cheetah Championship). Today we played a deep inside angle and ball speed was really important," he continued.

"That's one thing I haven't paid much attention to in practice, so I'm learning as we go. Those spares, man – you really underestimate them and that's the important thing. You have to learn to go hard and straight – but that's something I'll have to work on."

Betts said he hasn't experienced any physical issues because he's been working out at home to get ready for the baseball season, "so that makes it pretty easy. My hand is a little sore, but I'll get over it."

GEICO WSOB VII competition continues Thursday with the nine-game qualifying round in the PBA Chameleon Championship presented by HotelPlanner.com. The top 24 players in each of four "animal pattern" championships advance to best-of-five-game match play elimination rounds that will take place next Monday and Tuesday.

The top 61 players based on composite 36-game pinfall totals for the four animal pattern qualifying legs will advance to the cashers' round of the Rolltech PBA World Championship on Saturday.

All qualifying and match play rounds of the World Series of Bowling will be covered live, exclusively by PBA's online video streaming service, Xtra Frame.

 

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Gobowling.com Viper Championship - Final Qualifying Standings

Players with position, hometown and 9-game total; top 24 advance to best-of-five-game single-elimination match play next Monday; top 8 receive a first round bye; n-denotes non-member; f-denotes female

1, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 2,105
2, Stuart Williams, England, 2,067
3, Patrick Girard, Canada, 2,061
4, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 2,054
5, Magnus Johnson Jr., Sweden, 2,040
6, Jakob Butturff, Chandler, Ariz., 2,030
7, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 2,017
8, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 2,011
9 (tie), Daisuke Nakamura, Japan, and Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., 2,007
11, Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan., 2,001
12, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 1,999
13, Joonas Jehkinen, Finland, 1,996
14, n-Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 1,981
15, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 1,980
16, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 1,978
17, Daniel Fransson, Sweden, 1,975
18, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1,974
19, Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 1,973
20, John Furey, Freehold, N.J., 1,969
21, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 1,967
22, Anthony LaCaze, Hoffman Estates, Ill., 1,965
23, Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 1,963
24, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 1,962

Other Cashers:
25, E.J. Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 1,959, $600
26, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 1,958, $600
27, Mark Sullivan, Indianapolis, 1,952, $600
28, Markus Jansson, Sweden, 1,951, $600
29, J.R. Raymond, Bay City, Mich., 1,950, $500
30, Scott Norton, Mission Viejo, Calif., 1,948, $500
31, Tobias Boerding, Germany, 1,944, $500
32 (tie), David Maycock, Bermuda, and Osku Palermaa, Finland, 1,941, $250

Failed to Cash:
34, Nobuhito Fujii, Japan, 1,936
35 (tie), n-Jon Trzcinski, Bay Shore, N.Y., and Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 1,933
37, Tom Daugherty, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 1,929
38, Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,927
39, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 1,926
40, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 1,925
41, Paul Moor, England, 1,924
42, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 1,922
43, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 1,920
44, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 1,914
45 (tie), Sam Cooley, Australia, and Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 1,909
47, B.J. Moore III, Apex, N.C., 1,908
48 (tie), Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa.; n-Kamron Doyle, Brentwood, Tenn., and n-Matt Gasn, Laurel, Md., 1,906
51, Patrick Allen, Mount Kisco, N.Y., 1,904
52 (tie), T.J. Schmidt, Mishawaka, Ind., and Jesse Buss, Belvidere, Ill., 1,901
54, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 1,900
55, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 1,896
56, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 1,894
57, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 1,891
58, Ryan Graywacz, Feeding Hills, Mass., 1,890
59 (tie), Matthew McNiel, Prior Lake, Minn., and Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 1,888
61 (tie), Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., and Joseph Hostetler, Louisville, Ohio, 1,887
63 (tie), Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, and Kristopher Prather, Milton, Fla., 1,886
65, Aaron Lorincz, Belleville, Mich., 1,883
66, Dean Richards, Tacoma, Wash., 1,880
67, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 1,875
68, Manuel Otalora, Colombia, 1,874
69, n-Ronnie Sparks Jr., Ecorse, Mich., 1,873
70, f-Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 1,871
71 (tie), Brad Miller, Maryland Hts, Mo., and Matt Dammann, Canada, 1,870
73, Mitch Beasley, Nashville, Tenn., 1,867
74 (tie), Dom Barrett, England, and Andres Gomez, Colombia, 1,865
76, Pascal Winternheimer, Germany, 1,863
77 (tie), Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, and Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 1,856
79, n-Bill Fong, Plano, Texas, 1,854
80, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 1,853
81 (tie), Richie Teece, England, and n-Erik Vermilyea, Mansfield, Texas, 1,849
83, A.J. Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 1,848
84, Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 1,847
85, Craig Auerbach, Sunrise, Fla., 1,845
86, n-Zeke Bayt, Henderson, Nev., 1,843
87, Gerald Marrs, Huntley, Ill., 1,839
88 (tie), n-Christopher Sand, St Clair Shores, Mich., and Jordan Jung, Canada, 1,838
90, Josh Conner, Columbus, Ohio, 1,837
91 (tie), Hugh Miller, Mercer Island, Wash., and Craig LeMond, Jasper, Ind., 1,836
93, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 1,834
94 (tie), Chuck Tillson, Santa Rosa, Calif.; n-Adam Barta, Girard, Ohio, and Mike DeVaney, Winchester, Calif., 1,833
97, Miguel Lopez, Wichita, Kan., 1,828
98, Noel Vazquez, Sacramento, Calif., 1,820
99, Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, 1,817
100 (tie), Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., and Peng Zhang, China, 1,815
102 (tie), Keven Williams, Springfield, Mo., and Dave Wodka, Beavercreek, Ohio, 1,814
104 (tie), Jeremy Mooney, West Palm Beach, Fla., and n-Don Allen III, Vancouver, Wash., 1,813
106, Carsten Hansen, Denmark, 1,812
107, n-Eric Fritton, Waukesha, Wis., 1,807
108 (tie), Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., and Joe Goldstein Sr., San Bruno, Calif., 1,802
110, n-Trey Ford III, Bartlesville, Okla., 1,800
111, n-Carlos Tobon, Colombia, 1,797
112 (tie), Santiago Mejia, Colombia, and Jason Belmonte, Australia, 1,794
114, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 1,793
115, Toby Contreras, Lee's Summit, Mo., 1,792
116, David Canady, Germany, 1,790
117 (tie), Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., and Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,788
119, Luke Matthys, Whitestown, Ind., 1,787
120, Brian LeClair, Delmar, N.Y., 1,786
121 (tie), Anthony Simonsen, Princeton, Texas, and Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 1,784
123 (tie), Will Vidulich, Parsippany, N.J.; Dave Bernhardt, Romeo, Mich., and Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 1,782
126, Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 1,780
127 (tie), Jon VanHees, Charlestown, R.I., and n-Jason Munkberg, Redding, Calif., 1,778
129, Wayne Garber, Modesto, Calif., 1,777
130, n-Benjamin Canfield, Tempe, Ariz., 1,776
131, n-Jianchao Du, China, 1,773
132, Ernest Lukacs Jr., Manville, N.J., 1,765
133 (tie), Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., and Austin Hunt, Kennewick, Wash., 1,761
135 (tie), John Szczerbinski, N. Tonawanda, N.Y.; Scott Robertson, Australia, and Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 1,758
138, Lee Vanderhoef, Canton, Ga., 1,757
139, Chris Arcaro, Wilmington, N.C., 1,756
140 (tie), n-Charles Easton, Sylvania, Ohio, and David Sevier, Gilbert, Ariz., 1,754
142, David Shinn, West Columbia, S.C., 1,753
143 (tie), Zhongli Mi, China; Blake Demore, Springfield, Mo., and Humberto Vazquez, Mexico, 1,746
146, D.J. Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 1,744
147, PJ Haggerty, Roseville, Calif., 1,743
148 (tie), n-Mookie Betts, Boston, and Chad Lusche, Parker, Colo., 1,737
150, n-Chris Drewes, Wichita, Kan., 1,736
151, Derek Handy, Redmond, Wash., 1,733
152, Jean Perez, Puerto Rico, 1,729
153, Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., 1,728
154, n-Wankang Qi, China, 1,727
155, Jonathan Sellers, Stratford, Conn., 1,724
156 (tie), Eddy Smith, Stanwood, Wash.; Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., and Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 1,723
159, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 1,721
160, Andrew Suscreba, Clifton, N.J., 1,718
161, Steve Ford, Seaside, Ore., 1,717
162, n-David Labinski, Milwaukee, 1,713
163, Myles Duty, Modesto, Calif., 1,710
164, n-Rob Edwards, Vancouver, Wash., 1,709
165 (tie), J.T. Jackson, Sherman Oaks, Calif., and Zhiyong Wang, China, 1,708
167, Shuichi Heki, Japan, 1,707
168 (tie), Julio Cesar Blancas, Mexico, and Hashim Guinomla, Philippines, 1,706
170, f-Inngellimar Beasley, Venezuela, 1,703
171, Jaime Gonzalez, Colombia, 1,702
172, Bob Spaulding, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,700
173, Joachim Karlsson, Sweden, 1,698
174 (tie), Brian Nicodemus, Akron, Ind., and ss-Ray Cobb, Highland, Calif., 1,697
176 (tie), Brian Valenta, Lockport, Ill., and Kevin Donovan, Painted Post, N.Y., 1,696
178, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 1,695
179, Chris Colella, Templeton, Mass., 1,694
180 (tie), f-Yuka Tsuchiya, Japan, and f-Liz Kuhlkin, Rotterdam, N.Y., 1,692
182 (tie), Pat Nolan, Japan, and n-Anton Ahlgren, Sweden, 1,691
184, Dennis Horan Jr., Oakley, Calif., 1,687
185, n-Jimmy Cook, Indianapolis, 1,686
186, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 1,683
187, Adam Ferri, Jeannette, Pa., 1,682
188, Casey Knutson, Femley, Nev., 1,681
189, Brett Cunningham, Clay, N.Y., 1,680
190, Jason Sterner, Covington, Ga., 1,679
191, f-April Lordwittig, Steilacoom, Wash., 1,677
192, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 1,675
193, Alvar Cardona, Spain, 1,674
194, Bryan Osborne, Cypress, Calif., 1,669
195, Warren Burr, Wilmington, Del., 1,667
196 (tie), Shigeo Saitoh, Japan; n-Matthew Farber, Plainview, N.Y., and Akiko Suzuki, Japan, 1,664
199, Chen Huang, China, 1,663
200, Harrison Jarvis, San Antonio, Tex, 1,662
201, Will Barnes, Wichita, Kan., 1,659
202, Terrance Bright, Atlanta, 1,658
203, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 1,656
204, f-Elise Bolton, Merritt Island, Fla., 1,655
205, Jonathan Hocsman, Argentina, 1,650
206, Andrew Graff, Las Vegas, 1,641
207, Steve Adams, Grass Valley, Calif., 1,637
208, Joonas Jahi, Finland, 1,636
209, Paul LeMond, Jasper, Ind., 1,630
210 (tie), Shawn Maldonado, Houston; Jeff Roche, Dearborn, Mich., and n-Carl-Oskar Palmer, Sweden, 1,625
213 (tie), Cody Copeland, Abiline, Texas, and Mark Fennell, Seattle, 1,620
215 (tie), Cris Ferreira, Visalia, Calif., and Roger Koplin Jr., Carson City, Nev., 1,618
217, f-Jacqueline Carbonetto, Blauvelt, N.Y., 1,617
218 (tie), Clint Land, Houston, and Lin Yao, China, 1,614
220, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 1,608
221, Junia Yoshida, Japan, 1,602
222 (tie), Armando Santacruz, Ecuador, and n-Michael Villarreal, Lakewood, Calif., 1,597
224, Will Garber, Modesto, Calif., 1,596
225, Mateo Hernandez, Argentina, 1,593
226 (tie), John Austin Jr., Friendswood, Texas, and Andre Eubanks, Los Angeles, 1,591
228, n-Stephen Bennett, Hampton, Va., 1,582
229, n-Michael Duran, Banning, Calif., 1,579
230, Glenn Morgan, Carson City, Nev., 1,578
231, n-Harold Hill Jr., San Diego, 1,576
232, Christopher Yoshimura, Rochester, Minn., 1,575
233, n-Nelson Sand, Maple Valley. Wash., 1,574
234, Wes Newman, Panama City, Fla, 1,560
235, Brijesh Patel, Hollywood, Calif., 1,553
236, Mike Watson, Grass Valley, Calif., 1,545
237, Tommy Barna, Westminster, Md., 1,529
238, n-Thomas Musante, San Mateo, Calif., 1,496
239, Adrian McCoy, British Virgin Islands, 1,488
240, Matthew Graham, Stockton, Calif., 1,479
241, Jimmy Smith, Puyallup, Wash., 1,350
242, n-John Leathers, Anaconda, Mont., 1,334
Withdrew: Vincent Balisky, Elmhurst, N.Y., and Matthew O'Grady, Matawan, N.J.

300 Games (1) - Warren Crawford.

 

Rolltech PBA World Championship - Qualifying Standings after 18/36 games (top 100)

Top 61 after 36 games advance to cashers' round on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT

1, Stuart Williams, England, 4,258
2, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 4,225
3, Patrick Girard, Canada, 4,186
4, Sam Cooley, Australia, 4,181
5, John Furey, Freehold, N.J., 4,164
6, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 4,132
7, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 4,127
8, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 4,118
9, Paul Moor, England, 4,111
10, Joonas Jehkinen, Finland, 4,106
11, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 4,102
12, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 4,101
13, Magnus Johnson Jr., Sweden, 4,097
14, Jakob Butturff, Chandler, Ariz., 4,090
15 (tie), Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., and Markus Jansson, Sweden, 4,088
17, n-Matt Gasn, Laurel, Md., 4,086
18, Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 4,074
19, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 4,055
20, Scott Norton, Mission Viejo, Calif., 4,041
21, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 4,034
22, E.J. Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 4,032
23, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 4,026
24, Matthew McNiel, Prior Lake, Minn., 4,020
25, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 4,013
26, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 4,001
27, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 4,000
28, Ryan Graywacz, Feeding Hills, Mass., 3,993
29, Kristopher Prather, Milton, Fla., 3,992
30, B.J. Moore III, Apex, N.C., 3,989
31, Anthony LaCaze, Hoffman Estates, Ill., 3,984
32, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 3,980
33, n-Adam Barta, Girard, Ohio, 3,978
34, Daisuke Nakamura, Japan, 3,974
35 (tie), Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, and Wayne Garber, Modesto, Calif., 3,971
37, Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 3,963
38 (tie), Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., and Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 3,960
40 (tie), Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., and Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 3,957
42, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 3,955
43, n-Ronnie Sparks Jr., Ecorse, Mich., 3,953
44 (tie), T.J. Schmidt, Mishawaka, Ind., and Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 3,943
46, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 3,942
47, Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan., 3,940
48, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 3,938
49, J.R. Raymond, Bay City, Mich., 3,936
50, Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., 3,935
51, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 3,934
52 (tie), Patrick Allen, Mount Kisco, N.Y., and Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 3,933
54, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 3,931
55, n-Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 3,928
56, Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 3,923
57, Tobias Boerding, Germany, 3,916
58, Manuel Otalora, Colombia, 3,913
59 (tie), Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., and Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 3,911
61, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 3,910
62, Mark Sullivan, Indianapolis, 3,909
63, Richie Teece, England, 3,898
64, Dean Richards, Tacoma, Wash., 3,897
65, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 3,888
66, John Szczerbinski, N. Tonawanda, N.Y., 3,885
67, Daniel Fransson, Sweden, 3,884
68, n-Benjamin Canfield, Tempe, Ariz., 3,880
69, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 3,877
70, Jesse Buss, Belvidere, Ill., 3,869
71, Joseph Hostetler, Louisville, Ohio, 3,867
72, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 3,859
73, Aaron Lorincz, Belleville, Mich., 3,856
74, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3,854
75, D.J. Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 3,850
76, Dennis Horan Jr., Oakley, Calif., 3,845
77, n-Eric Fritton, Waukesha, Wis., 3,842
78, Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., 3,840
79 (tie), Osku Palermaa, Finland, and Carsten Hansen, Denmark, 3,837
81, Brad Miller, Maryland Hts, Mo., 3,833
82, Josh Conner, Columbus, Ohio, 3,830
83, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 3,827
84, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3,823
85, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 3,821
86, Dom Barrett, England, 3,815
87, Tom Daugherty, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 3,809
88, Dave Wodka, Beavercreek, Ohio, 3,808
89, Pascal Winternheimer, Germany, 3,803
90, Zhongli Mi, China, 3,802
91 (tie), Nobuhito Fujii, Japan; Santiago Mejia, Colombia, and PJ Haggerty, Roseville, Calif., 3,801
94, f-Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 3,799
95, n-Jon Trzcinski, Bay Shore, N.Y., 3,798
96 (tie), n-Zeke Bayt, Henderson, Nev., and Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, 3,792
98, Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 3,790
99 (tie), n-Erik Vermilyea, Mansfield, Texas; n-Christopher Sand, St Clair Shores, Mich., and Craig LeMond, Jasper, Ind., 3,789