England's Dom Barrett (pictured left) averaged 234.4 while winning 23 of his 32 matches to earn the top berth for the stepladder finals of the DHC PBA Japan Invitational Saturday at Tokyo Port Bowl by 247 pins over PBA Hall of Famer Amleto Monacelli of Venezuela.

Rounding out the five-player field for the stepladder finals, which will air on Sunday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN2, are John Szczerbinski of N. Tonawanda, N.Y.; defending DHC champion Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, and Japan's Shota Kawazoe (right).

Above L-R Barrett, Monacelli, Szczerbinski, Barnes and Kawazoe.

Kawazoe won the final berth in the stepladder finals by 32 pins over 38-time PBA Tour titlist Norm Duke of Clermont, Fla.

The DHC PBA Japan Invitational included a field of 15 PBA stars who earned invitations based on qualifying scores bowled during the PBA Xtra Frame South Point Las Vegas Open and Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open last fall along with a representative of the Korea PBA and 16 Japanese players.

Barrett, a four-time PBA Tour title winner, is trying for his first title since winning the 2014 Qatar Open. He finished the 32-game round-robin match play portion of the tournament with a 8,191 pinfall total, including 30 bonus pins for each match win.

Monacelli (left), 54, is a 19-time PBA Tour champion and a five-time PBA50 Tour winner (including the 2015 USBC Senior Masters), but he hasn't won a PBA Tour title since 2005.

Szczerbinski (right), who is trying for his first PBA Tour title, earned the No. 3 berth in the finals by defeating Barnes, 232-227, in a one-game roll-off after they tied for third place.

Barnes (left), an 18-time PBA Tour title winner, is making his first PBA Tour appearance since undergoing surgery to repair a damaged disc in early October. Barnes bowled a 300 game on his way to winning the 2014 DHC PBA Japan Invitational title, earning a $40,000 bonus in addition to the $40,000 first prize.

Kawazoe, with 7,745 total pins, led the field of 16 Japanese players.

The DHC PBA Japan Invitational, conducted in cooperation with the PBA Japan Regional program, is the first singles event on the 2016 PBA Tour schedule. All match play competition was covered live on PBA's online video-streaming service, Xtra Frame.

 

Related Articles

PBA Tour players hold top six places in DHC PBA Japan Invitational after two rounds

 

2016 DHC PBA Japan Invitational - Final Match Play Standings

Players with position, hometown, W-L-T record and 32-game total, including bonus pins (3ß for each win, 15 for a tie). Top five advance to ESPN2 stepladder finals Sunday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m. ET. n-denotes non-member, f-denotes female player

1, Dom Barrett, England, 23-9, 8,191
2, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 24-8, 7,944
3, x-John Szczerbinski, North Tonawanda, N.Y., 20-12, 7,827
4, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 18-13-1, 7,827
5, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 25-7, 7,745
Szczerbinski def. Barnes, 232-227, in a one-game roll-off to decide the No. 3 berth for the stepladder finals.

Missed Cut:
6, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 19-11-2, 7,713, $4,800
7, Aaron Lorincz, Belleville, Mich., 20-10-2, 7,668, $4,400
8, n-Yuta Saito, Japan, 20-12, 7,650, $4,000
9, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 22-10, 7,628, $3,600
10, Isao Yamamoto, Japan, 21-11, 7,603, $3,360
11, Fujii Nobuhito, Japan, 19-13, 7,596, $3,040
12, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 19-13, 7,577, $2,880
13, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 15-17, 7,497, $2,720
14, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 18-14, 7,485, $2,560
15, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 21-11, 7,443, $2,400
16, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 16-16, 7,357, $2,240
17, n-Takuya Miyazawa, Japan, 13-19, 7,208, $2,200
18, f-Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 16-16, 7,192, $2,160
19, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 15-15-2, 7,086, $2,120
20, n-Ryo Yamanaka, Japan, 15-17, 7,019, $2,080
21, f-Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 12-20, 6,940, $2,040
22, n-Takuma Echigo, Japan, 13-19, 6,920, $2,000
23, f-Hiroko Shimizu, Japan, 14-18, 6,886, $1,960
24, f-Mai Takasaka, Japan, 12-18-2, 6,773, $1,920
25, f-Yuki Akiyoshi, Japan, 13-19, 6,737, $1,880
26, Pat Nolan, Japan, 12-19-1, 6,675, $1,840
27, f-Hiromi Matsunaga, Japan, 12-20, 6,648, $1,800
28, f-Yuka Tsuchiya, Japan, 10-22, 6,602, $1,760
29, Meen Woo Kim, Korea, 13-19, 6,450, $1,720
30, Fumihiro Yoshida, Japan, 8-24, 6,210, $1,680
31, f-Misa Domoto, Japan, 5-27, 5,956, $1,640
32, f-Yumi Nakajima, Japan, 4-28, 5,378, $1,600