Starting Monday, the eyes of the bowling world will be focused on South Point Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center on the south side of Las Vegas when the 2010 edition of the Professional Bowlers Association World Series of Bowling gets underway, kicking off the 2010-11 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season.

The 14-day extravaganza will begin with "PBA World Championship Week," a five-day, 60-game test of skill and endurance that will serve as the foundation for the first major championship of the 2010-11 season.

Week two of the World Series will focus on a series of "animal pattern" championships, culminating on Nov. 5-6 with two days of television finals. For PBA fans who are unable to attend in person, the entire World Series will be covered live, 12 hours a day, on PBA's Xtra Frame video streaming service (www.xtraframe.tv).

During the first week of competition, the sold-out field of 256 players (men and women from 14 different countries) will bowl 12 games each day on five different Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour "animal patterns."

The PBA's challenging lane conditions were given names and introduced to the sport during the 2007-08 season as a way of illustrating the varying types of lane conditioning challenges PBA Tour players face – similar to a tennis player competing on clay, grass or hard courts on different days.

Each lane conditioning pattern employs different characteristics based upon the length oil is applied to the lane, as well as how much oil is applied across the lane. Each pattern provides a different test a player's strengths and versatility.

On Monday, the field will bowl on the Cheetah pattern. On Tuesday, it's Viper pattern day. The Chameleon, Scorpion and Shark rounds will follow on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Similar to the former "PBA Marathon Open," which featured a different lane condition for each round, total pinfall for 60 games on all five patterns will serve as the final standings for the PBA World Championship.

One in four will cash based upon 60 games, and the top eight will return to South Point Jan. 14-16 to battle for a $50,000 top prize in the live PBA World Championship stepladder finals which will launch the "live" portion of the Tour's 2010-11 television schedule. The top qualifier will have the advantage of selecting the lane conditioning pattern for the televised finals.

While accumulating pins toward the World Championship is a high priority, all players also will start fresh with a new challenge each day. Regardless of a player's overall standings, the daily events will be similar to stages in the Tour de France.

The top 16 players for 12 games each day will remain in contention for week two of the World Series, which will be devoted to determining the Cheetah, Viper, Chameleon, Scorpion and Shark Championships.

In week two, the top 16 on each pattern will bowl nine games of round-robin match play to determine the top five for stepladder finals.

The Cheetah and Viper match play rounds will be contested on Monday, Nov. 1. The Chameleon and Scorpion rounds will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 2. The Shark match play round will be bowled on Wednesday, Nov. 3.

The top five after 21 games in each case will advance to the respective stepladder finals, and all 16 in each event will earn "bonus cash" in addition to whatever they may earn based upon their PBA World Championship standings. Each champion will win $15,000 and a PBA Tour title.

An added special event will be a new "USA vs. The World" team competition, which will be taped on Nov. 6. The top six United States bowlers after 60 qualifying games will meet the top six international players in a five-player team showdown. One point will be awarded for each head-to-head match, and three points will be awarded for the team total.

Tom Smallwood (above left) of Saginaw, Mich., is defending PBA World Champion. Also hoping to defend their 2009 titles in Las Vegas will be Cheetah champion Norm Duke (above right) of Clermont, Fla.; Viper champion Rhino Page (left) of Dade City, Fla.; Chameleon champion Bill O'Neill (right) of Southampton, Pa.; Scorpion champion Mike DeVaney (below left) of San Diego, and Shark champion Jack Jurek (below right) of Lackawanna, N.Y.

Bowling fans around the world will be able to follow all of the action on Xtra Frame, the PBA's exclusive video-streaming service which now features improved video quality and a number of other newly-added features.

A full-year subscription to Xtra Frame is $64.99, a special World Series only package is available for $29.99 and a one-day "trial membership" for $5 will be offered during the World Series only. To sign up, visit www.xtraframe.tv.

In addition to the competition on the lanes, the World Series of Bowling will feature several off-the-lanes activities including demonstrations of Crave Games' new Brunswick Pro Bowling game and a series of new product demonstrations by PBA Registered Product Companies during week two.

Tickets for all rounds of the World Series, including limited seating for the TV shows on Nov. 5-6, are now on sale on pba.com. Tickets also will be available at the door at South Point Bowling Center.

 

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2010 PBA World Series of Bowling Schedule

South Point Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center, Las Vegas, Nev. (All times Pacific)

Sunday, Oct. 24, 2010
7:30 a.m. – Shark, Scorpion and Chameleon practice session
3 p.m. – Viper and Cheetah practice session

Monday, Oct. 25, 2010
Brunswick Pro Bowling Cheetah Championship qualifying
7:30 a.m. – Squad A, first round, 6 games
11 a.m. – Squad B, first round, 6 games
4 p.m. – Squad B, second round, 6 games
7 p.m. – Squad A, second round, 6 games
Top 16 advance to match play on Monday, Nov. 1

Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010
Pepsi Viper Championship qualifying
7:30 a.m. – Squad B, first round, 6 qualifying games
11 a.m. – Squad A, first round, 6 qualifying games
4 p.m. – Squad A, second round, 6 qualifying games
7 p.m. – Squad B, second round, 6 qualifying games
Top 16 advance to match play on Monday, Nov. 1

Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010
Chameleon Championship qualifying
7:30 a.m. – Squad A, first round, 6 qualifying games
11 a.m. – Squad B, first round, 6 qualifying games
4 p.m. – Squad B, second round, 6 qualifying games
7 p.m. – Squad A, second round, 6 qualifying games
Top 16 advance to match play on Tuesday, Nov. 2

Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010
Scorpion Championship qualifying
7:30 a.m. – Squad B, first round, 6 qualifying games
11 a.m. – Squad A, first round, 6 qualifying games
4 p.m. – Squad A, second round, 6 qualifying games
7 p.m. – Squad B, second round, 6 qualifying games
Top 16 advance to match play on Tuesday, Nov. 2

Friday, Oct. 29, 2010
GEICO Shark Championship qualifying
7:30 a.m. – Squad A, first round, 6 qualifying games
11 a.m. – Squad B, first round, 6 qualifying games
4 p.m. – Squad B, second round, 6 qualifying games
7 p.m. – Squad A, second round, 6 qualifying games
Top 16 advance to match play on Wednesday, Nov. 3
Top one-quarter of field after 60 combined games cash in PBA World Championship
Top 8 after 60 combined games advance to PBA World Championship TV finals
Top 6 U.S. and top 6 international bowlers advance to USA vs. the World TV finals

Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010
No competition

Sunday, Oct. 31, 2010
6 p.m. – Practice session for all match play finalists, all five animal patterns

Monday, Nov. 1, 2010
7:30 a.m. – Brunswick Pro Bowling Cheetah round-robin match play, 9 games
Top 5 after 21 games advance to Brunswick Pro Bowling Cheetah TV finals
2 p.m. – Pepsi Viper round-robin match play, 9 games
Top 5 after 21 games advance to Pepsi Viper TV finals

Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010
7:30 a.m. – Chameleon round-robin match play, 9 games
Top 5 after 21 games advance to Chameleon TV finals
2 p.m. – Scorpion round-robin match play, 9 games
Top 5 after 21 games advance to Scorpion TV finals

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010
7:30 a.m. – GEICO Shark round-robin match play, 9 games
Top 5 after 21 games advance to GEICO Shark TV finals

Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010
No competition

Friday, Nov. 5, 2010
9 a.m. – Brunswick Pro Bowling Cheetah Championship (ESPN air date Sunday, Nov. 28, 1 p.m. Eastern)
1 p.m. – Pepsi Viper Championship (ESPN air date Sunday, Dec. 5, 1 p.m. Eastern)
3:30 p.m. - Chameleon Championship (ESPN air date Sunday, Dec. 12, 1 p.m. Eastern)

Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010
11 a.m. – Scorpion Championship (ESPN air date Sunday, Dec. 19, 1 p.m. Eastern)
3 p.m. – GEICO Shark Championship (ESPN air date Sunday, Dec. 26, 1 p.m. Eastern)
5:30 p.m. - USA vs. The World (ESPN air date Sunday, Jan. 9, 1 p.m. Eastern)

Friday, Jan. 14, 2011 (ESPN2)
2 p.m. (5 p.m. Eastern) – PBA World Championship, Stepladder Round One (No. 8 vs. No. 7 qualifiers; winner bowls No. 6 qualifier)

Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011 (ESPN2)
6 p.m. (9 p.m. Eastern) – PBA World Championship, Stepladder Round Two (Friday winner vs. No. 5 qualifier; winner bowls No. 4 qualifier)

Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011 (ESPN2)
10 a.m. (1 p.m. Eastern) – PBA World Championship (Saturday winner vs. No. 3 qualifier; winner bowls No. 2 qualifier; winner bowls No. 1 qualifier for title)

 

History of PBA "Animal Pattern" Championships

Cheetah Championships
2008 – Parker Bohn III (Cheektowaga, N.Y.)
2009 – Norm Duke (Allen Park, Mich.)

Viper Championship
2008 – Brad Angelo (Omaha, Neb.)
2009 – Rhino Page (Allen Park, Mich.)

Chameleon Championship
2008 – Michael Machuga (Taylor, Mich.)
2009 – Bill O'Neill (Allen Park, Mich.)

Scorpion Championship
2008 – Wes Malott (Vernon Hills, Ill.)
2009 – Mike DeVaney (Allen Park, Mich.)

Shark Championship
2008 – Rhino Page (Baltimore)
2009 – Jack Jurek (Allen Park, Mich.)