Chris Barnes bids for Triple Crown in Sunday’s PBA World Championship finals
01/16/11
Chris Barnes (pictured left) of Double Oak, Texas, kept his bid to complete the Professional Bowlers Association Triple Crown alive Saturday night when he defeated Michael Haugen Jr. (right) of Carefree, Ariz., 243-172, to advance to Sunday’s finals in the PBA World Championship at South Point Bowling Center.
In eliminating Haugen, Barnes also avenged his 215-214 loss to Haugen in the 2008 PBA Tournament of Champions title match.
“My focus wasn’t revenge. My focus was on getting a lead and building on it. I can’t remember the last time I was up by 20 pins early in a match,” Barnes said. “Part of my mood tonight was a matter of choice; you can get wrapped up in what you’re doing, super-focused, or you can relax and enjoy what you’re doing. Tonight I decided to just enjoy what I was doing and whatever happened, happened. I may not always look like I’m having fun, but I was tonight.”
Barnes, a 12-time Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour titlist, will meet No. 3 qualifier Osku Palermaa, Europe’s leading two-handed player, in Sunday’s first championship round match. The winner of that match will bowl against No. 2 Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill., for the right to meet leading qualifier Bill O’Neill of Southampton, Pa., for the $50,000 first prize and the first major championship of the 2010-11 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season.
“I don’t expect the lanes to play the same way tomorrow because we’ve got guys with high rev rates and they’ll break down the lane condition differently than we played on tonight,” Barnes said. “If the scoring pace comes down and it becomes a shot-makers match, that’s fine with me. We’ll see who can make the best shots.”
The World Championship will air live on ESPN Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern. The finals are being contested on the PBA’s Viper lane condition, selected by O’Neill as the tournament’s top qualifier over 60 games bowled during the PBA World Series of Bowling earlier in the season at South Point.
Barnes, who won the 2005 U.S. Open and 2006 PBA Tournament of Champions, must win three matches Sunday to become the sixth player to complete the PBA Triple Crown. Barnes qualified in fourth position for the World Championship stepladder finals.
In Saturday’s first elimination match, Haugen (right) nipped No. 5 qualifier Mika Koivuniemi (pictured left) of Hartland, Mich., 233-232, when Koivuniemi left a 10 pin on his final ball in the 10th frame after converting a seven-count spare on his first shot in the final frame.
“I just made a bad shot,” Koivuniemi said. “It was my mistake and I have to live with it. I thought the fill ball was a good shot. If it carried, we would have tied. But if I hadn’t made such a bad shot on the first one in the 10th, I wouldn’t have had to worry about the second one.”
In Friday’s first two matches in the three-day, eight-player stepladder finale, Australia’s Jason Belmonte, the No. 8 qualifier, defeated No. 7 Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, 222-186, and No. 6 Michael Haugen Jr. of Carefree, Ariz., then eliminated Belmonte, 233-220, to advance to Saturday’s elimination round.
South Point Bowling Center, Las Vegas, Nev., Jan 14, 2011
Friday - Stepladder Round One
Match 1: No. 8 Jason Belmonte, Australia, def. No. 7 Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas ($8,000), 222-186
Match 2: No. 6 Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., def. Belmonte ($9,000), 233-220
Saturday - Stepladder Round Two
Match 3: Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., def. No. 5 Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich. ($10,000), 233-232
Match 4: No. 4 Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, def. Haugen ($11,000), 243-172
Sunday, 1 p.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Pacific live on ESPN
Match 5: No. 3 Osku Palermaa, Finland, vs. Barnes (loser earns $12,000)
Semifinal Match: No. 2 Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., vs. winner of Match 5 (loser earns $14,000)
Championship Match: No. 1 Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., vs. winner of Semifinal Match
(winner earns $50,000, loser earns $25,000)
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2010-11 PBA Tour #6
$50,000 first prize, major title on the line in Sunday’s ESPN finals
Chris Barnes (pictured left) of Double Oak, Texas, kept his bid to complete the Professional Bowlers Association Triple Crown alive Saturday night when he defeated Michael Haugen Jr. (right) of Carefree, Ariz., 243-172, to advance to Sunday’s finals in the PBA World Championship at South Point Bowling Center. In eliminating Haugen, Barnes also avenged his 215-214 loss to Haugen in the 2008 PBA Tournament of Champions title match.
“My focus wasn’t revenge. My focus was on getting a lead and building on it. I can’t remember the last time I was up by 20 pins early in a match,” Barnes said. “Part of my mood tonight was a matter of choice; you can get wrapped up in what you’re doing, super-focused, or you can relax and enjoy what you’re doing. Tonight I decided to just enjoy what I was doing and whatever happened, happened. I may not always look like I’m having fun, but I was tonight.”
Barnes, a 12-time Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour titlist, will meet No. 3 qualifier Osku Palermaa, Europe’s leading two-handed player, in Sunday’s first championship round match. The winner of that match will bowl against No. 2 Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill., for the right to meet leading qualifier Bill O’Neill of Southampton, Pa., for the $50,000 first prize and the first major championship of the 2010-11 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season.
“I don’t expect the lanes to play the same way tomorrow because we’ve got guys with high rev rates and they’ll break down the lane condition differently than we played on tonight,” Barnes said. “If the scoring pace comes down and it becomes a shot-makers match, that’s fine with me. We’ll see who can make the best shots.”
The World Championship will air live on ESPN Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern. The finals are being contested on the PBA’s Viper lane condition, selected by O’Neill as the tournament’s top qualifier over 60 games bowled during the PBA World Series of Bowling earlier in the season at South Point.
Barnes, who won the 2005 U.S. Open and 2006 PBA Tournament of Champions, must win three matches Sunday to become the sixth player to complete the PBA Triple Crown. Barnes qualified in fourth position for the World Championship stepladder finals.
In Saturday’s first elimination match, Haugen (right) nipped No. 5 qualifier Mika Koivuniemi (pictured left) of Hartland, Mich., 233-232, when Koivuniemi left a 10 pin on his final ball in the 10th frame after converting a seven-count spare on his first shot in the final frame. “I just made a bad shot,” Koivuniemi said. “It was my mistake and I have to live with it. I thought the fill ball was a good shot. If it carried, we would have tied. But if I hadn’t made such a bad shot on the first one in the 10th, I wouldn’t have had to worry about the second one.”
In Friday’s first two matches in the three-day, eight-player stepladder finale, Australia’s Jason Belmonte, the No. 8 qualifier, defeated No. 7 Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, 222-186, and No. 6 Michael Haugen Jr. of Carefree, Ariz., then eliminated Belmonte, 233-220, to advance to Saturday’s elimination round.
PBA World Championship - First Round Results
South Point Bowling Center, Las Vegas, Nev., Jan 14, 2011
Friday - Stepladder Round One
Match 1: No. 8 Jason Belmonte, Australia, def. No. 7 Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas ($8,000), 222-186
Match 2: No. 6 Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., def. Belmonte ($9,000), 233-220
Saturday - Stepladder Round Two
Match 3: Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., def. No. 5 Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich. ($10,000), 233-232
Match 4: No. 4 Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, def. Haugen ($11,000), 243-172
Sunday, 1 p.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Pacific live on ESPN
Match 5: No. 3 Osku Palermaa, Finland, vs. Barnes (loser earns $12,000)
Semifinal Match: No. 2 Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., vs. winner of Match 5 (loser earns $14,000)
Championship Match: No. 1 Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., vs. winner of Semifinal Match
(winner earns $50,000, loser earns $25,000)
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