Japan’s Shota Kawazoe earns top berth for DHC PBA Japan Invitational finals

14 January, 2017

PBA National Tour

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Shota Kawazoe, a 28-year-old Japan Professional Bowlers Association veteran, maintained his blistering 247 scoring average while winning 24 of his 32 matches to claim the top berth in the DHC PBA Japan Invitational stepladder finals Friday at Bentencho Grandbowl in Osaka.

Kawazoe (pictured above) finished fifth in the 2016 DHC event for his best finish in PBA competition. He will bowl for the $40,000 first prize and a PBA Tour title against the survivor of three preliminary matches involving American PBA Tour champions Jason Sterner (right) of Cocoa, Fla.; Sean Rash (left) of Montgomery, Ill.; Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, and E.J. Tackett of Huntington, Ind.

The PBA will provide live streaming coverage of the DHC finals on Xtra Frame starting at roughly 10:20 p.m. EST (9:20 p.m. CST, 7:20 p.m. PST) on Friday.

Kawazoe has dominated the PBA Tour’s first tournament of 2017, winning the top berth in the stepladder finals by 401 pins over Sterner. Rash and Barnes (right) – the 2015 DHC PBA Japan Invitational winner – made big moves in the final round to claim the third and fourth spots in the finals.

Barnes will meet Tackett (left), who rolled his third 300 game of the tournament Friday to claim the fifth spot in the finals by 10 pins over Sweden’s Jesper Svensson.

For fans who prefer a more convenient time to watch, each XF segment from Japan will be available on demand in Xtra Frame’s “What’s New” section within approximately an hour of the live stream, and in the XF archives shortly thereafter.

For more information, click here.

Japan’s Shota Kawazoe leads DHC PBA Japan Invitational
2017 PBA Tour Schedule

DHC PBA Japan Invitational – Final Match Play Standings

Players with position, hometown/country and 32-game total, including match play bonus pins. Top five advance to stepladder finals. w-denotes woman

1, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 24-8, 8,642
2, Jason Sterner, Cocoa, Fla., 22-10, 8,241, $100
3, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 22-10, 8,234
4, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 18-12-2, 8,155
5, E.J. Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 17-14-1, 8,138, $300

Missed Cut:
6, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 20-11-1, 8,128, $5,220
7, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 16-16, 8,085, $4,885
8, Dom Barrett, England, 17-14-1, 8,021, $4,350
9, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 21-11, 8,012, $3,915
10, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 19-12-1, 7,979, $3,655
11, Tom Daugherty, Tampa, Fla., 14-15-3, 7,954, $3,305
12, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 18-14, 7,890, $3,130
13, Takahiro Sato, Japan, 20-11-1, 7,865, $2,960
14, w-Hiromi Matsunaga, Japan, 17-15, 7,845, $2,785
15, Choi Won Young, Korea, 18-13-1, 7,833, $2,710
16, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 15-17, 7,800, $2,435
17, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 16-14-2, 7,780, $2,390
18, Makoto Endo, Japan, 16-15-1, 7,776, $2,350
19, Kristopher Prather, Milton, Fla., 19-12-1, 7,751, $2,305
20, Isao Yamamoto, Japan, 15-17, 7,746, $2,260
21, Masaki Noda, Japan, 16-15-1, 7,642, $2,220
22, w-Urara Himeji, Japan, 17-14-1, 7,552, $2,175
23, Shuichi Heki, Japan, 12-19-1, 7,505, $2,130
24, w-Hiroko Shimizu, Japan, 14-18, 7,458, $2,090
25, Yuki Mizumoto, Japan, 12-18-2, 7,448, $2,045
26, w-Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 12-20, 7,429, $2,000
27, w-Yuki Akiyoshi, Japan, 12-20, 7,387, $1,960
28, Ryogo Tsurumi, Japan, 14-18, 7,257, $1,915
29, w-Mari Kimura, Japan, 12-20, 7,223, $1,870
30, Masato Sakakibara, Japan, 8-24, 6,933, $1,830
31, w-Manae Kameshima, Japan, 5-27, 6,459, $1,785
32, Junichi Uesaka, Japan, 4-28, 6,333, $1,740