Japan’s Shota Kawazoe leads DHC PBA Japan Invitational

13 January, 2017

PBA National Tour

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Shota Kawazoe, a 28-year-old Japan Professional Bowlers Association veteran, averaged 247 while winning 12 of his first 16 matches, to take a 58-pin lead over 2016 PBA World Champion E.J. Tackett (r.) of Huntington, Ind., after two rounds of the DHC PBA Japan Invitational Thursday at Bentencho Grandbowl in Osaka.

Kawazoe (pictured above), a multiple JPBA Player of the Year who is bowling in his 17th PBA Tour event, finished fifth in the 2016 DHC event for his highest finish in PBA competition.

He completed the second round of the 32-game round robin match play preliminaries with 4,316 pins, including match play bonus pins, to take the lead over Tackett, who rolled a pair of 300 games on his way to an 11-5 match play record and 4,258 total pins.

Heading into Friday’s final two eight-game match play rounds, Jason Sterner (left) of Cocoa, Fla., was in third place with 4,241 pins followed by Tommy Jones (right) of Simpsonville, S.C., at 4,175 and Korean PBA member Choi Won Young with 4,100 pins.

The top five players after Friday’s final two rounds will advance to Saturday’s stepladder finals to compete for the $40,000 first prize.

The PBA is providing live coverage of the DHC PBA Japan Invitational on its video streaming service, Xtra Frame. Match play rounds three and four will air at 9 p.m. EST on Thursday and 2 a.m. Friday; followed by the five-player stepladder finals at 10:20 p.m. Friday.

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.

2017 PBA Tour Schedule

DHC PBA Japan Invitational – Second Round Standings

Players with position, hometown/country and 16-game total, including match play bonus pins. Top five after 32 games advance to stepladder finals. w-denotes woman

1, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 12-4, 4,316
2, E.J. Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 11-5, 4,258
3, Jason Sterner, Cocoa, Fla., 12-4, 4,241
4, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 11-5, 4,175
5, Choi Won Young, Korea, 9-6-1, 4,100
6, Takahiro Sato, Japan, 13-3, 4,008
7, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 9-7, 3,984
8, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 9-7, 3,981
9, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 9-6-1, 3,975
10, Dom Barrett, England, 9-7, 3,971
11, Yuki Mizumoto, Japan, 9-6-1, 3,968
12, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 8-8, 3,957
13, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 8-8, 3,942
14, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 8-8, 3,939
15, Tom Daugherty, Tampa, Fla., 7-9, 3,938
16, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 7-8-1, 3,911
17, Kristopher Prather, Milton, Fla., 9-6-1, 3,909
18, Makoto Endo, Japan, 10-6, 3,907
19, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 9-7, 3,854
20, w-Hiromi Matsunaga, Japan, 8-8, 3,840
21, w-Urara Himeji, Japan, 8-8, 3,787
22, w-Hiroko Shimizu, Japan, 7-9, 3,779
23, Masaki Noda, Japan, 6-9-1, 3,775
24, Shuichi Heki, Japan, 6-10, 3,765
25, Ryogo Tsurumi, Japan, 8-8, 3,750
26, w-Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 6-10, 3,710
27, Isao Yamamoto, Japan, 4-12, 3,540
28, Masato Sakakibara, Japan, 5-11, 3,537
29, w-Mari Kimura, Japan, 6-10, 3,534
30, w-Yuki Akiyoshi, Japan, 4-12, 3,455
31, w-Manae Kameshima, Japan, 5-11, 3,407
32, Junichi Uesaka, Japan, 1-15, 3,073