The Professional Bowlers Association will return to Portland April 9-16 for a third consecutive year of competition that promises to be bigger, better and louder than ever.

Significant changes for 2017 include:

• An expanded Bayside Bowl complex, with eight new lanes and a mezzanine overlooking the new lanes where five ESPN television shows will be contested, meaning there will be room for twice as many enthusiastic, energetic and boisterous Maine bowling fans compared to previous years.
• New corporate partners: world-famous Maine-based retailer L.L. Bean will sponsor the 2017 L.L. Bean PBA League Elias Cup competition, and the Maine Office of Tourism’s MaineQuarterly.com will sponsor the Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship.
• A bigger field of PBA players, thanks to the expansion of Bayside Bowl which allows it to now host the field of 32 teams in the Roth/Holman PBA Doubles Championship.
• In addition to live ESPN coverage of the Roth/Holman Doubles Championship on Sunday, April 16, PBA fans will be able to watch all rounds of the PBA League finals in real time via live streaming on the ESPN3/WatchESPN apps.
• A new Xtra Frame “King of Bowling” Pay Per View event: the match will pit Wes Malott, who won the last King of Bowling match contested in 2009, against 2016 PBA Player of the Year EJ Tackett and three-time Player of the Year Jason Belmonte.

“Our goal is to make this event bigger and better every year,” said Justin Alfond, co-owner of Bayside Bowl.

“With L.L. Bean as the title sponsor of the PBA League Elias Cup, our partnership with the Maine Office of Tourism, we have great partners to showcase the best of Maine, and we’re planning to add something new every year to build on the excitement.”

“We can’t wait for the PBA to come back,” said Charlie Mitchell, Bayside Bowl’s managing partner. “We’re welcoming the world’s best bowlers, and we already have the most passionate fans in the sport along with incredible sponsors who realize what a big deal this event is for our state.”

Maine may rank as one of the nation’s smallest states in terms of bowling population, but those who love the sport more than make up for their modest population with a level of enthusiasm that towers over even the most populous of bowling states.

“The electric atmosphere and enthusiasm at Bayside Bowl breathed new life into the PBA League and has made it the event most looked-forward to of the year for our players,” said PBA CEO and Commissioner Tom Clark. “Moving into the new building will take things to an even higher level of intensity and excitement.

“Bayside Bowl fans are redefining the fans’ role in the PBA. They are a huge part of our commitment to keep coming back to Portland, this year and for the foreseeable future.”

The combined “Maine event” will take place from April 9-16, beginning with qualifying rounds for the MaineQuarterly.com Roth/Holman Doubles Championship leading into the live stepladder finals on ESPN on April 16 at 1 p.m. ET.

The doubles field includes defending champions Anthony Simonsen and Connor Pickford (left, r-l); 2014 and ’15 champs Wes Malott and Norm Duke (right, r-l); PBA Hall of Famers, a slew of PBA Tour title winners, several of the PBA’s most talented future stars, international champions, the all-female team of Liz Johnson and Danielle McEwan and more.

PBA fans will be able to watch the preliminary doubles competition on Xtra Frame, PBA’s subscription-based live streaming bowling channel, April 10, 11 and 12, or track real time releases on pba.com’s Live Scoring feature. For subscription information and broadcast times, click here

Bayside Bowl also will host a new Xtra Frame Pay-Per-View event, called the “King of Bowling,” that will be an invitational contest between Wes Malott, who won the last King of Bowling made-for-television special event held in 2009, vs. Tackett (left) and Belmonte (right).

The two more recent PBA Players of the Year and the winners of the last four PBA major championships and Malott will bowl a simultaneous three-game match with the winner advancing in a new series of XF pay-per-view events.

Coverage of the special event, available exclusively on Xtra Frame for a one-time fee of $2.99 (also applies to current XF subscribers), will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 13.

The L.L. Bean PBA League competition begins with a qualifying round for all teams on April 13 to determine seeding positions for the ESPN-televised Baker format elimination rounds.

The April 13 qualifying round will be streamed live on Xtra Frame. The Elias Cup competition will be contested on April 15 and 16, and will air on ESPN on four consecutive Sundays at 1 p.m. ET following the doubles telecast: April 23 and 30, and May 7 and May 14.

While the PBA League finals are being taped for delayed telecast on ESPN, the shows will be live streamed on the ESPN3/ WatchESPN app. All ESPN telecasts also will simultaneously streamed on ESPN3/ WatchESPN app on the days they air.

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PBA Doubles Championship, PBA League Elias Cup Schedule

Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine, United States (April 9-16, 2017)

Sunday, April 9, 2017
Noon and 3 p.m. – Roth/Holman Doubles practice sessions
6 p.m. – Full Plates, Full Potential Strike Out Child Hunger pro-am

Monday, April 10
10 a.m. – Roth/Holman Doubles A Squad, 6 individual (12 team) qualifying games
4 p.m. – Roth/Holman Doubles B Squad, 6 individual (12 team) qualifying games

Tuesday, April 11
10 a.m. – Roth/Holman Doubles A Squad, 6 individual (12 team) qualifying games
4 p.m. – Roth/Holman Doubles B Squad, 6 individual (12 team) qualifying games
Top 8 teams based on combined 24-game team totals advance

Wednesday, April 12
10 a.m. – Top 8 teams, 8 Baker format (alternate frame) games
3 p.m. – Top 8 teams, 8 Baker format (alternate frame) games
Top 4 teams after 24 team and 16 Baker format games advance to live ESPN stepladder finals on Sunday, April 16, at 1 p.m.
7 p.m. – Xtra Frame “King of Bowling” pay-per-view match

Thursday, April 13
L.L. Bean PBA League Qualifying
Noon – 8 games Baker format qualifying (to determine seeding positions for television)
7 p.m. – Bayside Bowl pro-am

Friday, April 14
Day off

Saturday, April 15
9 a.m. – L.L. Bean/Shipyard Brewing Tailgate Party
Noon – L.L. Bean PBA League Quarterfinals 1 & 2 (to air on ESPN on Sunday, April 23 at 1 p.m. ET)
Team #1 vs. Team #8; Team #5 vs. Team #4
3:30 p.m. – L.L. Bean PBA League Quarterfinals 3 & 4 (to air on ESPN on Sunday, April 30 at 1 p.m. ET)
Team #2 vs. Team #7; Team #6 versus Team #3
7 p.m. – L.L Bean Music Show

Sunday, April 16
1 p.m. – MaineQuarterly.com Roth/Holman Doubles stepladder finals, live on ESPN
4:30 p.m. – L.L. Bean PBA League Semifinals #1 and #2 (to air on ESPN on Sunday, May 7 at 1 p.m. ET)
7:30 p.m. – L.L. Bean PBA League Elias Cup finals (to air on ESPN on Sunday, May 14 at 1 p.m. ET)

Roth/Holman PBA Doubles Championship Roster

w-denotes woman; n-denotes non-member

1, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C./Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio
2, DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas/Shawn Maldonado, Houston
3, Dom Barrett, England/Osku Palermaa, Finland
4, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz./Andres Gomez, Colombia
5, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J./Jason Sterner, Rockledge, Fla
6, Andrew Cain, Phoenix/Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz
7, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla./Craig Nidiffer, Trenton, Mich
8, John Furey, Freehold, N.J./Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa
9, w-Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y./w-Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y
10, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C./Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas
11, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas/Sam Cooley, Australia
12, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas/Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla
13, BJ Moore III, Greensburg, Pa./Matt O’Grady, Rahway, N.J
14, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa./Jason Belmonte, Australia
15, Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J./AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill
16, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla./Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore
17, Stephen Pavlinko, Sewell, N.J./Alex Cavagnaro, Massapequa, N.Y
18, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill./Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y
19, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind./Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio
20, Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas/Connor Pickford, Plano, Texas
21, Brett Spangler, Niles, Ohio/Graham Fach, Canada
22, Jesper Svensson, Sweden/Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C
23, John Szczerbinski, N. Tonawanda, N.Y./Francois Lavoie, Canada
24, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind./Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash
25, Jon Van Hees, Charlestown, R.I./Matt McNiel, Minneapolis, Minn
26, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo./Tim Mack, Indianapolis
27, Stuart Williams, England/Martin Larsen, Sweden
28, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla./Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich
29, Dave Wodka, Beavercreek, Ohio/Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla
30, Dwight Adams, Greensboro, N.C./Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C
31, Joseph Ramsdall III, Skowhegan, Maine/w-n-Sarah Pelletier, Lewiston, Maine
32, Bayside Bowl invitational team to be announced

2017 L.L. Bean PBA League Rosters

• Shipyard Dallas Strikers (player-manager Norm Duke): Norm Duke, Tommy Jones, Bill O’Neill, Rhino Page, B.J. Moore.
• GEICO NYC WTT KingPins (manager Carolyn Dorin-Ballard): Pete Weber, Marshall Kent, John Szczerbinski, Danielle McEwan, Sam Cooley.
• Barbasol Motown Muscle (manager Del Ballard Jr.): E.J. Tackett, Anthony Simonsen, Josh Blanchard, Francois Lavoie, Dick Allen.
• L.L. Bean Portland Lumberjacks (manager Tim Mack): Wes Malott, Ryan Ciminelli, Liz Johnson, Kyle Troup, Bryon Smith.
• Live + Work in Maine Silver Lake Atom Splitters (manager Mark Baker): Chris Barnes, Tom Daugherty, Jesper Svensson, Shawn Maldonado, D.J. Archer.
• MaineQuarterly.com Brooklyn Styles (manager Johnny Petraglia): Sean Rash, Parker Bohn III, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Jason Sterner, Jon Van Hees.
• Lee Auto Malls L.A. X (manager Andrew Cain): Jason Belmonte, Stuart Williams, Martin Larsen, Osku Palermaa, Jakob Butturff.
• Sysco Philadelphia Hitmen (manager Jason Couch): Dom Barrett; Tom Smallwood; Chris Loschetter, Ronnie Russell, Dave Wodka.