Wes Malott to defend throne as PBA revives “King of Bowling”

08 April, 2017

Special Events

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After an eight-year hiatus, the Professional Bowlers Association is reviving its made-for-television King of Bowling special event as part of a new Xtra Frame Pay Per View series, with reigning “king” Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, defending his throne during the PBA’s return to Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine, next week.

The first event in the made-for-Xtra Frame series, which will be available for $2.99 per event, will pit Malott against two of the PBA’s hottest players, 2016 PBA Player of the Year EJ Tackett of Huntington, Ind., and Australia’s Jason Belmonte, who won Player of the Year honors the previous three years, in a three-game total pinfall winner-take-all match.

Coverage of the match on Wednesday, April 12, will begin with a pre-game show at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Proceeds from each special pay-per-view event will determine the prize money paid to the King of Bowling winner. The one-time $2.99 special event fee will apply to all viewers, including current Xtra Frame subscribers. To sign up for any of the special online video streaming events, click here.

The King of Bowling series will continue throughout the season with the winner defending his crown in an upcoming PBA Xtra Frame King of Bowling Pay Per View event to be announced. Details will be announced later.

To recap Malott’s dominant reign in the 2009 series held at the Kegel Training Center in Lake Wales, Fla., the then 32-year-old “Sir Strikes-a-lot” defended his King of Bowling crown five consecutive weeks and became the first bowler in PBA history to bowl two nationally-televised 300 games in defeating Parker Bohn III of Jackson, N.J., 300-223, in the KOB finale.

During his run, Malott defeated Chris Barnes, 268-214; Patrick Allen, 258-234; Walter Ray Williams Jr., 300-238, and Rhino Page, 257-233, before closing with his perfect victory over Parker Bohn III in the made-for-ESPN2 series.

For perspective, Tackett (left; the winner of the 2016 PBA World Champion and 2017 FireLake PBA Tournament of Champions) was 16 years old when Malott won his last King of Bowling match. Belmonte (right; the winner of the 2017 Barbasol PBA Players Championship and USBC Masters) had just won his first PBA title in West Babylon, N.Y., on his way to winning 2008-09 PBA Rookie of the Year honors.

While the King of Bowling didn’t count for any titles, Malott went on to win three PBA Tour titles and PBA Player of the Year honors for the 2008-09 season.

2017 PBA Tour XTRA Frame Schedule

May 26-29 – PBA XF Wilmington Open, Ten Pin Alley, Wilmington, N.C.
June 2-4 – PBA XF Jonesboro Open, Jonesboro Bowling Center, Jonesboro, Ark.
June 9-11 – PBA XF Lubbock Sports Open, South Plains Lanes, Lubbock, Texas.
June 23-25 – PBA XF Billy Hardwick Memorial Open, Billy Hardwick’s All Star Lanes, Memphis, Tenn.
July 27-30 – PBA-PWBA XF Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles, Copperfield Bowl, Houston
Aug. 11-13 – PBA XF Chesapeake Open, AMF Western Branch, Chesapeake, Va.
Aug. 18-10 – PBA XF Gene Carter’s Pro Shop Classic, Mid-County Bowling & Entertainment, Middletown, Del.
Aug. 25-27 – PBA XF Lefeld Implement Central Classic, Pla-Mor Lanes, Coldwater, Mich.

Herbert Bickel