The 2022 PBA Tour season, the 63rd season of play for the U.S. Professional Bowlers Association's ten-pin bowling tour, begins on January 15 with the Regional Portions of the PBA Players Championship. The season included 16 title events (14 singles, two doubles), three special non-title events, and the PBA League team event.[1]
| 2022 PBA Tour season | |
|---|---|
| League | Professional Bowlers Association |
| Sport | Ten-pin bowling |
| Duration | January 15 – July 31 |
| PBA Tour | |
| Season MVP | Jason Belmonte |
On January 5, 2022, the PBA announced that CEO Colie Edison resigned, having accepted the position of Chief Growth Officer for the WNBA. A successor to Edison has yet to be named.[2]
Season overview
editThe PBA opened the 2022 season, as it did in 2021, with the expanded PBA Players Championship. Five Regional events (East, South, Midwest, Southwest and West) were hosted first, with each Region holding a televised stepladder final round on FS1. The five Regional winners then competed in the tournament finals held in Euless, Texas on January 29.[1]
The Tour's other four major championships (U.S. Open, Tournament of Champions, PBA World Championship and USBC Masters) are all contested within the first 13 events of the season. The PBA League team competition returns in July, after a one-year hiatus. All five majors and the PBA Tour Playoffs offer a $100,000 top prize, marking the first time in PBA history that six events have paid out a six-figure first place check.[1]
The season currently has 36 broadcasts scheduled, including 25 on FS1, four on Fox, two on CBS Sports Network and five on the FloBowling web channel. Fox is scheduled to broadcast the stepladder finals of three major tournaments (Tournament of Champions, PBA World Championship and USBC Masters), plus the final round of the PBA Tour Playoffs.[1]
On November 17, 2021, the PBA announced that Pabst Blue Ribbon will be a title sponsor as “official beer” for the 2022 PBA Tour. During the season (except for the Collegiate Invitational where regulations on alcohol advertising are in effect as many players are under 21 years of age and for amateurism regulations, as men's bowling is governed by the USBC, not the NCAA), Fox Sports broadcasts will feature a “PBR 6-Pack Alert” whenever a bowler achieves five strikes in a row. If the bowler gets the sixth consecutive strike following the alert, he will win a $1,000 bonus. If the sixth strike is not achieved, $500 is added to the jackpot for when the next 6-Pack Alert comes around, and Pabst will continue adding $500 each time the alert appears and the sixth strike is not achieved.[3]
Storm Bowling sponsors four events in the 2022 season that make up the Storm Cup series: David Small's Best of the Best Championship (Feb. 7–9), David Small's PBA Kokomo Championship (Feb. 14–16), Lubbock Sports Open (Mar. 18–20) and Colorado Springs Open (Mar. 22–24). Each event awards a PBA title, $20,000 top prize, and Tier 3 Tour points. The top five players in points over the four events will share in a $25,000 bonus pool, with $10,000 going to the player (Jason Belmonte) with the most points. All four events are live-streamed exclusively on the FloBowling Web channel.[4]
The PBA League returns July 6–10 after a one-year hiatus, and features ten teams. In a change from previous events, each player on a team bowls a full game in the division qualifying round. Teams are seeded for the division stepladder based on total team scores, and the six highest-scoring bowlers from each division are awarded spots in the Strike Derby, which takes place in the same location. The division stepladders and Elias Cup Finals will still use the traditional Baker game format.[5]
Season awards
editEnd-of-season awards announced on November 2–4, 2022:[6]
- Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year: Jason Belmonte
- Harry Smith PBA Points Leader Award: Jason Belmonte
- Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year: Santtu Tahvanainen
- George Young High Average Award: E. J. Tackett
- PBA Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award: Jake Peters
- PBA Tony Reyes Community Service Award: Ryan Shafer
Tournament summary
editThe events for the 2022 PBA tournament schedule are shown below. Major tournaments are in bold. Career PBA title numbers for winners are shown in parentheses (#). Winner's share prize money is shown in US dollars ($), except where indicated.
Tour points are awarded for most events. Besides the season-ending Harry Smith PBA Points Winner award, points are one consideration for Player of the Year voting, and also affect eligibility for the PBA Tour Playoffs, PBA Tour Finals (combined with 2021 points), and the 2023 DHC PBA Japan Invitational. Points for tournaments are awarded differently based on a "tier" system. The tier of each qualifying tournament is shown in the Notes column on the tournament schedule, and is explained below.
- Tier 3: PBA short format or limited field tournaments (2500 points for first, and descending thereafter)
- Tier 2: PBA standard tournaments with a fully open field (double the points of Tier 3 events)
- Tier 1: PBA major tournaments (triple the points of Tier 3 events)
| Event | Airdate | City | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Oil pattern | Winner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBA Players Championship | East Region Finals: Jan 22 FS1 South Region Finals: Jan 22 FS1 Midwest Region Finals: Jan 23 FS1 Southwest Region Finals: Jan 23 FS1 West Region Finals: Jan 24 FS1 Championship Finals: Jan 29 FS1 |
Euless, TX | Jan 14–16 (all regions) | Live | Qualifying: Chameleon 39, Don Johnson 40, Dragon 45 Regional & Championship Finals: Dragon 45 (left lane), Chameleon 39 (right lane) |
Open PBA members-only event (Tier 1). PBA major. Five Regional winners compete on January 29 for a $100,000 top prize. | |
| U.S. Open | Feb 6 FS1 | Indianapolis, IN | Feb 1–5 (PTQ: Jan 30) |
Live | 4 custom patterns, ranging 37 to 45 feet | Open event (Tier 1). PBA major. $100,000 top prize. | |
| Storm Cup: PBA David Small's Best of the Best Championship | Feb 9 FloBowling | Jackson, MI | Feb 8–9 (PTQ: Feb 7) | Live | Viper 36 | Open event (Tier 3-short format). $20,000 top prize. | |
| Storm Cup: PBA David Small's Kokomo Championship | Feb 16 FloBowling | Kokomo, IN | Feb 14–15 | Live | Bear 41 | Open event (Tier 3-short format). $20,000 top prize. | |
| PBA Tournament of Champions | Feb 27 Fox | Fairlawn, OH | Feb 23–26 (PTQ: Feb 21) | Live | Don Johnson 40 | Invitational event (Tier 1). PBA major. $100,000 top prize. | |
| PBA WSOB XIII Roth-Holman Doubles Championship | Mar 6 FS1 | Wauwatosa, WI | Mar 4–5 (PTQ: Mar 3) | Live | Mark Roth 42 & Marshall Holman 38 (PTQ: Bear 41) |
Open event-limited field (Tier 3). $25,000 top prize. | |
| PBA World Championship | Mar 13 Fox | Wauwatosa, WI | Mar 7–11 | Live | Qualifying: Cheetah 35, Scorpion 42, Shark 48 Cashers round thru finals: Earl Anthony 43 |
Open event for WSOB entrants (Tier 1). PBA major. $100,000 top prize. | |
| PBA WSOB XIII Cheetah Championship | Mar 14 FS1 | Wauwatosa, WI | Mar 7, 14 | Live | Cheetah 35 | Open event (Tier 3-short format). $20,000 top prize. | |
| PBA WSOB XIII Scorpion Championship | Mar 15 FS1 | Wauwatosa, WI | Mar 8, 15 | Live | Scorpion 42 | Open event (Tier 3-short format). $20,000 top prize. | |
| PBA WSOB XIII Shark Championship | Mar 16 FS1 | Wauwatosa, WI | Mar 9, 16 | Live | Shark 48 | Open event (Tier 3-short format). $20,000 top prize. | |
| PBA WSOB XIII Collegiate Invitational | Mar 20 FS1 | Wauwatosa, WI | Mar 17 | Mar 17 | Carmen Salvino 44 | Special event featuring top four college bowling teams (by USBC ranking), presented by the PBA. | |
| Storm Cup: Lubbock Sports Open | Mar 20 FloBowling | Lubbock, TX | Mar 18–19 | Live | Carmen Salvino 44 | Open event (Tier 3-short format). $20,000 top prize. | |
| Storm Cup: Colorado Springs Open | Mar 24 FloBowling | Colorado Springs, CO | Mar 22–23 | Live | Wayne Webb 38 | Open event (Tier 3-short format). $20,000 top prize. | |
| USBC Masters | Apr 3 Fox | Las Vegas, NV | Mar 29–Apr 2 | Live | USBC custom (40 ft.) | Open event (Tier 1). PBA major. $100,000 top prize. | |
| Kia PBA Playoffs | Round of 16 (1 & 2): Apr 10 FS1 Round of 16 (3 & 4): Apr 16 & 17 FS1 Quarterfinals 1: Apr 24 FS1 Quarterfinals 2: May 1 FS1 Semifinals: May 8 Fox Finals: May 15 Fox |
Lake Wales, FL & Jupiter, FL | Apr 10–12, May 8 | Live | Don Carter 39 | Invitational event. Starting field includes top 16 players in 2022 season points through the USBC Masters. $100,000 top prize. | |
| PBA Tour Finals | Seeding Rounds: Jun 4 CBS Sports Group Stepladders & Finals: Jun 5 CBS Sports |
Arlington, WA | Live | Live | Marshall Holman 38 & Johnny Petraglia 46 | Invitational event. Starting field includes Top 8 players in Tour points since start of 2021 season. $30,000 top prize. | |
| PBA King of the Lanes: Royal Family Edition | Jun 6–8 FS1 | Jupiter, FL | Taped | Taped | Carmen Salvino 44 | Carolyn Dorin-Ballard & Alyssa Ballard | Non-title event. Current and former PBA champions pair with their children. Initial Kings: Guppy and Kyle Troup. |
| PBA King of the Lanes | Jun 9–10 FS1 | Jupiter, FL | Taped | Taped | Carmen Salvino 44 | Non-title event. Norm Duke and PBA Regional Players Invitational champ Carlos Granados compete to take on reigning King Jason Sterner. King match winner then faces winner of a match between PBA Playoffs finalists (Kyle Troup and Tommy Jones). | |
| PBA League | Anthony Division Finals: Jul 6 FS1 Carter Division Finals: Jul 7 FS1 Elias Cup Finals: Jul 10 FS1 |
Portland, ME | Seeding rounds: Jul 6 & 7 (not aired) | Live | Mark Roth 42 | Portland Lumberjacks Kyle Troup (MVP), Wes Malott, Kris Prather, Packy Hanrahan, Arturo Quintero, Mgr. Tim Mack | Non-title team event. 10 team starting field. $75,000 top prize (team). |
| PBA League Strike Derby | Jul 16 FS1 | Portland, ME | N/A | Live | Mark Roth 42 | Non-title event. Top 6 players per Division from PBA League seeding round. $25,000 top prize. | |
| PBA League All-Star Clash | Jul 17 FS1 | Portland, ME | N/A | Jul 16 | Mark Roth 42 | Non-title event. Top scoring player from each PBA League team during seeding round. $15,000 top prize to player, plus $3,000 each to player's teammates and manager. | |
| PBA-PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles (a.k.a. The Luci) | Jul 31 Bowl TV | Houston, TX | Jul 28–30 | Live | Custom Kegel design | Open PBA and PWBA title event. Tier 3-limited field. $20,000 top prize. |
References
edit- ^ a b c d Laufer, J. (October 21, 2021). "PROFESSIONAL BOWLERS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES 2022 GUARANTEED RATE PBA TOUR SCHEDULE". pba.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ Laufer, Jill (January 5, 2022). "STATEMENT FROM PBA ON RESIGNATION OF CEO COLIE EDISON". PBA.com. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ^ Laufer, J. (November 17, 2021). "PABST BLUE RIBBON ANNOUNCED AS OFFICIAL BEER OF THE PBA TOUR". pba.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ Goodger, Jef (February 8, 2022). "THE STORM CUP: DAVID SMALL'S BEST OF THE BEST CHAMPIONSHIP BEGINS TODAY". pba.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
- ^ Goodger, Jef (June 28, 2022). "2022 PBA LEAGUE PRESENTED BY PABST BLUE RIBBON RETURNS NEXT WEEK TO FS1". pba.com. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ Hughes, Nolan (November 4, 2022). "JASON BELMONTE WINS RECORD-TYING SEVENTH CHRIS SCHENKEL PBA PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD". pba.com. Retrieved November 4, 2022.