The PBA kicked off it’s 2022 campaign at the PBA Players Championship. Last season, the PBA implemented a regional qualifying structure due to the pandemic but the format’s success convinced the tour to bring it back.
I previewed the regional finals on my newsletter — SUBSCRIBE YOU COWARDS — and after an expected slow start, action heated up over the last few telecasts. I wanted to write up five takeaways from the event because five is such a beautifully round number for writers. But I only came up with four. Alas.
He’s Baaaack
Jason Belmonte’s dominance unequivocally defined the PBA’s return to television in 2022. He did not win a title last year — the first time that’s happened in half a decade — and spent a decent chunk of the season home in Australia. Though Belmonte’s said he avoids setting expectations for himself, we all know he has his sights set on winning 20 major titles.
To reach 20 majors, he’ll need to win #14. And to do that, he needed to climb the West region stepladder from the fourth seed. He joked about having some nerves being back on TV, but when the lanes turned on: Belmo was back.
Rookie Cortez Schenck pushed Belmonte to the tenth frame in the opening match, but the veteran emerged unscathed and decided he’d had enough drama for one evening. I’m not sure if the math backs this up, but it sure felt none of Wesley Low Jr., Jake Peters or Jakob Butturff had a chance to win after the sixth frame of their matches. Belmonte averaged a hair under 255 without an open for his four games on the telecast; he never got less than nine and missed the pocket just once.
Bill, or should I say “William” OāNeill summed it up best:
I tend to avoid team sports comparisons because of the individual nature of bowling — my non-bowling comp for Belmonte is usually Tiger Woods or Serena Williams — but OāNeillās larger point stands. Low Jr., Peters and Butturff all felt they had to be perfect, and all succumbed under the pressure almost instantaneously.
Call it small sample size bias. Call it recency bias. Call it whatever you want — but do so at your own precaution. Because Belmo, the version of him that is arguably the greatest bowler of all-time, appears to be back.
The Elephant in the Room
I’ll keep my comments brief because as a young bowling mind and someone who hasn’t live the tour life, this isn’t exactly my area of expertise.
Sean Rashās meltdown at the end of his match against Matt Russo raised some eyebrows in the moment, and then the PBAās decision to fine Rash an undisclosed amount and suspend him for a February national tour stop raised some more.
For more details of the incident, read Jeff Richgels story on 11thframe.com. Also, check out the conversation between Stu Williams and Chris Barnes on The Beef & Barnzy Show for more perspective on gamesmanship on the tour.
The only quote, really one word, that truly mattered in terms of triggering the punishment: integrity. Rash called into question the legitimacy of the tournament and the PBA itself. Not a good look! If any other professional athlete questioned the authenticity of their sport, like complaining about officiating, they’d be fined, too. Rash’s suspension, in my opinion, stems more from his whiny attitude and the setting of his comments than the comments themselves.
Iāve come to the conclusion that the rest of Rash’s comments were about venting frustration and perhaps trying to get into Russo’s head. (Which, I guess, worked.) The only reason I have skepticism about the latter is because of Rash’s peculiar reaction after Russo’s split. I’ve obviously never been in that position and cannot imagine the dozens of emotions coursing through Rash at that moment, but his stunned silence and subsequent reaction seemed more odd than expected.
You can have your beliefs on the use of urethane. You can be energetic and emotional and, more importantly, yourself on the telecast. You can play mental games with your opponent to try and get an edge. But you canāt damage the tourās reputation by complaining about an aspect of the game that falls well within its rules.
Well, you can — but youāre going to have to live with the consequences.
A New Era Has Arrived
The regional format of the Players Championship allows for young athletes to introduce their talents to a national audience. The confidence boost from making the show, and bowling well on it, could serve as a catalyst for their careers. I believe that will be the case for Schenck, Low Jr., and especially Russo.
Iāve witnessed Low Jr. win a national title in person, the 2017 U20 Junior Gold title, and Iāve witnessed Schenck win a national title in person, the 2018 US Amateur Championship, where he defeated Russo in the title match. They each have a ton of additional national and international trophies, medals and checks on their mantles. Schenck and Low Jr. are in the conversation for placements on the Mount Rushmore of bowlers of my generation of youth bowling.
Iāve reported multiple stories on Russo since his first PBA victory last summer and have heard ravings of his talent for years. One person once told me they believed Russo is as good, if not better, than any lefty in the world, including Butturff — granted, if they wonāt put their name to it, how much do they truly believe it? — but Russo’s performance on the Midwest region finals backed up the folklore.
With all due respect to Brandon Runk, the 2021 East Region Rookie of the Year, and Bailey Mavrick, I donāt think itās unfair to say Schenck, Low Jr. and Russo are on a different level. Get used to seeing them on PBA telecasts.
In fact, I’ll go so far as to predict Russo wins a title at the World Series of Bowling in March.
Donāt Overreact to Loses on TV
Stepladder finals are a fickle beast. Itās very easy to fall into the trap of building up these matches as ultimate tests of bowling prowess, physical strength and mental fortitude. But the reality is these matches are one game. The sample size is ten frames — 3.5% of the amount of frames as 28 games of qualifying.
The word “luckā has loaded connotations, but the truth is a fair amount of luck is involved in who wins and loses these matches. Sure, players who lose often made less good shots than their opponent, played the wrong part of the lane, used the wrong equipment and/or some combination of all of those. But sometimes, players lose because they wrapped three 10-pins while their opponent tripped out the bucket and a Big Four spontaneously turned into just a 6-10.
In Low Jr.ās first five frames against Belmonte, he hit the pocket five times and got the following results: 4-pin (as a lefty!), strike, pocket 7-10, 7-pin and 5-pin. Missing the 7-pin hurt, but what is he supposed to do with those leaves on the right lane? Perhaps he chose the wrong ball on the right lane — judging by those weird leaves, he probably did — but he also got a little bit unlucky.
Thatās the reality of stepladder finals. Relax on the title droughts of EJ Tackett, Jakob Butturff, and others when they are consistently making championship round appearances. Don’t let the #Rings discourse that proliferates sports talk shows like First Take seep into the bowling world. Luck evens out after 28 games of qualifying; it often does not within ten frames.
Rob Stone is Spectacular
So I was able to muster up a fifth take: Rob Stone is a delight! I’d argue he’s one of the best things the tour has going for it right now.