Our event this weekend was at Bowlero Kyrene and it was the final tournament for our Spring/Summer Circuit. We did have a good turnout with 109 total entries (70 Qualifying & 39 Parlays), with 28 cashers, a 1 in 3.89 cash ratio and a paying out over $5,100.00 in main and side event prize funds. The players bowled on a very difficult 41ft PBA Bear oil pattern that had some of the low scores on the fresh, but opened up for some higher scores in the later squad. The pattern allowed players to play from any angle, but the key was trying to make high quality shots and then being able to make your spares. Bowlers that could avoid splits and leave makeable spares were successful.
We want to quickly welcome our new bowlers that joined us for this event! Paul Nicosia, John (Doug) Winkle, John Masterson and Ryan Somenek bowled in their first SFT AHT event this weekend! It’s awesome to still see new faces with the current pandemic going on. We hope all of you had a great time, and we look forward to seeing you next time! Unfortunately there were no Parlay Power Players this weekend which goes to show you the difficulty of the pattern. Congrats to John Masterson who made his first ever quarterfinals in his first event. Your winner of the free plastic ball drawing, with an option to upgrade to any Track high performance ball for $85.00, was Ernie Mendoza.
The quarterfinals were held on a fresh pattern and the score were up and down. The bowlers that were able to put up a big game found themselves moving into the Semi-Finals. In the A Division your #1 seed was Sean Ashley (+43) and he would be taking on Josh Williams (+9). The B Division would see #1 seed Brandon Johnsonkroman (+52) versus Andre Murillo (+32). In the C Division you leader was Terrence Smythe (+60) and he would face off with Tracy Lee (+53). The advantage of the #1 seed is that they get to choose the pair that the semi-final match is played on and also they get to pick the order.
The A Division semi-final match would see Sean Ashley struggle with lane transition as Josh Williams was able to make his spares and defeat Sean, 210 to 162. The B Division semi-finals would see both bowlers go back and forth throughout the match. A missed spare in the eighth frame by Brandon would be enough for Andre to get the win, 212 to 187. The C Division semi-final match would be a slugfest with both bowlers going neck and neck to the final frame. Terrence was able to get enough pins and would get by Tracy, 192 to 210.
The Final match would feature Andre Murillo looking for his 3rd AHT SFT title. Josh and Terrence were both looking for their 1st title with Terrence making his first appearance in the Finals. All three were coming off pretty good semi-final match games and it would really be up to whom could repeat shots and make their spares.
The Final match would start out with all three bowlers feeling the lanes out. Andre would split putting himself in a hole early. Josh and Tee would stay clean for most of the early part of the match, but Tee would open in the fourth and sixth frames to let Josh make up some of the handicap difference. It almost looking like Josh was about to run away with the match as he was able to double in the fifth and sixth frames. Andre would struggle with the left lane throughout the whole match and wasn’t able to recover. Tee would double in the seventh and eighth frames to get himself back into the match as Josh would eight-spare in the seventh and eighth. It would all come down to the final frame as Josh would finish up first hitting the pocket but leaving a stone 9-pin. He would pick up the spare and strike on his fill ball to finish at 215. Tee would come into the tenth needing a mark and good count to win. His first ball in the tenth would leave a flat 10-pin and he would need to pick up the spare. His spare attempt looked good off his hand, but it sailed too far right going into the gutter before it could hit the ten pin leaving him with a score of 210. This would give Josh his first AHT SFT title and the $1,050.00 first place prize. Congrats to Terrence on 2nd place and to Andre on 3rd place.
Thank you to everyone that came out to support the event this weekend. Hope to see you all next Sunday at Glenfair Lanes to kick off the Fall Quarter Circuit!
