We would be at Bowlero Via Linda this weekend for our final tournament of the 2023 Season and the 2023 Fall Quarterly Circuit. We would have a great turnout for our 2-squad event! We would see 104 total entries (82 qualifying and 22 parlays), 27 cashers, 1 in 3.88 cash ratio and paid out over $6,500.00 in main and side event prize funds! The players bowled on a very tricky 39ft PBA Chameleon oil pattern. A lot of bowlers would think that it would play similar to a house shot, but with all the oil in the front of the lanes it made it very hard to swing the ball. On the fresh if you got too wide with your angles too early, then it would overreact and go through the nose for a split. We had straighter players do well to start but once the pattern started to breakdown, we would see players that like to curve it move left and find some success.
We would like to welcome Jeremy Lorenzo and Kaitlyn Davis to the SFT family. We hope you both had a good time and hope to see you again. We also had some Parlay Power Players this weekend in Jason Lowery, Shaun Newman, and Alex Olson! All three bowlers made it to the quarterfinals off of their $30.00 Economy Parlay entry with Shaun making it the farthest as he would just come up short of the Finals! We also want to congratulate Jeremy Lorenzo and Cameron Coleman for making their first quarterfinals. We are up to three pots for Momma’s Mystery Score, and we would draw someone’s score, but unfortunately, they were not in and would miss out on the $500.00 pot. Your winner of the free plastic ball raffle, with an option to upgrade to any Track high performance ball for $95.00, was Jadeyn Mabry.
Since this event was only 2 squads, there was no re-oil before the quarterfinals. This resulted in some medium to high scores with the standings being very, very tight. We would have 22 quarterfinalists and with our 1 in 3 cut ratio from the quarterfinals to the semi-final round, we would cut to the Top 2 in each Division. The A Division would see Reggie Elliott (+55) emerge as your #1 seed and he would have to face off with Dylan Taylor (+39). The B Division would see Outhay Lalab (+120) lead the division and he would take on Parlay Power Player Shaun Newman (+24) who was our #2 seed. The C Division would have SFT rookie Michael Arce (+90) as the #1 seed, and we would see him matched up against SFT veteran Ken W. Davis (+83) in the semi-finals.
The A Division semi-final would be a grind it out match with spares making the difference in the match. An open frame by Dylan in the seventh frame would be the difference maker. Going into the tenth frame it would be anyone’s game and Reggie would get just enough to hold off Dylan to win the match, 178 to 165.
The B Division semi-final would also be a really close match. Outhay would get out to a lead as Shaun would struggle at the beginning of the match. Shaun would dig in and get a much needed 3-bagger in the seventh, eighth and ninth frames to give himself a chance in the tenth. Shaun would need to strike in the tenth to win but would not get the strike and would fill out the frame with a nine-spare and nine count to finish with a score of 195. Outhay would finish the match with eight-spare and an eight count to finish with a score of 204 to advance.
The C Division semi-final would also be another close match as it would go back and forth between Michael Arce and Ken W. Davis. Michael would nine-spare, and Ken would strike in the ninth frame to set up the tenth frame showdown. Michael would see his ball hit a bit high in the pocket to leave the baby split (3-10), which he would spare, and he would strike on his fill ball to finish with a score of 219. Ken would strike on his first ball in the tenth for a much needed double and then would fill out the frame with a nine-spare to win the match with a score of 229.
Going into the Finals it looked like it was going to be a close match as all three semi-finals were nail biters. Reggie Elliott was looking to win his 3rd AHT SFT title and the $1,200 first place prize. Outhay Lalab was making his very first Finals appearance and was looking to win his very first title. Ken W. Davis also was looking to win his first title in his sixth Finals appearance. Ken had come close in a few tournaments over the years and had a second-place finish in his last Finals appearance at Let it Roll Bowl. Ken was long overdue for a win and hopefully sixth time would be the charm!
Outhay would start off the match with a flat ten-pin, which he would spare. Ken would strike and Reggie strike as well to close out the first frame. Second frame would see Outhay strike while Ken would miss a bit right on his first shot leaving the 2-4-5, which he would spare. Reggie would leave a flat ten and pick it up wrap up his second frame. Outhay would leak his ball too far outside and miss the head pin to leave the 1-2. Outhay would make the spare to remain clean. Ken would strike in his third frame as it looked like he had the right lane figured out. Reggie’s third frame would see him leave the baby split (3-10) which he would chop the 3-pin for an open frame. Fourth frame would see Outhay and Ken both strike as Reggie would fall behind with another open frame. Outhay would open in the fifth frame as he would leave the 1-2-4-7 and chop his spare attempt. Ken would strike for three-bagger to take the lead. Reggie would hit the pocket light leaving the 4-pin, which he would convert.
Midway through the match and Ken would have a slight lead. Outhay would strike in the sixth as Ken would leave a weak 10-pin. Ken would pick up the spare to remain in the lead. Reggie would have some issues with his finger but would power through it for a much-needed strike. The seventh frame would see Outhay double up with another strike to get back into the match. Ken would miss a bit left and leave the 5-9 which he would spare. Reggie would also hit high in the pocket and leave a 6-pin which he would pick up. Eighth frame would see Outhay leave the 4-7 as his ball would hit the pocket a bit high through the nose and would go on to make the spare. Ken would miss a bit outside and leave the headpin which he would spare to stay in the lead. Reggie would leave a ringing ten-pin and would miss the spare just to the right for an open. Ninth frame would see Outhay leave the “Bucket” (2-4-5-8) which he would spare as Ken would strike to set himself up for the tenth. Reggie would finish with a much-needed strike.
The tenth frame would see Outhay finish first as he looked to try to put pressure on Ken. Outhay would strike on his first ball but would leave the 3-6-7-10 on his second ball. Outhay would not pick up the spare and would finish with a score of 224. Ken would crush the pocket on his first ball but leave the 10-pin and would miss the spare attempt to finish with a score of 240. Reggie would finish the match with an open frame for a score of 165. This would give Ken W. Davis his first AHT SFT title and would take home $1,200.00 for his efforts. Congrats to Outhay Lalab on second place for $750.00 and also congrats to Reggie Elliott on third place for $370.00!
Thank you to everyone that came out this season to bowl our tournaments. Also, thanks to Bowlero Via Linda for hosting our tournament this weekend. I want to thank Tawna McDonald, Michael Dragon, Hokey Begay, and Tyler Andersen for all they have done this season to keep these events going. It is a lot of hard work, and we could not continue to run these events without them.
We are going to take a break for the Holiday season but do not forget to join us this Sunday for our End of Year meeting and Awards Banquet at Bowlero Kyrene. This will follow the 2023 SFT Match Play Invitational, where the Top 24 in season points are invited for a chance to win a couple of Exemptions for the 2024 Season.
Hope you all have a safe, fun Holiday season and see you all next season!
Via Linda Finals - Reggie Elliott vs. Outhay Lalab vs. Ken W. Davis
