Our event this weekend was at Bowlero Mesa and with all the events going on through the Valley we would see a nice turnout. We had 84 total entries (64 qualifying and 20 economy parlays) with 23 cashers, a 1 in 3.5 cash ratio and we would pay out over $4,600.00 in main and side event prize funds. The players bowled on the 38ft PBA Wayne Webb oil pattern that played pretty tricky for most of the day as it is a shorter pattern but had a lot of volume in the front of the lane. With this being a 3-squad tournament, usually the pattern gets easier as the day goes on, but with the high volume in the front of the lane it seemed like the lanes got tighter as the day progressed. We would see some lower cut scores as you just had to get to your average to have a chance to advance to the Quarterfinals.
We had quite a few new bowlers that would join us for their first event. We want to welcome Taylor Klein, Jace Welsh, Isaias Galarza, Chris Reyes, and Nate Prince, who all bowled in their first event this weekend. We hope you all had a good time and look forward to seeing you at our next event. Congrats to Garret Strehl and Alex Olson for being this weekend’s Parlay Power Players. Both of these bowlers were able to qualify for the quarterfinals off their $30.00 economy parlay investment. Also, congrats to Isaias Galarza and Aliyas Sargento for making their first quarterfinals or their first quarterfinals in quite a while. We would no one win Momma’s Mystery Pots this weekend. We had one bowler that did have their number drawn but was not in and did not win the $400.00 mystery pot. So, the Momma’s Mystery Score will rollover to our next tournament at AMF Mesa this coming Sunday. Your winner of the free plastic ball raffle, with an option to upgrade to any Track high-performance ball for $85.00, was Carlos Vejar.
The quarterfinals would be bowled on the fresh oil pattern and the scores showed as we would see scores more in line with the 1st squad of the tournament. Picking up spares was the key as it would come down to the final few frames to see who would advance to semi-final round. We would have 20 quarterfinalists with each Division having at least 6 bowlers in each Division. With our 1 in 3 cut ratio, from the quarterfinals to the semi-finals, we would cut to the Top 2 bowlers in all three Divisions.
The A Division would see Parlay Power Player Garret Strehl (+38) emerge as the #1 seed and he would have to face off against #2 seed Myles Hamilton (+14). The B Division would have Dr. Brandon Bailey (-8) as the #1 seed, and he would take on Justin Surat (-16). The C Division would feature Maddisen Rook (+32) as the #1 seed, and she would be up against Parlay Power Player Alex Olson (-34).
The A Division Semi-Final match would go back and forth between Garret and Myles. Just over halfway through the match and they were tied. Garret would struggle to carry in the last few frames as Myles would pull away with some timely strikes in the tenth frames to win the match and advance to the Finals, 197 to 175. The C Division Semi-Final match would see Maddisen struggle on the pair as Alex would get lined up early with a three-bagger to pull away and win the match, 231 to 181.
The B Division Semi-Finals would be a real nail biter between Brandon Bailey and Justin Surat. Brandon would jump out to slight lead early as Justin struggled from the start. At the seventh frame it would all turnaround as Brandon would lose his look and Justin would take advantage with a couple of strikes to get back into the match. It would all come down to the tenth frame. Brandon would be up first, and his first ball would go high through the nose to leave the 4-pin standing. Brandon’s spare attempt would go a bit too far left and would wind up in the gutter to finish with a score of 175. Justin would need to mark and get 6 pins to win the match. Justin’s first ball in the tenth would go a bit long and to washout leaving the 1-2-10. Justin’s spare attempt would hit the 1-2, but the headpin would just miss the 10-pin for a score of 170, to let Brandon advance to the Finals.
Going into the Finals we would see Alex Olson making his very first Finals match and would be looking to take home his very first title. Alex had made the Finals off his $30.00 Economy Parlay entry and was looking to turn that into $950.00! Dr. Brandon Bailey was looking to take home his 2nd title of the season and had previously won his first title (SFT Major title) just last month. Brandon grinded away throughout the Quarterfinals and Semi-Final match and was having similar vibes as when he grinded through the SFT Major last month. Myles Hamilton was making his third consecutive Finals appearance as he had come in third place and second place in the last two tournaments. Making just one Finals is a feat onto itself but making back-to-back is very rare and I have only seen a handful of bowlers do this but making a third straight Finals is unheard of. So, Myles was looking to finally get a win and secure his second AHT SFT title. Myles would have to be the favorite going into the Finals and hopefully, third time would be the charm.
The Finals would start off with Myles almost leaving the 7-10 split, but the 7-pin would fall late, and Myles would go onto to pick up the spare. Alex would be up next and would chop the 1-3 for an open frame. Dr. Bailey would finish out the first frame with a strike. Myles’ second frame would see him hit the pocket high to leave the 2-4-7 and he would go on to convert the spare. Alex’s second frame would see hit ball go just past the pocket as he would leave the 1-2-4-8. Alex would not pick up the spare for another open frame. Brandon would double up in the second as he looked to take the lead in the match. Third frame would see Myles strike as Alex would spare the 1-2-4 and Brandon would also spare the 2-4-8. Myles’ fourth frame would see him double up with another strike to cut into Brandon’s slight lead. Alex would finally get a strike to stay in the match. Brandon would also strike as he continued to lead the match. In the fifth frame we would see Myles’ open as he would miss his 7-pin spare. Alex would open as well as he would also miss the 7-pin spare. Brandon would strike for another double as he would extend his lead.
Midway through the match and Brandon would have to advantage. Myles’ sixth frame would see him strike as Alex would leave a split (3-4-6) for an open frame and Brandon would convert the 8-pin to finish the frame. Myles’ would look to get back into the match with another strike in the seventh. Alex would nine-spare, and Brandon would open as he would chop the 3-5-9 for an open frame. Myles’ would look to take advantage of Brandon’s open frame but would hit the pocket light leaving the 5-10 split. Myles would get the 5-pin but could not get it to take out the 10-pin for an open frame. Alex would strike in the eighth and Brandon would strike to make up for his open frame. The ninth frame would see Myles’ hit the pocket and leave a 6-pin mixer which he would convert. Alex would chop the 3-6 for an open frame and Brandon would chop the 4-7-8 for an open frame. Myles would need to double to put some pressure on Brandon but would see him leave the 4-7-10 spilt. Myles would get the 4-7 and finish with a score of 185. Alex would be up next and would washout to leave the 1-2-4-10. Alex would not pick up the spare and finish with a score of 168 for third place. Brandon would finish the tenth with an 8-count for a score of 202 to win his second AHT SFT title and $950.00 first place prize. Congrats to Myles Hamilton on second place for $400.00 and also congrats to Alex Olson on third place for $275.00.
Thank you to everyone that came out this weekend to bowl our tournament. Thanks to the staff at Bowlero Mesa for the wonderful customer service and allowing us to come into the center for this tournament. Also, thanks to Michael Dragon and Hokey Begay for their hard work and helping to keep these tournaments going.
We will be back this coming Sunday, November 5th for a 2-squad tournament at AMF Mesa (Southern & Gilbert) as we will be bowling on the 52ft PBA Badger oil pattern! Hope to see you all there!
Bowlero Mesa Finals - Myles Hamilton vs. Dr. Brandon Bailey vs. Alex Olson
