This weekend’s event was our 3-Day Labor Day Major at Bowlero Union Hills. We would see 101 total entries with 86 qualifying and 15 parlay entries this weekend. It was overall a lower turnout than we are used to for our majors, however, with simultaneous events being run it does make it difficult to have a super large turnout. The event had 28 cashers, a 1 in 3.61 cash ratio and paid out over $7,530 in main and side event prize funds. The players bowled on a Stars and Stripes Mystery oil pattern (40 ft Sphinx) that proved to a medium to lower scoring pace. Players did not know any info on the pattern until Monday, as it was announced at the start of the cashers round. It would put a premium on avoiding splits and picking up spares. The scoring pace was pretty steady day to day, with most people having success playing further inside (3rd to 4th arrow).
We would see two people win the Momma’s Mystery Pot this weekend! Those bowlers were Ernie Mendoza for $474 with a score of 165 and Maria Parker for $44 with a score of 139!
We also had our Memorial Day Mega Raffle, which featured more prizes than usual tournaments, and here are your mega raffle winners:
Track Ball of Choice
- Gunnar Wilson
- Justin O’Donnell
Free Plastic Ball
- Darwin Hicks
- Darwin Hicks
- Tyler Higbee
Free Main Entry ($60 value)
- Tracy Miller
Free Economy Parlay ($35 value)
- Ernie Mendoza
The Quarterfinals would have 24 bowlers on the floor. The pattern was re-oiled before the start of the quarterfinals and it showed overall slightly lower scores as it appeared to play even tighter.
The cut ratio to advance from the quarterfinals into the first Semi-Final round was 1 in 3. The A division would go from 8 to 3 bowlers. The B division would go from 7 to 2 bowlers. The C division would go from 9 to 3.
In the A Division, we would have 3 bowlers all bowl in one match, having the top bowler emerge to the Finals. Those three bowlers were Dylan Taylor (+91), Ernie Mendoza (+50), and Richard Armstrong (+39). The match would be a grind from start to finish with not many strikes on the board, but Dylan would walk away with the win to his surprise, shooting 185 to Richard’s 176 and Ernie’s 164.
In the B Division, we would have a normal division title match between Dave Kist (+71) and Ken Hall (+48). Their match would be a close, but Ken had the slight advantage and was able to capitalize on a late mistake by Dave, giving him the win, 226-208.
In the C Division, we would have 3 bowlers all bowl in one match, having the top bowler emerge to the Finals. Those three bowlers were Tyler Higbee (+745), John Nassivera (+58), and Maria Vargas (+29). Their match would come down to the tenth frame, with the battle coming down to John and Maria. John would 2-8-10 in the tenth, leaving the door wide open for Maria. Maria would need 16 pins in the fill shot, and she manage to get 18 to win by 2. Final scores were Vargas (212) - Nassivera (210) - Higbee (195).
For our Finals in our Majors, we use a different finals format. For this event, we would be using a stepladder format, where all 2 finalists bowl one game, then the winner moves on to play the top seed for the title. The top seed was determined by the most recent game bowled by everyone. That bowler in this situation would be Ken, with shooting 226 in the division finals round, making Maria the second seed with 212, and Dylan the 3rd seed with 185.
The first match of the stepladder finals would be a nailbiter, as Dylan had a shaky start but followed it up with a 3 bagger late in the game that brought him right back into the match. Maria would finish, Dylan would leave a 2-4-5 on his first shot. He would have to make the spare and get 7 pins to advance. Dylan would do just that, enough to move on with a 1 pin win over Maria, 223-222. The second stepladder match would be a little bit more of a back and forth battle, but Ken would ultimately have a slight advantage in the match by keeping it even scratch, which would be about a 17 pin lead for him most of the game. Ken, like he was able to do all day long, stayed consistent and played his game, which would be good enough to tie Dylan’s scratch score of 183, which in this case would be a 17 pin win. This would be Ken’s 1st SFT AHT title and he would walk away with the top prize of $945! Final scores were 214 (Hall) - 197 (Taylor).
Thank you to everyone that came out this weekend to support our Major tournament! Also big thank you to the staff at Bowlero Union Hills for giving us their center for the weekend and helping us run a smooth on-time event.
We will be back on Sunday, September 13th at Bowlero Kyrene for a 2-squad tournament! Hope to see you there!
Video Link to Final Matches: https://youtube.com/live/aWSVoCrwi5g?feature=share
