Our event this weekend would be at AMF Chandler lanes for a 3-squad tournament! With so many other tournaments going on throughout the Valley, we were lucky to have a great turnout. We would see 93 total entries (69 qualifying and 24 economy parlays), with 26 prize winners with a 1 in 3.58 cash ratio and we would pay out over $5,800 in main and side event prize funds. The players bowled on the 32ft PBA Wolf oil pattern that played tough to start but got a bit easier as the oil carried down the lanes. This pattern is one of the shortest patterns that are in use and the bowlers had to play a bit up the ditch to start. As the oil pattern broke down and oil started to carry from the fronts would allow for a variety of angles to be played. This center has typically been one of the higher scoring centers that we go to with the track well built into the lanes. It seemed like on the fresh to semi-fresh oil was where most of the higher scores would be bowled with scores tailing off after each squad. It would take about +70 to qualify for the quarterfinals with bowlers needing to bowl 15-25 pins over their average per game to advance.
We would like to give a warm welcome to Dawsen “Kee” Brown, and Shannan White to the SFT Family. They both bowled their first event this weekend and we hope you enjoyed it! We would have Jeremy Lorenzo as our only Economy Power Player this weekend as he was able to turn his $30.00 Economy Parlay entry into a Quarterfinals check. We did have a few bowlers that made their first quarterfinals or their first quarterfinals in a while. Congrats to Kevin Dillingham, and Aaron Stein. Congrats to Michael Arce on being this weekend’s Momma’s Mystery Score winner, with a score of 203, for $246.00! Your winner of the free plastic ball raffle, with an option to upgrade to any Track high-performance bowling ball for $95.00, was Darwin Hicks.
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. We would have 21 quarterfinalist and with our 1 in 3 cut ratio, we would take the Top 2 in all three Divisions. The quarterfinals scores would be tight with the top bowlers being determined in Game 3. It would all come down to the final few frames with some bowlers coming just a few pins away from advancing to the next round.
The A Division would see Bryton Bobbitt (+149) emerge as the #1 seed overall and he would have to face off against Myles Hamilton (+73). The B Division had parlay power player Jeremy Lorenzo (+63) and he would take on Payton Steele (+44). The C Division #1 seed would see Allan Kudlock (+73) have to take on Darwin Hicks (+28).
The A Division semi-final match would go back and forth with Bryton jumping out to an early lead. Myles would look to get lined up about midway through the match as he would start to string strikes to catch up. Bryton would continue to strike and spare and finish with a 232. Myles would come up short as he would finish out the tenth frame with a score of 216. The B Division semi-final would see Jeremy Lorenzo struggle on the pair as Payton Steele would catch fire. Payton would go on to defeat Jeremy, 240 to 173, to advance to the Finals. The C Division match would be a bit closer but Darwin would struggle with carry as Allan would go on to win the match, 215 to 191.
Going into the Finals we would have Bryton Bobbitt looking to win his second AHT SFT title. Standing in his way was Payton Steele and Allan Kudlock. Both Payton and Allan were looking to win their first title as both have made the Finals before with Payton coming up just short back in September at Bowlero Gilbert. Allan was making his first Finals of the season as his previous best finish came last season in a ninth-tenth frame roll-off with Kyle Ponzo! So, Allan was looking to redeem himself today with a win.
Finals would start off with a split, as Allan would leave the 2-10, which he wouldn’t convert. Bryton would be up next for a strike as Payton would leave a stone-8 pin, which he would spare. Allan would lead off the second frame with a strike as he looked to make up for the open frame. Bryton would double up with another strike and Payton would chop the 3-6-9-10 for an open frame. Third frame would see Allan crush the pocket but leave a weak 10-pin and just miss the spare attempt for an open frame. Bryton would see his ball just miss a bit right and leave the 1-2-8, which he would pick up to remain clean. Payton would see his ball go a bit high leaving the 6-10, which he would spare. Allan would pull his ball a bit left in the fourth frame to leave the 1-2, which he would chop. Bryton would leave a flat 10-pin, which he would spare. Payton would finish out the fourth frame with a mixer 7-pin, which he would spare.
Midway through the match and Bryton had already made up the pin difference that he was giving Allan and Payton. Allan would lead off the fifth frame with a much-needed strike. Bryton would get a light mixer for a strike as would Payton. Sixth frame would see Allan miss a bit outside and leave the 1-2-4-7, which he would not spare. Bryton would continue to string strikes with a double as Payton would miss leaving the 3-6-10, which he would chop for an open frame. Seventh frame would see Allan leave the four pin, which he would spare. Bryton would continue to extend his lead with another light mixer. Payton would strike to try and keep pace. Allan would go high in the eighth frame leaving a 6-pin, which he would spare. Bryton’s strike train would continue with his fourth in a row. Payton would see his ball come up late as he would leave the 2-pin, which he would spare. Ninth frame would see Allan almost strike as he would leave a ring/dancing 10-pin, which he would spare. Bryton looked to seal up the win with a strike in the ninth but would see his ball go long and leave “the Bucket” (2-4-5-8), which he would not pick up for an open frame. Payton would strike to set him up for a chance in the tenth.
Tenth frame would see Allan spare and get six on his fill to finish the match with a score of 179. Payton would finish up the tenth needing all three to put some pressure on Bryton. Payton’s first ball in the tenth would be a light mixer for a double. Payton’s second shot would look good off his hand, but come in high leaving the 3-6-10, which he would spare for a score of 211. Bryton would get up and punch out, throwing all three strikes in the tenth to finish with a score of 251 for his second AHT SFT title and the $950.00 first place prize. Congrats to Payton Steele on second place for $500.00! Also, congrats to Allan Kudlock on third place for $350.00!
Thank you to everyone that came out to our tournament this weekend. We appreciate the continued support with all the other tournaments going on throughout the Valley. Thank you to Shannon Fletcher and the staff at AMF Chandler for having us out this weekend. Also, thank you to Josh Molloy and Michael Dragon for their hard work and keeping us running.
We’ll be back in a couple of weeks for 2-squad tournament at Bowlero Gilbert on Sunday, December 1st as we close out the 2024 season.
We hope you all have a fun, safe Thanksgiving!
AMF Chandler Finals - Bryton Bobbitt vs. Payton Steele vs. Allan Kudlock
