We kicked of the 2023 Fall Quarterly Circuit this weekend with a 2-squad tournament at Bowlero Christown! We would see a good turnout with 80 total entries (62 qualifying and 18 parlays), with 23 cashers and a 1 in 3.5 cash ratio. We would pay out over $4,200 in main event and side event prize funds. The bowlers played on the 35ft PBA Cheetah oil pattern that provided higher cut scores than usual. Cheetah tends to be one of the easiest sport patterns, as it allows players to get some free hook on the gutter which is similar to the house shot. However, it is still a sport pattern, and isn't a walk in the park. There isn't a lot of oil in the middle of the lane, like a house shot, so you have to get it to the outside friction or the ball will run high in the pocket.
We had some new bowlers that came out this weekend to try our event. We’d like to welcome Paul Tollers, Carl Cayanan, Caden Ament, Albert Songco, Tyler Milbrandt, John Stanhope, Merrill King, Michael Arce, Dennis Kracht, Derrick Ray, and John Zafra. We hope you guys had a good time at your first event and we look forward to seeing you at the next one! Also, congrats to this weekend’s Parlay Power Player Ryan Griggs as he would make it to the quarterfinals off his initial $30.00 Economy Parlay entry. We’d also like to congratulate Merrill King, Drew Merril, Arthur Lara, and Paul Schuler for making either their first quarterfinals or their first in quite a while! We would have no Momma’s Mystery Pot winners, so that money will roll over to the first squad of our next event at Bowlero Mesa. Your winner of the free plastic ball raffle, with an option to upgrade to any Track high-performance bowling ball for $95.00, was Frank Meyer.
Since this event was only 2 squads, there was no re-oil before the quarterfinals. This resulted in some up and down scores with the standings being very, very tight as bowlers needed to bowl at least one good game to make the cut. It seemed like most of semi-finalists would be determined by the final game of the quarterfinals. 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 Myles Hamilton (+120) emerge as your #1 seed and he would have to face off against Garrett Plum (+95). The B Division would see Douglas Bukauskas (+135) come out on top and he would take on Allan Kudlock (-8). The C Division would have newcomer Merrill King (+59) square off against Outhay Lalab (+14) in the semi-finals.
The A Division Semi-Final match would be a good match as Myles and Garrett would trade strikes throughout the match. It would come down to the tenth frame as Myles would finish up first and put some pressure on Garrett by getting nine-spare and a strike to finish with a score of 228. Garrett would be up for his tenth frame needing to get at least a double to have a chance as he was coming off a three-bagger. Garrett would get the ball just a bit too far outside and it would slide into the gutter for an open. Garrett would get nine as he tried to spare the frame and would finish with a score of 178.
The B Division Semi-Final match would see Douglas catch fire on the pair as he would put up a huge 276 scratch game (304 with handicap). Allan would do his best but could not keep up as he would finish with a score of 232 for second place in the Division.
The C Division would be a nailbiter as Merrill and Outhay would take the match all the way down to the tenth frame to determine the winner. Merrill would finish up the match first as he would leave a split and would not convert it to finish with a score of 193. This would give Outhay a chance to win as he would only need a mark and good count. Outhay’s first ball in the tenth would hit light and he would leave the bucket (2-4-5-8). Outhay’s spare attempt would chop out the 5-pin to finish with a score of 186 and second place in the Division.
Going into the Finals we would an almost all lefty Finals with Myles and Douglas as lefties while Merrill King throws right-handed but throws a back-up ball up the left side. Douglas and Merrill looking to win their first titles while Myles was looking to capture his second title and the $875.00 first place prize. Myles was making back-to-back Finals as he had just come in third place at our last tournament at AMF Chandler. Douglas had been on fire all day so it he looked to be the favorite going into the match. Merrill was making his first Finals in his very first tournament which is a hard thing to do and was looking to see if he would continue to make his run last for one more game.
Finals would start off with Merrill King leaving the baby split (2-7) which he would not convert for an open. Myles would strike as Douglas would open with a nine-spare (7-pin). Second frame would see Merrill leave a 7-pin and he would pick up his spare for his first mark of the match. Myles would also leave a weak 7-pin and convert his spare. Douglas would strike as he looked to be getting lined up on the pair. Merrill would open in the third as he would chop the bucket. Myles would strike on the right lane as Douglas would strike as well to make up some of the handicap difference they were giving to Merrill. Fourth frame would see Merrill get a strike to try and get back into the match. Myles would leave the 4-7 which he would pick up as he would try to get lined up on the right lane. Douglas gets a nine-spare as he would pick up a flat 7-pin. Fifth frame would see Merrill split as his ball would hit the pocket high leaving the 2-4-7-10, which he would not pick up. Myles would strike on his good lane and Douglas would also strike to keep pace.
Midway through the match and it looked like it might be a close match between Myles and Douglas. Merrill would struggle with the transition on the pair and would need to string some strikes to get back into the match. Merrill would split in the sixth and could not convert for another open frame. Myles would double up on the right lane. Douglas would also get a much-needed double with a strike in the sixth. Seventh frame would see Merrill mark as Myles would see his ball go a bit high leaving a weak 7-pin. Myles would convert the spare to stay clean. Douglas would look to take advantage but would see his ball overhook too, as he would leave the 4-7 which he would pick up to stay just ahead of Myles. Merrill would mark in the eighth with an eight-spare. Myles and Douglas would both strike to remain close. Ninth frame would see Merrill continue to mark as he looked to get a bit more comfortable with the pair. Myles would leave a blower 10-pin as his ball would crush the pocket. Myles would go on to pick up the spare. Douglas would get a much-needed strike as he was able to trip out the 6-pin late to take the lead.
The tenth frame would see Merrill finish up the match with a 7-pin which he would not convert to finish in third place with a score of 166. Myles would be up next and would need to strike out in order to force Douglas to strike in the tenth. Myles would get up and throw back three strikes in a row to finish with a score of 235. Douglas would get up in the tenth and just crush the pocket for a strike. Douglas would fill out the tenth for a score of 262 to win his first AHT SFT title and $875.00 first place prize. Congrats to Myles Hamilton on second place and $400.00. Also, congrats to Merrill King on third place for $280.00.
Thank you to everyone that came out this weekend to bowl our tournament. Thanks to the staff at Bowlero Christown for hosting us and providing great service. This bowling center is always a special treat to bowl at because of the layout of the center and we hope to comeback again early next year. A huge thank you to Michael Dragon and Hokey Begay for helping us stay on time and helping to keep these events going. We’ll see you all in a couple of weeks at our next tournament at Bowlero Mesa on Sunday, October 29th!
Bowlero Christown Finals - Myles Hamilton vs. Douglas Bukauskas vs. Merrill King
