Our event this weekend was at Bowlero Kyrene and we had a nice turnout considering that we are in the middle of a pandemic. It was great to see bowlers come out and compete again. We had 82 total entries (53 main & 29 parlays) with a 3.28 cash ratio and we paid out over $3,100 in main & side event prize funds. The players bowled on a squirrely 35ft PBA Cheetah pattern that played a bit longer than the previous versions that was laid out. There was a difference in how to attack the pattern, but those that found success were able to play up the gutter and get their ball to roll correctly through the pins. The average cut score was a bit higher, but with this shorter pattern scores are usually on the high side.
We had a few new bowlers come out and give our event a try. We would like to welcome Jeremy Brown and Melissa St. Lawrence to the AHT Strikeforce family. I hope you both had a great time in your first event and hope to see you again out on the lanes. Our Economy Parlay Power Players this weekend were Chris Tucker, Jack Haines, Max Premeau and Michael McQuisten. These bowlers made it to the quarterfinals on only their $25 parlay investment with both Chris and Max making it the to the Finals. Michael bowled his highest series ever with an impressive 760 scratch score. Josh Molloy was on fire throughout the day and had a few chances of throwing a 300 game, but just came up short with games of 289 & 279.
Also congrats to Raymond Stead, Jack Haines, Brian Waugh, Michael McQuisten and William Nedry on making it to their first quarterfinals or their first quarterfinals in a while, great bowling guys!!! Your winner of the free plastic ball raffle, with an option to upgrade to any Track high-performance ball for $85.00, was Eddie Thompson!
The Quarterfinal round was bowled on a fresh pattern. The bowlers would cut to the Top 2 in each Division for the semi-final round. In the A Division, your #1 seed would be red hot Josh Molloy (+168) and he would have to take on Chris Tucker (+69). In the B Division, we would see Ron McDonald (+39) taking on Brandon Johnsonkroman (+10), who squeaked by Michael Killgore (+9) in the very last quarterfinal game. The C Division would have your #1 seed & Parlay Power Player Max Premeau (+98) facing off with AHT SFT vet Chad Clapp (+94).
The B Division Semi-Final match, which was dubbed the “pillow fight”, as both Ron and Brandon would struggle to get lined up. They would both throw multiple splits and the lead would go back and forth for most of the match, but someone would have to win and it would be Brandon with a timely strike in the 8th frame. The strike and spare in the ninth would give him enough to edge out Ron, 179 to 153.
The C Division match would see Max start off hot striking on three of his first four frames to jump out to an early lead. Chad would try to rally and catch up but would throw the Greek Church (4-6-7-9-10) in the ninth. Max would get up and throw all three strikes in the tenth to win the match, 256 to 220. The A Division semi-final would be a nail biter with both Josh and Chris staying neck and neck for most of the match. It would all come down to the final few frames. Josh would miss a ten pin in the 8th frame leaving the door open for Chris. Chris would stay clean and Josh would put some pressure on by striking out in the tenth, but it wasn’t enough as Chris was able to get enough count to narrowly win the match by 2 pins, 206 to 204.
This would set up our Finals match with Max as the only #1 seed to make it through the Semi-Final round. Max would be looking at getting his first AHT SFT title while both Brandon and Chris were trying for their 2nd title. Max would have to be the favorite going into the match as he had just bowled a 256 game, with handicap, and had an advantage in handicap over the other two bowlers.
The Final match would be a great match with all three bowlers crushing the pocket and striking at will for the first few frames. It seemed that it would come down to whoever blinked first. Chris would leave a 7 pin in the 3rd frame that almost was a 7-10 split, with the 10 pin falling late, and he was able to pick up his spare. Brandon would leave a 4 pin in the 5th frame, but would miss the spare putting him in a hole as Chris and Max would continue to strike. Max would leave a 10 pin in the 6th frame and he too would miss his spare giving Chris a chance to make up the difference in handicap between them. Max would strike in the 7th frame, but would leave the 6-10 in the eighth and miss his spare. Max and Brandon would continue to duke it out with Brandon missing a spare in the 9th frame to give Max the lead. Both would double in the tenth and get nine to finish at 233 for Max and 229 for Brandon. Chris would continue to strike as through the ninth frame giving him a lead to shut out both Max and Brandon going into the tenth frame. Chris would finish the match with a score of 251 giving him his 2nd AHT SFT title and $600.00 first place prize! Congrats to Max for 2nd place and also to Brandon on 3rd place.
Thank you to everyone that came out to support our event. I appreciate the support during these trying times and hope to see you all at our next event at AMF Tempe Village on August 16th! Hope you all have a great week and continue to stay safe!
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