Bowlero Mesa - 9/7/20

Location: 

This weekend’s event was our 3 day Labor Day Major.  We would get close to matching our record turnout for a Major, which was Memorial Day with 317 total entries with 226 qualifying entries, and we would get to 298 total entries with 211 qualifying entries.  I can’t believe with everything that is going on from concerns about COVID to other political issues, it was good to see everyone come out to compete and have a good time.  We were hopeful for a great of a turnout and we can’t thank the bowling community enough for all of the help in making this such a successful event.

The event had 97 cashers, a 1 in 3.1 cash ratio and paid out over $19,000.00 in main and side event prize funds.  We even had 10 new bowlers come out and try the event for the first time! The players bowled on a 38ft Freedom oil pattern that proved to very tough. There were some bowlers that seemed to match up well for a game or two, but would get lost in transition and put a premium on spare shooting.  Bowlers had to be able to repeat shots and leave makeable spares.  The scores were pretty low with some of the cuts being in the negative range.  The scores were a bit higher on Saturday, but it seemed that with each strip and re-oil, the pattern played truer and truer and got harder and harder, with Monday having the lowest cut scores of the weekend.

Congrats to Dan Quilt who was the only Momma’s Mystery Pot winner this weekend.  We had a few people that were not in the pot that had their number drawn this weekend.  Dan won $500.00 with a score of 207.  Also we had our Labor Day Mega Raffle with more prizes than usual tournaments, here are you mega raffle winners:

Free Track Ball of Choice

  • Hunter Mayes

Free Plastic Ball w/option to upgrade to Track Ball of Choice for $85.00

  • Aaron Mendoza
  • Chad Lusche

Free Main Entry ($50 value)

  • Jennifer Peterson
  • Justin Song

Free Progressive Pot ($25 value)

  • Kevin Dollar
  • Jason Tunay

Free Economy Parlay ($25 value)

  • Ron McDonald
  • Brian Roever

Free Strikeforce Towel

  • Sean Ashley
  • Kevin Dollar
  • Michael Dragon

The quarterfinals was a big one with 57 bowlers on the floor and cutting to the top 6 in each division, but broken up into pairs of 3 people. The top score in a one game match out of the 3 bowlers would be the winner and move on.  Before we could move on to the Semi-Final round, we had a tie for the #6 seed in the C Division with both Karissa Tafoya and Kyle Hoard finishing at 619.  This would result in a 9th/10th frame roll off to decide who was going to move into the semis.  Karissa would start off the roll off with a strike in the 9th.  Kyle would throw his first ball, but it left the 5-7 split, which he was unable to convert.  Kyle would nine spare in the tenth and get 8 on his fill giving him a score of 29.33.  Karissa would finish off her tenth frame with a nine open, but was able to get count because she was coming off a strike giving her the win with a score of 31.66 and punching her ticket into the semis.

The Semi-Final round would have the #1, #4 and #6 seeds on one pair and the #2, #3 and #5 seeds on the other pair, in each division.

In the A Division, we had #1 seed Josh Mullen vs. #4 seed JJ Newell vs. #6 seed Ross Lyons on one pair. The other pair had #2 seed Josh Williams vs. #3 seed Brian Waugh vs. #5 seed Charlie Price. On the first pair we had #6 seed Ross Lyons upset the red-hot Josh Mullen, who had our high set of the quarterfinals, an impressive 689.  On the other pair we had #3 seed Brian Waugh throwing a few timely strikes to get by JJ Newell and Josh Williams.

In the B Division, we had #1 seed Jason Tunay vs. #4 seed Nykolas Walker vs. #6 seed Brian Gustafson. On the other pair we had #2 seed Robb Mansfield vs. #3 seed Eric Flick vs. #5 seed Brian Roever. On both pairs the top seed was the winner, which doesn’t happen often.  Jason Tunay and Robb Mansfield would move on to face each in the B Division Final match.

In the C division, we had #1 seed Genevieve McGeorge vs. #4 seed Michael Killgore vs. #6 seed Karissa Tafoya. On the other pair we had #2 seed James Battista vs. #3 seed Josh Hancock vs. # 5 seed Ted McKay. On the first pair, Michael Killgore was able to best the ladies and come out with the win.  On the other pair, we would see Josh Hancock get enough pins to walk away with the win.

The division final matches are always fun to watch. When over 300 entries come down to the top 6 bowlers, there is always some pressure in the atmosphere. In the A Division match, we had a very impressive match that would all come down to the last couple of frames as Brian Waugh able to strike and get by Ross Lyon, 205-188.  In the B Division, we had a very back and forth match, with Jason Tunay striking out in the tenth to put all the pressure on Robb Mansfield.  Robb would get up and fill out the tenth frame to defeat Jason, 233-211.  In the C Division, it was a real nail biter as both bowlers would go back and forth throughout the match.  Michael Killgore would miss a spare in the tenth to leave the door open and Josh Hancock would fill out the tenth to win, 197-190.

The Final match at our Labor Day event we use the Step Ladder Finals format. So the #2 seed vs. #3 seed bowlers would face off in a one game match and the winner would face the #1 seed.  The advantage of being the #1 seed is that the bowler is already in the Final match with a guarantee of at least $900 and only bowling one match versus two matches.  Your #1 seed would be Robb Mansfield and he would watch as your #2 seed Brian Waugh take on #3 seed Josh Hancock.

The first Final match was a game of hot potatoes with both players having open frames and not being able to put anything together. Josh Hancock would take a lead early with the handicap difference as Josh was getting 37 pins to Brian who was getting 12 pins.  Brian would make a ball change late in the game but it would be too little too late as Josh had built up a lead winning the first Final match, 167 to 145.

We would take a quick break to give #1 seed Robb Mansfield a chance to practice on the pair.  There was a ten pin difference between Robb (27 pins) and Josh (37 pins).  This match would start off with both bowlers working at trying to find a line and a very demanding oil pattern.  Robb would get lined up and take the lead, but Josh would come back and it would all come down to the final frame.  Robb would finish first at 171 and Josh would need a mark and good count to get the win.  Josh’s first ball would pull to the left getting three off the left side.  He would now need to spare in order to have a chance at winning.  His spare attempt looked good, but would leave a ringing ten pin for a score of 162.  This would give Robb his 1st AHT SFT title and $1,600.00 first place prize!!  Congrats to Josh Hancock on 2nd place and $900.00.  Also congrats to Brian Waugh on 3rd and $500.00!!

Thank you to everyone that came out to support the event this weekend!  Also a BIG thank you to the tournament staff, Tawna and Desirae, for keeping the whole weekend running on time!  Hope you all have a great week and see you next Sunday at Bowlero Via Linda for our 2 squad event!

Step Ladder Finals 2 - #1 Robb Mansfield vs #3 Josh Hancock

Step Ladder Finals 1 - #2 Brian Waugh vs. #3 Josh Hancock