| 2021 PBA Tour season | |
|---|---|
| League | Professional Bowlers Association |
| Sport | Ten-pin bowling |
| Duration | January 14 – August 22 |
| PBA Tour | |
| Season MVP | Kyle Troup |
| PBA Tour seasons | |
The2021PBA Tour season, the 62nd season of play for the U.S.Professional Bowlers Association'sten-pin bowling tour, began on January 14 with the Regional Portions of thePBA Players Championship. The season included 14 singles title events and two doubles title events.
The 2021 season has featured three televisedperfect 300 games, the 30th, 31st and 32nd in PBA Tour history. The first was accomplished byChris Via (February 7, PBA Players Championship East Region finals)[1] and the second by Sam Cooley (May 16,PBA Tour Playoffs).[2] Via then rolled his second 300 game of the season on June 27 at the PBA Tour Finals, joiningSean Rash andFrançois Lavoie as the only players in history with two televised 300 games in PBA Tour title events.[3]
This season has also seen the fourth-ever 7–10 split conversion in a televised PBA Tour event (and first since 1991), accomplished by 18-year old rookie Anthony Neuer in the semifinal match of theU.S. Open.[4]
Kyle Troup has set the PBA's single-season earnings record this season, with $496,900.[5] The previous record holder wasWalter Ray Williams Jr., who earned $419,700 in the2002–03 season.[2]
The PBA announced it would open the 2021 season with a revamped and expanded PBA Players Championship that opens up the event to a broader portion of the PBA membership. Five Regional events (West, Southwest, Central, South and East) were hosted first. After 28 qualifying games (7 games on each of four different oil patterns), each Region held its own stepladder finals broadcast onFS1. The five Regional winners then competed in the tournament finals held inJupiter, Florida on February 21, which was broadcast live onFox.[6] The Regional concept was introduced, in part, due to travel restrictions that have resulted from the continuingCOVID-19 pandemic, and will allow most PBA professionals to compete in safe events closer to home. In addition, the 2021 PBA Players Championship featured a $1 million prize fund, with a PBA record-tying $250,000 first place prize.[6]
ThePBA Tournament of Champions took place February 23–28, also in Jupiter, Florida (following the conclusion of the PBA Players Championship finals in the same location). The PBA then moved toTampa, Florida forWorld Series of Bowling (WSOB) XII. WSOB XII featured three animal oil pattern title events (Cheetah, Chameleon, Scorpion), with these three tournaments serving as initial qualifying for thePBA World Championship major. WSOB XII also included the PBARoth-Holman Doubles Championship. The PBA World Championship finals aired on Saturday afternoon, March 13 on Fox, kicking off five consecutive days of broadcasts. The Roth-Holman Doubles, Cheetah Championship, Chameleon Championship and Scorpion Championship aired March 14–17 on FS1.
The U.S. Open was originally scheduled to take place inGreen Bay, Wisconsin while the USBC Masters was to be held inLas Vegas,Nevada. In December 2020, the USBC announced the two events would be held in back-to-back weeks (March 30 through April 11). Both tournaments were held inReno, Nevada due to COVID-19 continuing to impact USBC operations.[7]
Following the U.S. Open was the PBA Super Slam on April 18, which saw the five PBA major winners vying for a $100,000 first prize.[8] The third annualPBA Tour Playoffs ran from April 24 through May 16. Previous events featured the top 24 players in points through the first 13 events of the season, but due to only nine events being scheduled before the 2021 Playoffs, this season's tournament started with the top 16 players only.[9]
On April 29, the PBA announced the return of the King of the Lanes event, to be held this season on June 19 & 20 inPortland, Maine. The "last man standing" format will have reigning kingKris Prather returning, with a mix of veteran and current players looking to gain the throne over the five rounds. The challengers include:Chris Barnes, AJ Johnson,Jesper Svensson,Parker Bohn III,Chris Via, Anthony Neuer,Tim Mack, Jason Sterner,Tom Daugherty andFrançois Lavoie. The PBA member event will be preceded by an all-women's event, thePBA King of the Lanes: Empress Edition, on June 15 & 16. (In the 2020 PBA King of the Lanes, two females –Clara Guerrero and Gazmine Mason – participated against an otherwise all-male field.)[10] This marked the first PBA event to have a live audience since February 2020.
The PBA Tour Finals, featuring the top eight points earners since the start of the 2020 season, was held June 26–27 inAllen Park, Michigan, with all rounds airing live onCBS Sports Network.[11]
In May, the PBA finalized scheduling for five Summer Tour events, beginning with the Lubbock Sports Open on July 23–25 and concluding with the Chesapeake Open on August 20–22. All events awarded a PBA title, Tier 3 Tour points and a minimum $10,000 winner's share, with a $40,000 bonus pool up for grabs based on combined points over the five stops. The top points earner (Darren Tang) won a $20,000 bonus, with smaller amounts awarded to the second through tenth place finishers.[12][13]
The events for the 2021 PBA tournament schedule are shown below. Major tournaments are inbold. Career PBA title numbers for winners are shown in parentheses (#). Winner's share prize money is shown in US dollars ($), except where indicated.
Tour points are awarded for most events. Besides the season-endingHarry Smith PBA Points Winner award, points are one consideration for Player of the Year voting, and also affect eligibility for thePBA Tour Playoffs and PBA Tour Finals (combined with 2020 points). Points for tournaments are awarded differently based on a "tier" system. The tier of each qualifying tournament is shown in the Notes column on the tournament schedule, and is explained below.
| Event | Airdate | City | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Oil pattern | Winner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBA Players Championship | West Region Finals: Jan 24FS1 (220,000 viewers)[14] Southwest Region Finals: Jan 31FS1 (287,000 viewers)[15] Central Region Finals: Feb 6FS1 (209,000 viewers)[16] East Region Finals: Feb 7FS1 (208,000 viewers)[16] South Region Finals: Feb 14FS1 (328,000 viewers)[17] Championship Finals: Feb 21Fox (958,000 viewers)[18] | Phoenix, AZ;Garland, TX;Milwaukee, WI;Richmond, VA;Tampa, FL;Jupiter, FL | Jan 14–17 (all regions) | Live | Qualifying: Viper 36, Bear 41, Chameleon 39, Shark 48 Regional & tournament finals:Don Carter 39 | Kyle Troup, USA (7) | Open PBA members-only event (Tier 1). PBA major. Five Regional winners (Anthony Simonsen,François Lavoie,Tom Smallwood,Kyle Troup,Dick Allen) compete on February 21 for a $250,000 top prize. |
| KiaPBA Tournament of Champions | Feb 28Fox (865,000 viewers)[19] | Jupiter, FL | Feb 23–26 (PTQ: Feb 22) | Live | Don Johnson 40 | François Lavoie, Canada (5) | Invitational event (Tier 1), limited to 64 PBA titlists. PBA major. PBA Tour champions fill up to 58 entries. PBA players withRegional titles only bowl in the PTQ to fill a minimum of 6 entries. $100,000 top prize. |
| PBAGuaranteed RateWorld Championship | Mar 13Fox (456,000 viewers)[20] | Tampa, FL | Mar 7–11 | Live | Qualifying: Cheetah 33, Chameleon 39, Scorpion 42 Cashers round thru finals:Earl Anthony 43 | Tom Daugherty, USA (3) | Open event for WSOB XII participants (Tier 1). PBA major. Top 30 players based on combined Cheetah, Chameleon and Scorpion qualifying pinfall advance to cashers round. $100,000 top prize. |
| PBAWSOB XIIRoth-Holman Doubles Championship | Mar 14FS1 (254,000 viewers)[20] | Tampa, FL | Mar 7–9, 12 | Live | Qualifying: Cheetah 33, Chameleon 39, Scorpion 42 Match Play & Finals:Mark Roth 42 (left lane) Marshall Holman 37 (right lane) | Andrew Anderson, USA (3) &Kris Prather, USA (4) | Open event-limited field (Tier 3). Top 16 teams based on combined Cheetah, Chameleon and Scorpion qualifying pinfall advance to match play on March 12. $30,000 top prize. |
| PBAWSOB XII Cheetah Championship | Mar 15FS1 | Tampa, FL | Mar 7, 15 | Live | Cheetah 33 | Sam Cooley, Australia (1) | Open event-short format (Tier 3). $30,000 top prize. |
| PBAWSOB XII Chameleon Championship | Mar 16FS1 | Tampa, FL | Mar 8, 16 | Live | Chameleon 39 | Shawn Maldonado, USA (1) | Open event-short format (Tier 3). $30,000 top prize. |
| PBAWSOB XII Scorpion Championship | Mar 17FS1 | Tampa, FL | Mar 9, 17 | Live | Scorpion 42 | Tom Daugherty, USA (4) | Open event-short format (Tier 3). $30,000 top prize. |
| USBC Masters | Apr 4FS1 (249,000 viewers)[21] | Reno, NV | Mar 30 – Apr 3 | Live | USBC custom (40 ft.) | Thomas Larsen, Denmark (3) | Open event (Tier 1). PBA major. $30,000 top prize. |
| 77th U.S. Open | Apr 11FS1 (465,000 viewers)[22] | Reno, NV | Apr 6–10 (PTQ: Apr 4) | Live | U.S. Open (4 custom patterns) | Chris Via, USA (1) | Open event (Tier 1). PBA major. $30,000 top prize. |
| Guaranteed Rate PBA Super Slam | Apr 18Fox (593,000 viewers)[23] | Annandale, VA | N/A | Live | Mike Aulby 39 | François Lavoie, Canada | Non-title event for winners of all 2021 majors. $100,000 top prize. |
| KiaPBA Tour Playoffs | Round of 16: Apr 24–25FS1 (227,000 viewers/224,000 viewers)[24] May 1FS1 (viewers–NA) & May 2FS1 (406,000 viewers)[25] Quarterfinals: May 9FS1 (345,000 viewers)[26] & May 10FS1 (187,000 viewers)[27] Semifinals: May 15FS1 Finals: May 16 Fox | Milford, CT | Live | Live | Carmen Salvino 44 | Kyle Troup, USA (8) | Invitational title event. Starting field includes top 16 players in 2021 season points through the U.S. Open. $100,000 top prize. |
| PBA King of the Lanes | Jun 19–20FS1 | Portland, ME | Live | Live | Mark Roth 42 | Final King: Jason Sterner Top Casher:Parker Bohn III ($25,000) | Non-title invitational event. Defending King: Kris Prather. Each round pays $10,000 to the King match winner, $5,000 for second, $3,000 for third. |
| PBA Tour Finals | Jun 26–27CBS Sports | Allen Park, MI | Live | Live | Marshall Holman 38 &Johnny Petraglia 46 | Anthony Simonsen, USA (8) | Invitational title event. Starting field includes Top 8 players in Tour points since start of 2020 season. $30,000 top prize. |
| PBA Strike Derby | Jul 11FS1 | Portland, ME | N/A | Jun 18 | Mark Roth 42 | Andrew Anderson, USA | Non-title invitational event. 12 player starting field. $25,000 top prize. |
| PBA Lubbock Sports Open | Jul 25FloBowling | Lubbock, TX | Jul 23–24 | Live | Carmen Salvino 44 | Shawn Maldonado, USA (2) | Open event. Tier 3-short format. $15,000 top prize. |
| PBA-PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles (a.k.a. The Luci) | Aug 1FloBowling | Houston, TX | Jul 29–31 | Live | Custom Kegel design | E. J. Tackett, USA (14) &Danielle McEwan, USA | Open PBA and PWBA title event. Tier 3-limited field. $20,000 top prize. |
| PBA FloBowling Jonesboro Open | Aug 8FloBowling | Jonesboro, AR | Aug 6–7 | Live | Marshall Holman 38 | Matt Russo, USA (1) | Open event. Tier 3-short format. $10,000 top prize. |
| PBA FloBowling Bowlerstore.com Classic | Aug 15FloBowling | Coldwater, OH | Aug 13–14 | Live | Bear 41 | Darren Tang, USA (1) | Open event. Tier 3-short format. $10,000 top prize. |
| PBA FloBowling Chesapeake Open | Aug 22FloBowling | Chesapeake, VA | Aug 20–21 | Live | Wolf 32 | Sean Rash, USA (17) | Open event. Tier 3-short format. $10,000 top prize. |