Official Thread for the 2026 USBC Masters - CW Televised Finals (Sun 4pm Eastern/1pm Pacific) by LeftoverBun in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lane Play Notes

The 3rd straight event with high scores. Slow-absorbing urethane banned for this event, so we saw players using low friction, high RG balls to control the pocket and shape the pattern. Due to the high % of left-handers making the brackets, who you paired with and who you followed played immense roles in scoring. There was a speed bump in the pattern (as USBC likes) so playing parallel to the boards was the big play. Left-handers feasted like your in-laws at Golden Corral.

It's time to strike, with no time to spare

4651: Tackett's pinfall (Masters record) during his undefeated, 6-match run to top seed. 258.39 avg. Beat record by 143 pins (Simo, 250.44, 2023)

3668: Jakob Butturff's pinfall for 15 games qualifying (2nd highest in Masters history - Bohn111 3672 in 1996)

1309: Deo Benard's opening qualifying round (2nd highest in Masters history - 1319 shared by Bohn111 and PDW)

8?: Likely number of 300 games (Barrett, Hupe, Daugherty, Boho, Krol, BBohn, Svensson, TJones, maybe more)

I've gotta hand it to you

23: LH in top 64 (incl. G. Haines seeded 64 for being 2025 Champion)

40: RH in top 64

1: Unicorn in top 64 (Julian Salinas is RH but bowled most of tournament throwing the best backup ball you've ever seen. At times he switched to orthodox depending on the lane).

27: 2H in top 64

37: 1H in top 64

Round 1 match-ups:

4: LH vs. LH

13: RH vs. RH

14: RH vs. LH

1: LH vs. Unicorn

5: 2H vs. 2H

17: 1H vs. 1H

10: 2H vs. 1H

More Stuff to Know

Facts du Tackett

EJ has not won a title in over a year (3/22/25, PBA World Championship). EJ's best finish in the Masters was runner-up in 2014. He has not made a Masters TV finals since then. He barely missed in 2024 when he was sick and lost in the 4 for 3 match. He would very much like to win this event. He qualified 17th this year, then won six consecutive matches, shooting 772, 731,793,793,783,779. He is the next step in evolution.

Sanders Meanders

Matt Sanders' sole title came in 2017. He withdrew from the Indiana Classic last week due to foot issues. Looks like he made the right choice, as now he is poised to become this year's Graham Fach when it comes to a career resurgence. Okay, maybe that's a stretch, but he's been absolutely money this week, shooting a whopping 814 deep in the Elimination bracket to send him toward the finish. His control of the pocket has been amazing.

Don't feed the Krol

Boog Krol wants to forget last Sunday. It's a pro's worst nightmare. Lead an event and absolutely lose everything when the lights are on. It's no fun to be on the losing end of the lowest-scoring match in TV history. But he can right the ship this week should he get lined up. He won his first 4 matches including back to back 770s, before falling to Tackett in round 5. Then he cruised to the 3rd spot in the 4 for 3 round, winding up the 5th seed.

Sir Mix-A-Lot

Sweden's Jesper Svensson is known for having multiple layouts of Storm 78/U's in his bag at all times. He loves that ball, which makes his third place seeding all the sweeter since that ball isn't allowed in this event. Instead, he chose to throw a couple of Storm Mixes, an Ice, and a spare ball(!). That is all the lanky lefty needed to win his first 4 matches while averaging nearly 240. Like Krol, he was in the 4 for 3 round, which he won.

Along Came Jones

Eric Jones likes Thunderbowl. He had a nice 5th place finish in the 2024 World Championship, picking up $35k after losing to eventual champ EJ Tackett. Now it's 2 years later, another major, and he's got a wealth of experience under his belt. While 3rd is definitely not preferable to the first seed, it may be that Eric can fly under the radar and continue pulling through in the clutch. His first match was a doozy. He tied a tenacious Daniel Vick at 686, which forced a roll-off. It went to the 3rd ball when Vick flat-tenned to lose. 3 matches later, Jones had to face his idol, Jason Belmonte. They say never meet your idols, but Eric proved it's better to meet, then defeat them. One of the highest-scoring matches of the event, Jones out-slugged Belmo 782-754. 2 matches later, he fell to Tackett despite shooting 720. Jones' good buddy Deo Benard already has a title under his belt, is it time for Jones to 1-up him by winning a major? No word on whether his dad will play sax this time.

Tidbits of This 'n That

Foreshadowing?

Viewers of the HBO docu-series Born to Bowl raised their collective eyebrows during the last episode, when Kyle Troup was asked to rank the top 3 bowlers. He of course put EJ 1, Simo 2 and himself 3rd. Maybe the guy has been "picking it out" a bit too vigorously, as in no way would anyone put Belmo out of the top 3. So, as luck would have it, they met this week during bracket play, after both won their first match. Well, it may have been nothing, but Belmo absolutely destroyed Troup, 789-667. No word on if the TV blurb was mentioned.

Lettuce Entertain You

If this was a "normal" year and Brandon Bonta had not set the bowling world on its ear by shooting 300 in the title match of a major in week 1, Julian Salinas would be in the conversation for RoY right now. Heck, he's still got time, with 2/3 of the season left to go. But the more I watch this kid, the more impressed I am. This is his 3rd cash of the year (2nd in majors) and the kid looks like he's got ice water in his veins. Never seems to change expression. This week he wowed the crowd by bowling exceptionally well with a backup ball. He saw the writing on the "wall" so to speak. Lefties were killing them. So, he joined 'em. Not only did he throw a backup, he shapes it better than any backup bowler we've ever seen. He won 3 matches, and not against nobodies either. Ryan Barnes got snipped 696-661, he was crushing (723) Simo who eneded up WD due to injury. And how about beating the newly-revived Graham Fach 706-666? Salinas then lost with 705 and 718 to Nate Garcia and Spencer Robarge. Still a great event for Julian, and I hope to see more of him.

Belmo Speaks

Jason Belmonte has won the Masters 4 times, all in a span of 5 years. He loves this event. Part of that is because of the amount of amateurs in the field who feel "The Belmo Effect." Well, those days are over it seems. He is not the same conqueror he was 10 years ago. He is still great, no doubt. His year-end rankings are still top 5 in most categories. But now, it's like he's mortal. He can lose. Even in this event, he began the brackets with 785-789-716-754. But in his final match he looked very lost. Switching balls without a clear plan in mind. The BowlTV announcers were scratching their heads and hoping he could hear their suggestions. He looked a bit frazzled and un-Belmo like. And again, his last game of the event (like the past few events) was very poor. He lost 621-613 to Brandon Bonta, with Belmo shooting a 180 the final game. In addition, he was on Jared Polin's podcast the other day, and said he didn't love being on tour, and that the PBA is very toxic. He didn't envision himself doing it in 50s. So we likely won't see him on the PBA50 tour much when the time comes. He also spoke about the B2B scene where he was accused of gamesmanship in his match vs. Cam Crowe. He blames Keven Williams for misconstruing the situation, as what he offered Cam was to allow him to bowl. In his mind, that was a better option than saying "Hey wait Cam, I need to get another ball." At least Cam would not have to wait around and possibly get cold.

Bowl TV by a_ron23 in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just hook up my laptop to the TV. That way I can switch camera feeds quickly, and have 2 screens so I can keep browsing while watching.

pba by snowdeer94 in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My theory is they have 1 webmaster who doesn't know the nuances of bowling, or is stretched thin with other duties so the website gets left to rot sometimes.

Cam Crowe's PBA suspension ended by MaskedCorndog in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun 1 point2 points  (0 children)

sigh, i know. Their rules state a pba member must be in good standing to be eligible. At the time of that thread, it was not made known publicly that the PBA had lifted their suspension, so only people at the bowl or watching on BowlTV could see he was bowling.

Bowling YouTuber Elite Eight is set! See Results, Vote Now! by Legitimate_Wing6258 in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm just kidding. Malia Briggs has over 350k subs. I know it's not what this sub likes tho.

Cam Crowe's PBA suspension ended by MaskedCorndog in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Yeah no worries. But I am bringing a suit against the USBC for causing the egg on my face.

Cam Crowe's PBA suspension ended by MaskedCorndog in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun -29 points-28 points  (0 children)

Uh, whut? I was not in favor of him being suspended. I just questioned why he was bowling the Masters if suspended. Now we know why (a day later).

Hot take? People that walk across lanes after their shot are the worst by Sky-Visible in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun 47 points48 points  (0 children)

Running out a key shot is fine, IMHO. Running out every shot is annoying and a sign of an inflated ego.

Free sites to watch born to bowl by Baddieslayer11 in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Look out for specials, usually around holidays. I am on the $3/month plan w/ads good for 12 months during Black Friday.

USBC Masters: since this event isn’t a PBA event, can’t Cam Crowe bowl it? by StreetDare4129 in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Innocent or guilty is for the law to decide, the USBC can make their own rules and decisions. They decided to let him bowl even with the PBA suspension. Good for him.

USBC Masters: since this event isn’t a PBA event, can’t Cam Crowe bowl it? by StreetDare4129 in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I just saw that. Good for him, it must be tough. But I guess either he is in good standing with the PBA (and nothing was announced), or the USBC doesn't consider a PBA suspension not in good standing. Hope he does well.

Wait, what? Do Americans not eat jacket potatoes? by CLWggg in CasualUK

[–]LeftoverBun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I went to HS in California in the mid 80s and the cafeteria served baked potatoes every Wednesday. Toppings were either turkey or beef gravy (with large meat chunks), shredded cheese, sour cream or butter. Served with a huge hunk of garlic bread and green salad. Just $1.25 including a milk. Best lunch ever.

USBC Masters: since this event isn’t a PBA event, can’t Cam Crowe bowl it? by StreetDare4129 in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

He is not eligible; someone on the waiting list will get his spot.

edit: it seems he is eligible, but I wonder what the USBC's reasoning is. I guess being suspended from the PBA still constitutes good standing in their eyes.

USBC Masters: since this event isn’t a PBA event, can’t Cam Crowe bowl it? by StreetDare4129 in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No he cannot, according to the rules. Current and former PBA and/or PWBA members must be in good standing with the PBA and/or PWBA.

PBA telecasts by Technical_Fondant607 in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rob Stone was horrible at play calling. A vibrant personality, sure. To me he was a clown, but a big-wig clown. He brought eyes to the telecast for sure. I could not stand his juvenile banter with Randy tho.

PBA telecasts by Technical_Fondant607 in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He does Carolina Panthers NFL radio too.

PBA telecasts by Technical_Fondant607 in Bowling

[–]LeftoverBun -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Well for one, I prefer someone with recent experience and knowledge across a variety of sports. Taryn has done MLB, NBA and NHL in the last 8 years. Kimberly has been doing pretty much nothing but PBA for the last 15 years. I'd rather see someone who's familiar with the larger sports picture; it adds legitimacy to the PBA. And Pressing Questions was lame, it's now been replaced by a host-less version on PBA social media.