May 20, 2020 spopp

Exciting series of events on tap for the Professional Bowlers Association on FOX Sports

(May 20, 2020) - The Professional Bowlers Association will be back live on FOX, Saturday, June 6, from 7-9 pm ET, with the first-ever PBA Strike Derby, beginning a series of exciting special events over the next two months featuring the greatest bowlers in the world.

Go Bowling! PBA Tour stars Tommy Jones, Kyle Troup, Sean Rash, EJ Tackett, Kris Prather, Shawn Maldonado, Anthony Simonsen and Bill O'Neill will be getting back on the lanes in compelling bowling formats involving 2020 individual event top finishers, satisfying fans craving for action and serving notice: Bowling is back!

All of the competition will be held at Bowlero Jupiter in Florida, without fans in attendance and an abundance of caution towards the safety of the players, officials and TV production crew.

"We are so excited to be one of the first properties bringing live sports back to broadcast television," PBA CEO Colie Edison said. "This dynamic series of events will showcase the immense talent of our elite bowlers to a wide audience and we look forward to welcoming new fans to the Professional Bowlers Association."

First up is the inaugural "PBA Strike Derby," live on FOX, from 7-9 pm ET, Saturday, June 6, in what will surely be the greatest display of strikes ever on TV. The eight players will compete in a timed competition with each player getting 2 minutes to record as many strikes as they can. They will then be placed into an elimination bracket where the Strike Derby will continue until the first champion is named.

The following Saturday, June 13, also on FOX, from 6-8 pm ET, the "PBA Summer Clash" takes to the lanes in the popular one-ball elimination format that has twice garnered the highest TV ratings in more than a decade. As an added twist, the top two PWBA Tour players in points, Shannon O'Keefe and Danielle McEwan, will join the 8 PBA stars at the starting gate to begin round one, with the low score eliminated. That process continues round-by-round until one player will be left standing as champion.

Next up in July and featuring more players to be named, will be a four-night, live, "PBA King of the Lanes" series on FS1, with dates to be announced. The format will begin by deciding the "King" of the lanes, who will then defend the crown against a different challenger in a one-game match. The winner will be the King and returns the next night to face new challengers, with that process continuing each night.

Regularly scheduled PBA Tour events on FOX Sports that were postponed due to COVID-19, such as PBA World Series of Bowling animal pattern championships, the USBC Masters, PBA Playoffs and PBA League team competition, are being rescheduled for the fall and winter.

Viewers can live stream the PBA shows on the FOX Sports and FOX NOW apps or at FOXSports.com. Select highlights will be available on @FOXSports social handles across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

PBA Strike Derby
Where: Bowlero Jupiter, FL
When: Saturday, June 6, 7-9 pm ET
TV: FOX

Competing, and how they qualified, by 2020 Go Bowling PBA Tour event:

  1. Tommy Jones, PBA Hall of Fame Classic champion
  2. Sean Rash, PBA Oklahoma Open champion
  3. Kyle Troup, PBA Jonesboro Open champion
  4. Kris Prather, PBA Tournament of Champions champion
  5. Bill O'Neill, PBA Players Championship champion
  6. Anthony Simonsen, US Open runner-up (champion Jason Belmonte of Australia unable to attend).
  7. Shawn Maldonado, PBA Indianapolis Open runner-up (champion Jesper Svensson of Sweden unable to attend).
  8. E.J. Tackett, PBA World Championship third place (champion Belmonte, second place was Simonsen already in).

PBA Summer Clash
Where: Bowlero Jupiter, FL
When: Saturday, June 13, 6-8 pm ET
TV: FOX

Competing:
Same eight PBA players from Strike Derby (Tommy Jones, Sean Rash, Kyle Troup, Kris Prather, Bill O'Neill, Anthony Simonsen, Shawn Maldonado, E.J. Tackett); Joined by top two in 2019 PWBA competition points:

  1. Shannon O'Keefe
  2. Danielle McEwan

PBA King of the Lanes
Where: Bowlero Jupiter, FL
When: July, dates and times TBA
TV: FS1

Competing: Players to be named

About the PBA
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the world’s preeminent organization dedicated to the sport of bowling and its professional competition, with thousands of members and millions of fans throughout the world. The PBAplays host to bowling’s biggest tournaments from the Go Bowling! PBA Tour, PBARegional Tour, and PBA50 Tour. In 2019, the PBA was acquired by Bowlero Corporation, the world’s largest owner and operator of bowling entertainment centers with more than 300 locations throughout North America. For more information, please visit PBA.com and BowleroCorp.com.

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