Jake Peters Outlasts Stacked Field to Win All-Star Clash
Jake Peters of the Chicago Hitmen captured the PBA League All-Star Clash presented by Pabst Blue Ribbon title. He survived the 10-player eliminator format, where the player who rolled the lowest count was sent packing each round.
Peters defeated Packy Hanrahan of the Portland Lumberjacks in the final round. Hanrahan’s six-count gifted Peters a grand opportunity. He took full advantage to snag the win and $15,000 prize. His Chicago teammates each received $3,000.
The top-scoring player from each team during qualifying advanced to the All-Star Clash. Peters said succeeding against “50 of the best players in the world” to make the All-Star Clash was an honor.
Though Peters used reactive equipment during qualifying, he opted to use a Purple Hammer urethane for the All-Star Clash. His ball reaction faded as the rounds progressed, but he said changing balls wasn’t really an option.
“Urethane is not going to strike as much but it’ll put up a high number and give it a chance,” Peters said. “My plan was to hit the pocket and try to stay alive. You hope that you can get through a few rounds trying to get your feet under you.”
While the raucous BoPo crowd energized the players, they made it difficult for Peters to keep his ball speed down.
“You love to get pumped up with them,” he said. “At the same time, it's hard to slow down. Slow on that show is still fast."
With five left-handers on the show, the southpaws saw as much transition as the right-handers. One of those left-handers was Jakob Butturff, who finished fourth.
Butturff replaced his L.A. X teammate Martin Larsen, who suffered a neck injury just before the PBA League. Larsen persevered through the Anthony Division Finals and Strike Derby, but said the pain was worse than ever on the morning of the All-Star Clash.
“I know how hard it is to beat those guys when you're totally okay,” Larsen said. “To do it injured is just really hard. I wanted to have somebody from my team that is feeling okay to bowl for us.”
Hanrahan, the crowd favorite who had over a dozen family members and friends in attendance, observed the lanes transitioning a few rounds before the finals. He noted how Matt Russo and Jesper Svensson missed left and paid the price with splits.
“I did the same thing,” Hanrahan said of his final shot. “I made the bad miss of left and getting around (the ball) instead of missing in. If I miss in, I probably still hit the pocket, maybe I flat-7 or 7-10 but at least I would have hit the pocket.”
After Hanrahan's 2-4-7-8 leave, Peters only needed seven pins to lock up the win. His ball almost skidded through the breakpoint, but managed to knock over eight pins and claim the victory.
The 33-year old Peters was selected 15th overall in the PBA League Draft. Peters subbed for the Hitmen in 2019, but this marked his first selection to the PBA League since 2014. He took the responsibility of representing the Hitmen in the All-Star Clash to heart.
“Jason Couch took a chance on me,” Peters said. “I had a chance to sub a couple years ago and it just didn't go well. I really wanted to do well and put on a show for the team. Going into today, I really wanted to win for the Hitmen more than anything.”
PBA League All-Star Clash presented by Pabst Blue Ribbon Results
Round 1 — Ryan Ciminelli X, Mitch Hupé X, Packy Hanrahan X, Jason Sterner X, Matt Russo X, Matt Ogle 9, Jakob Butturff X, Darren Tang 9, Jake Peters X, Jesper Svensson X
Ogle defeated Tang in roll-off, X-X, X-9 — Tang eliminated
Round 2 — Ciminelli X, Hupé X, Hanrahan X, Sterner 9, Russo 9, Ogle X, Butturff X, Peters X, Svensson X
Russo defeated Sterner in roll-off, X-9 — Sterner eliminated
Round 3 — Ciminelli 6, Hupé X, Hanrahan 9, Russo 5, Ogle 9, Butturff 8, Peters X, Svensson 9
Russo eliminated
Round 4 — Ciminelli X, Hupé 6, Hanrahan X, Ogle 9, Butturff X, Peters 7, Svensson X
Hupé eliminated
Round 5 — Ciminelli 9, Hanrahan X, Ogle 9, Butturff X, Peters X, Svensson X
Ogle defeated Ciminelli in roll-off, 9-9, X-8 — Ciminelli eliminated
Round 6 — Hanrahan X, Ogle 9, Butturff X, Peters X, Svensson X
Ogle eliminated
Round 7 — Hanrahan X, Butturff 9, Peters 9, Svensson X
Peters defeated Butturff in roll-off, 8-8, X-9 — Butturff eliminated
Round 8 — Hanrahan X, Peters 9, Svensson 7
Svensson eliminated
Round 9 (Finals) — Hanrahan 6, Peters 8
Hanrahan eliminated
Final Standings
- Jake Peters, $15,000 ($3,000 to each teammate and manager)
- Packy Hanrahan, $8,000 ($2,000)
- Jesper Svensson, $1,500 ($1,500)
- Jakob Butturff, $1,250 ($1,250)
- Matt Ogle, $1,000 ($1,000)
- Ryan Ciminelli, $750 ($750)
- Mitch Hupé, $500 ($500)
- Matt Russo, $500 ($500)
- Jason Sterner, $500 ($500)
- Darren Tang, $500 ($500)