Kris Prather Headlines Stacked PBA World Championship Show
At the Guaranteed Rate PBA World Series of Bowling XIII, Kris Prather has been a man on a mission. The 30-year-old secured the top seed at the PBA World Championship presented by Pabst Blue Ribbon. This marks second consecutive one-seed at a major, following his runner-up finish at the Kia PBA Tournament of Champions last February.
Prather entered the Eliminator Round of Eight in fourth place, trailing Tommy Jones by 112 pins. In Games 51-52, Prather struck on 19 straight shots before a stone-9 stifled his bid for consecutive perfect games. But shooting 300-279 still allowed Prather to surge into the lead. Joining Prather on consecutive major shows is Tommy Jones, who finished fifth at the Tournament of Champions. Jones finished just six pins behind Prather at +1,596. He doubled in the tenth frame of Game 54, which forced Prather to secure the top-seed.
The 43-year-old Jones has not won a major since 2007, but keeps knocking on the door in 2022. He has made three of four major shows; the lone major he did not finish inside the top-five was the US Open, in which he finished sixth.
Jason Belmonte earned the third seed, averaging almost 229 across his 54 games. This marks his third major telecast in four events of 2022; he has made 12 of 18 major shows since 2019. After capturing the season-opening PBA Players Championship title, Belmonte will look to extend his PBA record with a 15th career major title.
The opening match on Sunday’s telecast will pit Jason Sterner against Jakob Butturff, who earned the fourth and fifth seeds, respectively. The 38-year-old Sterner seeks his fourth career PBA title and first career major, while the seven-time titleist Butturff sits on the brink of Hall of Fame eligibility if he can win a second career major title.
Kyle Troup and Anthony Simonsen finished tied for sixth at +1,426, and EJ Tackett rounded out the top-eight at +1,369.
The PBA World Championship presented by Pabst Blue Ribbon will air live on FOX at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 13.
PBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY PABST BLUE RIBBON THROUGH 54 GAMES
- Kris Prather +1,602
- Tommy Jones +1,596
- Jason Belmonte +1,563
- Jason Sterner +1,486
- Jakob Butturff +1,484
GUARANTEED RATE PBA WORLD SERIES OF BOWLING XIII TV SCHEDULE
PBA World Championship presented by Pabst Blue Ribbon – Mar. 13, 1 p.m. ET on FOX
PBA Cheetah Championship – Mar. 14, 8 p.m. ET on FS1
PBA Scorpion Championship – Mar. 15, 8 p.m. ET on FS1
PBA Shark Championship – Mar. 16, 8 p.m. ET on FS1
PBA Collegiate Invitational presented by Storm – Mar. 20, 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1
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 PBA plays host to bowling’s biggest tournaments from the PBA Tour, PBA Regional Tour, and PBA50 Tour. In 2020, the PBA launched PBA Jr., a club for elite youth bowlers under the age of 17 and the PBA Pinsiders, a membership for fans of the sport. For more information, please visit PBA.com.