August 30, 2023 Nolan Hughes

Back in June, John Janawicz launched perhaps one of the most anticipated rookie campaigns in recent PBA memory. He did so in style, winning the season-opening USBC Senior Masters.

Tonight, Janawicz bookended the 2023 PBA50 Tour with another major win, climbing the stepladder to win the Johnny Petraglia BVL Tournament of Champions.

After earning the fifth seed, Janawicz defeated Bryan Goebel, Parker Bohn III, Chris Barnes and top-seeded Tom Adcock to win his second career PBA50 Tour title at Orange Bowl Lanes in Lakeland, Fla.

Goebel made an incredible run during the second round of match play to make the championship round, closing with games of 248, 238, 276, 269 and 256 — a narrow and deciding position round victory over Brad Angelo — to climb from 11th to fourth.

Though Goebel’s torrid scoring pace continued into the stepladder finals, Janawicz ended Goebel’s tournament with a 264-259 win in the opening match.

Janawicz started strong in the next match against Bohn, but a 2-8-10 split in his sixth frame brought the southpaw back into the match.

"When I bowled in match play, I hit this pair and I remember the left lane got a little tight," Janawicz said of lanes 11-12. "That’s where it bit me, and I saw it again with the 2-8-10."

But Janawicz, among the sharpest bowling minds on the planet, solved the transition instantaneously. He fired the back-six strikes to force Bohn to double.

Bohn aced the first shot, but overpowered the second and left the 3-9. Janawicz prevailed 244-238.

In the semifinal, Barnes and Janawicz each followed a pair of spares with a long string of strikes. Barnes held a slim lead throughout, but his 10-pin leave in the ninth frame ceded control of the match to Janawicz.

The Florida native capitalized on the opening with a pair of swishing strikes, advancing to the championship with a 256-247 victory.

“I probably maximized my score in the grand scheme of things,” Barnes told BowlTV after the match. “The right lane was the problem for me. The shot in the 9th I liked better than all of them… and [the 10-pin] still wobbled. It was the same for me all week. That was my highest game on that pair all week.”

Janawicz rolled onto the championship match where he met the No. 1 seed Adcock. The tall right-hander from Illinois captured his first official PBA50 Tour title earlier this month in The Villages, Fla.

Adcock, who could overtake Pete Weber for PBA60 Player of the Year with a victory, whiffed a 10-pin in the opening frame. Even as the scoring pace slowed down, Adcock struggled to build any momentum.

His 4-6-10 split in the seventh frame, followed by Janawicz’s double in the eighth and ninth frames, proved to be the deciding moment. Janawicz cruised to a 228-170 win thereafter.

Janawicz told BowlTV after the match that he considered changing balls before the championship, but trusted his gut instead.

“I’m going to stick with what I’ve got, just gear down and get even slower, and hope for the best,” Janawicz said. “I could see the scores were going to be a little bit lower as they were transitioning, and it worked out.”

Janawicz defeated three PBA50 Hall of Famers — Goebel, Bohn and Barnes — in the stepladder and earned $15,000 for his efforts.

On Tuesday, Janawicz clinched PBA50 Rookie of the Year honors after Jon Rakoski’s elimination from the TOC. Janawicz led all first-year players in points.

Troy Lint of Blandon, Pa., took home PBA50 Player of the Year honors in near wire-to-wire fashion. Lint won two titles, including the Senior U.S. Open, and earned six top-five finishes during his breakout campaign.

With Adcock’s loss in the championship match, Pete Weber earned PBA60 Player of the Year honors. Weber’s Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship victory highlighted his season.

More information will be released later this week on the award winners. Voting for the Dick Weber Sportsmanship Award will be held at a later date.

Championship Round Scores

Match 1: Janawicz def. Goebel, 263-259
Match 2: Janawicz def. Bohn, 244-238
Match 3: Janawicz def. Barnes, 256-247
Championship: Janawicz def. Adcock, 228-170

Final Standings

  1. John Janawicz, $15,000
  2. Tom Adcock, $8,000
  3. Chris Barnes, $6,000
  4. Parker Bohn III, $5,000
  5. Bryan Goebel, $4,000

More information, including full standings, is available here.

Full standings — PBA50 TOC