John Janawicz Wins 5th PBA50 Title of the Year at South Shore Classic
Hammond, Ind. – When John Janawicz is on the lanes, he sees every shot and every tournament as an opportunity to solve another puzzle. This bowling mastermind has proven in his short career on the PBA50 Tour that he knows how to solve the puzzles most of the time better and faster than anybody else.
On Thursday night, he showed us all again winning his fifth title of the year at the 2024 PBA50 South Shore Classic.
Janawicz admits he is always trying to simplify things and not let his emotions get too high or too low. He believes he performs at his best when he maintains an even keel and basically slows the game down. That allows him logically to process what is going on in front of him past the foul line.
The only time Janawicz has lost in a championship match was last year inside Olympia Lanes at the 2023 PBA50 South Shore Classic. Since then, he has been perfect in those moments. This time, the man most just call “JJ” defeated Mika Koivuniemi 234-205.
In the span of two seasons, Janawicz has bowled in 25 PBA50 Tour events and made the stepladder finals 56% of the time. His seven career PBA50 titles tie him with the legendary Earl Anthony and Dave Soutar.
“That is quite special to say the least. I wasn’t aware of that. Anytime you can be mentioned in the same breath as Dave Soutar and Earl Anthony, when it comes to bowling accomplishments, you’ve done a pretty good job,” Janawicz said. “I am very humbled and very honored to share some stats with them.”
Overall, Janawicz has won 28% of these tournaments and he has locked up another honor — 2024 PBA50 Player of the Year — to go along with his 2023 PBA50 Rookie of the Year award. He said it will be tough to maintain those incredible stats for the remainder of his career, but it’s a good start and he hopes to hold onto that over the coming years. When things are going well, he said history shows there will be some rough patches, so he is grateful for the opportunity and for what he has been able to accomplish so far.
“I am not really sure how to explain it honestly. You have a process you stick with and preparation when it comes to lane play, what you think you need to do with equipment, you develop a game plan, and you see if it works. Fortunately, this year, it has been working probably a little more than it hasn’t been working,” he said. “It is still kind of hard for me to comprehend it. This is pretty special to win five times in one year. It’s pretty surreal.”
In the championship match, Janawicz started off with a strike and spare followed by five straight strikes to hold a commanding 53-pin lead over Koivuniemi by the seventh frame on the way to the victory. Koivuniemi had seven total strikes in yet another solid performance on the lanes. This was Koivuniemi’s seventh straight stepladder finals appearance and his second runner-up finish.
He backed his way into the title match recovering from an open frame in the fifth frame of his semifinals match against No. 3 seed Brian Link. Koivuniemi put up five strikes from the sixth to the 10th frame for a 204 game. He took two of his balls off the rack thinking he was done, as Link needed a mark in the 10th frame for the win. Link watched his shot go high leaving the 3-10 split and he only got the 3-pin to finish with 195. Link extended both arms straight out in disappointment yet smiled and shook Koivuniemi’s hand.
This was not only a memorable show for Janawicz, but also for Link and No. 4 seed Dave Cirigliano, as both made their PBA50 stepladder debut. In the opening match, Cirigliano faced left-hander John Marsala, who led this tournament after qualifying. Marsala was able to put just two doubles together along with five spares and an open frame in the 10th for 201, as Cirigliano stole the spotlight. The tall right-hander from Arizona posted and repeated all 12 of his shots on the way to a perfect game, earning him a $1,000 bonus from the PBA.
“It is definitely one of those bucket list items I will tell you that. I really wasn’t nervous, which surprised me for my first time out here,” Cirigliano said. “There was a calm that came over me. Maybe my dad was watching from above.”
Cirigliano is no stranger to perfection. He is one of three bowlers to have rolled perfect games three times in the history of the USBC Open Championships. He had a great ball reaction in his opening match, which allowed him to relax. Plus, after defeating Tom Adcock, Tom Hess and Parker Bohn III to make it to the show, he was enjoying the journey. “They definitely inspire me to keep working. Today was a good day,” he said.
In Cirigliano’s next match against Link, Cirigliano opened with a bad break leaving a 7-10 in the first frame. Link, who is also right-handed, started with spare, strike, spare before getting three strikes in a row. Cirigliano went spare then a double before throwing his worst shot of the day leaving the 3-4-6-10 and getting just two. He got lined back up ending the match with seven straight strikes for 231. Link got a spare followed by three straight strikes and a single-pin spare to finish with 238 to advance.
The final event of the PBA50 season is the Tournament of Champions from AMF Riviera Lanes, which begins on Monday. “I have never actually bowled there but I have been there. To be able to bowl the TOC in a place that has so much history is going to be very special to me,” he said. “I just try to maintain a high level of play for as long as my body will allow. That is about all I can ask for.”
MATCH SCORES:
Match 1: Cirigliano def. Marsala 300-201
Match 2: Link def. Cirigliano 238-231
Match 3: Koivuniemi def. Link 204-195
Championship match: Janawicz def. Koivuniemi 234-205
PBA50 SOUTH SHORE CLASSIC FINAL STANDINGS:
- John Janawicz, $7,500
- Mika Koivuniemi, $4,000
- Brian Link, $3,000
- Dave Cirigliano, $2,500
- John Marsala, $ 2,000