August 23, 2024 Nolan Hughes

Round 6 Standings

For Hayden Stippich and Brandon Runk, the battle has begun to shift from securing a top-12 finish at PBA Tour Trials to who can run furthest away from the field.

The left-handed Pennsylvania natives have earned a 200-pin advantage between themselves and third place, and a near-400-pin advantage over 13th place.

The two-handed Stippich leads the field with a 8,420 (+1,220) pinfall through 36 games. In his 48 total games this week — including leading Monday’s pre-tournament qualifier — Stippich has averaged nearly 232 with just five games below 200 and one game below 195.

“I’m not wandering. I'm not letting my mind slip. I’ve got a job to do, and that's all I'm focused on right now,” Stippich said.

For Friday’s competition, lane pairings will be sorted based on standings, which means Stippich will be paired with Runk. Another close friend and Pennsylvania lefty Anthony Neuer, who is in eighth place, will be on the pair next door.

“It’s going to be a fun day. A lot of pressure is going to be taken off, just because of the three of us being next to each other,” Stippich said.

Thirty-five games into the tournament, Runk finally blinked: He bowled his first sub-200 games in Games 5-6 on Thursday night.

"It was impressive. I am still very annoyed that it came to an end, but it had to happen eventually, I guess," Runk said. "It just got to a point where the lanes just got very silly, and I couldn't get my ball to do the right thing, couldn't get the ball through the front part of lane no matter what I tried."

Now trailing Stippich by 17 pins, Runk is using their friendship for personal gain.

“In all fairness, I'm trying to beat Hayden,” Runk said. “That was a driving motivation in those first couple games tonight because I found myself getting a little too complacent with my position, so I used a little friendly rivalry there to keep myself motivated.”

Righties Tim Foy Jr., Chase Nadeau and Ryan Barnes round out the top five.

Pete Vergos, Frank Snodgrass, Anthony Neuer, Andrew Hall, Bailey Mavrick, Cam Crowe and David Northouse fill out the current top 12.

These players, who range from Regional Tour stars, recent collegiate powerhouses and PBA Tour veterans, sit on the precipice of achieving full-time touring status.

After all 48 games, the top 12 players will earn exempt status on the 2025 PBA Tour, which includes priority entry for all 2025 PBA Tour events and eligibility for the PBA Elite League draft.

Wednesday’s star Tim Cagle II dropped to 13th place on Thursday, sitting 11 pins outside the cut at +810. Another Pennsylvania native, Cody Shoemaker, surged from 35th to 14th on Thursday.

Dean Vargo, Rafiq Ismail, Chris Sloan, Kim Bolleby, Nate Purches, Pontus Andersson, Brad Miller and William Svensson each sit within 100 pins of Northouse. Dallas Leong in 31st place is 200 pins behind Northouse.

The final rounds will take place Friday at Bowlero Deer Park, with rounds beginning at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Central (12/7 p.m. Eastern).

All rounds of PBA Tour Trials will be livestreamed on BowlTV.

More information on PBA Tour Trials is available here.

Round 6 Leaders

  1. Hayden Stippich, 8,420 (+1,220) — 410 pins ahead of 13th place
  2. Brandon Runk, 8,403 (+1,203) — 393 pins
  3. Tim Foy Jr., 8,202 (+1,002) — 192 pins
  4. Chase Nadeau, 8,120 (+920) — 110 pins
  5. Ryan Barnes, 8,097 (+897) — 87 pins
  6. Pete Vergos, 8,095 (+895) — 85 pins
  7. Frank Snodgrass, 8,072 (+872) — 62 pins
  8. Anthony Neuer, 8,042 (+842) — 32 pins
  9. Andrew Hall, 8,032 (+832) — 22 pins
  10. Bailey Mavrick, 8,028 (+828) — +8 pins
  11. Cam Crowe, 8,022 (+822) — 12 pins
  12. David Northouse, 8,021 (+821) — 11 pins

PBA Tour Trials Schedule

All times listed in Central

Monday, Aug. 19 — Pre-Tournament Qualifier
Results

Tuesday, Aug. 20 — Bowlero Woodridge
11 a.m. — Qualifying Round 1 (six games; 35’ PBA pattern)
6 p.m. — Qualifying Round 2 (six games; 35’ PBA pattern)

Wednesday, Aug. 21 — Bowlero Randall Road
11 a.m. — Qualifying Round 1 (six games; 41’ PBA pattern)
6 p.m. — Qualifying Round 2 (six games; 41’ PBA pattern)

Thursday, Aug. 22 — Bowlero Mount Prospect
11 a.m. — Qualifying Round 1 (six games; 44’ PBA pattern)
6 p.m. — Qualifying Round 2 (six games; 44 PBA pattern)

Friday, Aug. 23 — Bowlero Deer Park
11 a.m. — Qualifying Round 1 (six games; 47 PBA pattern)
6 p.m. — Qualifying Round 2 (six games; 47 PBA pattern)
Results

Top 12 players qualify for 2025 PBA Tour exempt status