Chris Barnes Leads Qualifying At PBA50 Monacelli Championship
Jackson, Michigan – The defending champion of the inaugural 2023 PBA50 World Series of Bowling World Championship is once again eyeing the chance to win one of the biggest tournaments and pay days of the entire season.
After finishing Ballard Championship qualifying in second place on Monday, Chris Barnes came into JAX 60 on Tuesday and led qualifying at the PBA50 Monacelli Championship.
Barnes averaged 251.5 over eight games to get to +412. He has a 104-pin lead over fellow A-squad bowler Brad Angelo in second place.
On the 40-foot Monacelli oil pattern, Barnes played much deeper on the lane as he noticed plenty of friction in the front part of the lanes. The same ball he used in his final four games on Monday he relied on to get his evening started.
“Today was a culmination of making the right ball choices and getting good ball reaction,” Barnes said. “On the long formats, getting a block like this helps separate you from the field. You’ve got to take advantage and use it as motivation.”
Behind Angelo is B-squad leader Paul Koehler, Brian Diede at +281 and Paul Fleming at +270. Koehler and Diede were on the same pair and the duo worked together nicely. Koehler said they played the lanes pretty much the same getting good reads off one another and standing on the same board every game. His son and daughter just bowled at the 2024 USA Bowling National Championships last week in nearby Allen Park, Mich., so Koehler figured he might as well compete in the WSOB II. His 10-year-old son Kristopher's Coastal South region team won the title in the 12-and-under division.
“They got me pumped up bowling this week. My wife and daughter flew back home Saturday, but Kristopher stayed with me,” Koehler said. “I wanted him to try to help me this week in being the eyes behind me. He knows ball motion. I try to include him quite a bit because it is good learning for him, too. He is pretty talented.”
Koehler cashed in all three stops in his home state of Florida this season, including a third place finish. He has been nursing some tendonitis in his arms, so he decided to drill some 15-pound equipment coming into this grueling week. That is what he used on Monday. He was inside the cut until a 171 in his final game dropped him to 23rd place. On Tuesday, he wasn’t in pain, so he switched back to 16-pound equipment to slow his hand down and he felt that is what saved him.
“I bowled well on this pattern when it was down in Fort Myers last year and ended up losing just before the show to John Janawicz, imagine that,” Koehler said, laughing. “Any one of these patterns I feel comfortable on. I like longer formats. The more I can stack pins on my score it gives me more confidence.”
Tom Hess and Troy Stus were the final two players to make the cut for the Monacelli Championship at +166. Bracket match play for this event will be on Friday.
Next up at the WSOB II is the PBA50 Petraglia Championship. It will begin at 9 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday with A-squad followed by B-squad at 4 p.m. Bracket match play for this event will take place on Saturday.
Currently, Barnes, Angelo, Jason Couch, Mika Koivuniemi, and Mario Quintero have made both cuts this week.
The top 18 overall bowlers after 24 games of qualifying across the Ballard, Monacelli and Petraglia Championships will advance to the World Championship. All qualifying pins carry over into match play rounds scheduled to start at 9 a.m. ET on Sunday. Three standard titles and a major PBA50 title are available.
You can watch the entire PBA50 WSOB II on BowlTV.
PBA50 Monacelli Championship Match Play Advancers:
- Chris Barnes, 2,012 (+412)
- Brad Angelo, 1,908 (+308)
- Paul Koehler, 1,902 (+302)
- Brian Diede, 1,881 (+281)
- Paul Fleming, 1,870 (+270)
- Larry Verble,1,865 (+265)
- Jason Couch, 1,857 (+257)
- Eddie Byrd, 1,848 (+248)
- Steve Ludwig, 1,830 (+230)
- Lee Lorts, 1,810 (+210)
- Mario Quintero, 1,804 (+204)
- Mika Koivuniemi, 1,795 (+195)
- Brian Burkhardt, 1,781 (+181)
- Michael Hartter, 1,780 (+180)
- Tom Hess, 1,766 (+166)
- Troy Stus, 1,766 (+166)
Full standings - PBA50 Monacelli Championship
More information on the PBA50 WSOB II is available here.