May 31, 2024 Nolan Hughes

Bowlero Mount Prospect, just outside Chicago, will welcome bowlers from across the country this weekend as the second annual PBA LBC National Championships begin.

Over the next seven Saturdays and Sundays, bowlers of all ages and all skill levels from all centers will compete for first-place prizes, a chance to compete on national television and, of course, The Duke trophy.

 

Players will be spread across eight divisions, including two new junior divisions. Guaranteed first-place prizes for each division will be as follows:

  • Open Classic: $25,000
  • Women’s Classic: $5,000
  • Men’s Handicap: $5,000
  • Women’s Handicap: $5,000
  • Senior Classic: $5,000
    • The top 10 Super Senior (60+) non-cashers will also cash.
  • PBA Exempt: $5,000
  • Boys Jr. Handicap: $2,500 (SMART scholarship)
  • Girls Jr. Handicap: $2,500 (SMART scholarship)

The inaugural PBA LBC National Championships awarded over $340,000 in total prizes in 2023. Overall, 130 entrants cashed overall, including 55 players in the Open Classic division.

Each division will award players at a 1:8 ratio in 2024. In addition to prize money, a dozen players will advance to the PBA LBC National Championships Clash. The televised finals will be held in September at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine.

The top two (2) finishers in each of the Open Classic, Women’s Classic and PBA Exempt divisions will advance to the televised finals, as will the winners of the other five divisions and the top super senior finisher from the Senior Classic division.

 

All entrants will bowl six games across six different pairs of lanes with four players per pair.

Players can once again compete in the optional doubles and team side events. The first three games of their singles score will count towards the doubles event and the last three towards the four-player team event. 

Players can sign up for the doubles and team events on-site and in advance for $25 per bowler ($50 total for doubles and $100 total for team).

Squads for the 2024 PBA LBC National Championships will be held at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. local time on Saturdays and 11 a.m. on Sundays.

A fun twist for competitors is the PBA Tour players who are slated to compete in the PBA LBC National Championships will bowl during normal competition squads. The pros will compete in the PBA Exempt division.

As entries are available, you can still sign up to bowl on your favorite PBA star’s squad.

Additionally, all squads of the PBA LBC National Championships will be livestreamed on the PBA's YouTube channel. You will be able to watch every shot by every bowler for free here.

The 114th Petersen Classic is underway at nearby Bowlero Vernon Hills. The iconic event will run through Sunday, Sept. 1 and many PBA LBC players plan to double-dip in the Chicago area to make a spectacular bowling weekend.

More details on the 2024 PBA LBC National Championships can be found here.

PBA Exempt Division - Player Schedules

June 2 - 11am

  • Jason Sterner

June 8 - 2pm

  • Kris Prather

June 15 - 9am

  • AJ Chapman

June 23 - 11am

  • Justin Knowles, Kevin McCune, Zac Tackett

June 29 - 9am

  • DJ Archer, Sean Lavery-Spahr, BJ Moore, Matt Ogle, Kyle Troup, Zach Wilkins

June 29 - 2pm

  • Chris Barnes

June 30 - 11am

  • Andrew Anderson, Graham Fach, Tom Hess, Matt Sanders

July 6 -  9am

  • AJ Johnson, François Lavoie, EJ Tackett

July 7 -  11am

  • Sean Rash

July 13 -  9am

  • Mitch Hupé, Nick Pate

July 13 -  2pm

  • Stu Williams

July 14 -  11am

  • Bill O’Neill