Introducing the PBA Elite League: Battle of the Brands

Manufacturing brands to compete all season long in refreshed PBA Elite League format

The PBA’s premier team competition will have a brand new look in 2025.

The PBA Elite League: Battle of the Brands introduces teams representing eight major bowling ball manufacturers: Brunswick, DV8, Ebonite, 900 Global, Hammer, MOTIV, Roto Grip and Storm.

The adapted structure taps into the existing fandom behind bowling manufacturers and accentuates the ongoing rivalry between them.

With a point system comparable to Formula 1’s Driver and Constructor standings plus an additional strategic element, the new format retains the season-long component established with the 2024 PBA Elite League.

The rivalries between manufacturing brands stem from the immense loyalty felt across all levels of the organization, from players and employees, to fans and executives.

In fact, Tyler Jensen, president of Storm Products, Inc., will be managing one of Storm’s three teams himself. Jensen emphasized the pride Storm founder Bill Chrisman, who passed in September 2023, took in watching his staff players succeed.

"I've spent years watching Mr. Chrisman's face light up as Storm staff members triumphed on television using our high-performance bowling equipment,” Jensen said. “His love for professional bowling ran deep. In the early days, Mr. Chrisman and his small team fought to have PBA players try his equipment. Today, we're fortunate to have a strong team of players who choose to use our products to compete and are proud to wear the logo.”

Jensen’s pride is echoed and perhaps elevated by MOTIV, the lone independent manufacturer in the PBA Elite League.

Scott Hewitt, the Vice President of Sales & Marketing at MOTIV, said the PBA Elite League’s authentic competition allows each brand to showcase its “real team of pros.”

“This is the kind of genuine rivalry that speaks to fans and players alike — it's about loyalty, passion, and true brand representation,” Hewitt said. “For bowlers who already have a favorite brand, it’s going to be electric seeing their brand battle it out. And for those who haven’t committed to a brand yet, this format is clear, relatable, and easy to get behind — like cheering on Team USA.”

For aspiring PBA Tour players, signing a staff contract with a bowling ball manufacturer represents a rite of passage. Now, a staff contract grants more than an endless supply of bowling balls: it can be a spot on one of the most exclusive bowling teams in the world.

The company with the most staff players on tour is Brunswick, who will have four teams representing their brands in the PBA Elite League.

Bugsy Kelly, Brunswick’s director of marketing, will be managing the Ebonite team. He said Brunswick is excited to embrace the new team format.

“We are excited to be part of this evolution in the sport,” Kelly said. “This new format presents an incredible opportunity for our established and rising stars to showcase their talent individually and, at the same time, highlight the importance of being part of a team. We respect our competitors, but look forward to hoisting the trophy at the end of the season.”

While friendships and doubles teams frequently cross brand lines on the PBA Tour, the animosity between brands bubbles under the surface at all times — perhaps best exemplified by among the most quotable moments in recent PBA memory:

“Take that you bottle b****!” 

Who could forget the now-infamous phrase Sean Rash bellowed at Jason Belmonte more than a decade ago.

What is often lost to history is that Rash, a former Brunswick and current 900 Global staffer, dropped the memorable quote during a Brunswick vs. Storm match as part of a competition between manufacturing brands.

The intensity of that rivalry — not only between Rash and Belmonte, but the brands as a whole — represents the ethos of the revamped PBA Elite League.

ROSTERS

All PBA Tour players who meet the criteria for 2025 PBA Tour priority entry — players who finished top 43 in 2024 PBA Tour competition points, finished in the top 12 in PBA Tour Trials, or won a PBA Tour title between 2015-2024 — are eligible for the 2025 PBA Elite League. A complete list of eligible players can be found at the bottom of this page.

Each brand will be able to roster 6-15 brand-sponsored eligible players. All rosters must be finalized by Jan. 1, 2025 and will be revealed Jan. 3 on BowlTV.

A midseason transaction window will be open Feb. 17-23, 2025. During that time, brands may drop a player(s) from their roster, add a player(s) who is not rostered, or trade a player(s) to another brand. Both brands in any trade must agree.

SCORING

The same competition points used to determine PBA Playoffs standings will count concurrently toward the PBA Elite League.

Before each singles title event on the 2025 PBA Tour, brand managers will each select five players from their rosters — only the points earned by those five players will count for their teams.

Standings will be updated following each singles title event. Teams will earn points in each singles title event through April’s PBA Tournament of Champions.

Points are weighted based on the duration and prestige of the title event.

• Standard-point events: PBA Animal Pattern 1-4 Championships (part of the PBA World Series of Bowling XVI)

• Double-point events: PBA Delaware Classic, PBA Illinois Classic, PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic, PBA Nevada Classic, PBA Tournament of Champions

• Triple-point events: U.S. Open presented by Go Bowling, PBA World Championship, USBC Masters, PBA Players Championship

FINALS

The PBA Elite League: Battle of the Brands Championship will be held April 26-27 at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich. Teams will select five players to compete in the two-part stepladder.

Teams will be seeded following the regular season finale in the PBA Tournament of Champions. The No. 4-8 seeds will compete April 26 (3 p.m. ET on FS1) with the winning team advancing to meet the top three seeds in the final round on April 27 (Noon ET on FOX).

All matches will utilize the baker format as seen in previous iterations of the PBA Elite League. The stepladder will feature single-game matches culminating with a Race-to-Two championship match.

The champions will earn $100,000 to be allocated to its players by the manufacturer.

EQUIPMENT

During the regular season, players will be able to use any product-registered bowling ball available to them. For example, Roto Grip players can throw Storm and 900 Global equipment; Hammer players can throw Brunswick, Ebonite, Track, DV8, Radical and Columbia 300 equipment.

In the PBA Elite League: Battle of the Brands Championship, however, players will be limited to their single brand’s equipment. To continue the previous example, Roto Grip players will only be able to throw Roto Grip equipment in the finals — not Storm or 900 Global.

Furthermore, since not all brands produce a urethane bowling ball, no player may use urethane equipment during finals matches. The tournament director may grant an exception for equipment used exclusively for spares.

TEAM MANAGERS

BRUNSWICK — Corey Dykstra, CEO of Brunswick Bowling Products
DV8 — Billy Orlikowski, Brunswick Director of Consumer Product Management
EBONITE — Bugsy Kelly, Brunswick Director of Marketing
900 GLOBAL — Gary Hulsenberg, Storm Vice President of Marketing
HAMMER — Brian Graham, Brunswick VP of Consumer Products
MOTIV — Brett Spangler, MOTIV Tour Rep
ROTO GRIP — Chris Schlemer, Roto Grip Brand Manager
STORM — Tyler Jensen, President of Storm Products, Inc.

ELIGIBLE PLAYERS