September 17, 2024 Nolan Hughes

The High Rollers, featuring MVP Andrew Anderson, AJ Johnson, Matt Ogle, Matt Russo, Sean Rash, Thomas Larsen and manager Amleto Moncelli, prevailed over the Portland Lumberjacks to win 2024 PBA Elias Cup

Since the franchise’s inception in 2020, the Las Vegas High Rollers have been knocking on the door of the PBA Elias Cup. This year, they broke the door down.

The top-seeded Las Vegas defeated the Portland Lumberjacks in the PBA Elite League presented by Snickers Elias Cup Finals to win the franchise’s first title. The High Rollers fell behind 0-1 before rattling off three consecutive wins to win the Race-to-Three match at Portland, Maine’s Bayside Bowl.

Andrew Anderson, who was voted the regular season’s Most Valuable Player, was also named the Mark Roth PBA Elite League Playoffs MVP.

“We're here. We've been here, and now the experience paid off. We were due,” Anderson said.

“This one just feels a little sweeter, because me, Andrew and Amletto have been a part of this team since Las Vegas got started, since we were an expansion team,” Johnson said. “Me and Andrew have talked so many times about how we were going to to figure out how to win this thing. Going through the draft and these guys — Ogle, Rash, Russo and Larsen — just became available to us. Andrew and I couldn't believe it. We literally said after the draft, ‘This is the year we win. This is how it's supposed to happen. This is it — and we proved that all year.”

The Lumberjacks sprinted out to an early lead fueled by the insertion of Wes Malott into the lineup. The 47-year-old veteran has battled numerous injuries and sat during Monday’s semifinals, but the man Portland calls their “Franchise” found a way to compete.

Meanwhile the High Rollers looked nothing like their dominant selves in a 236-183 Game 1 loss. The team did not strike until the fifth frame and Sean Rash, who struck on all eight of his attempts in the semifinals, missed a 10-pin in the sixth frame.

In Game 2, Anderson proved why he was voted the MVP, delivering three strikes in the 10th frame to force Portland anchor Kyle Troup to double. Troup left a 4-pin on his first shot, evening the match at one point apiece.

Then came Game 3, the defining game of the entire season. The High Rollers started with four straight strikes and then Anderson washed out. He later admitted he threw the wrong ball. But Anderson picked up the spare, as did Matt Ogle in the ninth frame to give the High Rollers the lead.

Roles reversed when Troup threw three strikes in his own 10th frame, forcing Anderson to double. 

As Anderson toed the line with a raucous hometown crowd cheering against him — a stark contrast from the Round 12 matchup with Portland in Anderson’s hometown — the 29-year-old delivered three strikes that will stand the test of time.

The High Rollers never let the Lumberjacks even begin to think about a comeback. After Rash converted a 3-pin in the opening frame of Game 4, Las Vegas rallied eight consecutive strikes to shut out Portland.

After three seasons of finishing second or third in the PBA League, the High Rollers at long last hoisted in the first Elias Cup of the PBA Elite League era.

This mark's the first Elias Cup for each High Roller except Johnson, who also won the title in 2018 with the Silver Lake Atom Splitters.

PBA Elite League Playoffs

Elias Cup Finals: No. 1 Las Vegas def. No. 2 Portland, 3-1 
Game 1: 236-183 Portland
Game 2: 235-217 Las Vegas
Game 3: 235-225 Las Vegas
Game 4: 277-225 Las Vegas

Semifinal 1: No. 1 Las Vegas def. No. 4 Motown, 3-1
Semifinal 2: No. 2 Portland vs. No. 3 Akron, 3-1
Quarterfinal 1: No. 4 Motown def. No. 5 New Jersey, 2-1
Quarterfinals 2: No. 3 Akron def. No. 6 L.A. X, 2-0