April 26, 2025 Nolan Hughes

900 Global advanced out of the prelims and into the championship round of the PBA Elite League: Battle of the Brands presented by Beatbox.

The No. 4 seed will meet the top three teams from the regular season — Brunswick, Motiv and Storm — in Sunday’s championship round, airing at 12 p.m. Eastern time on FOX at Strobl Arena in Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich.

The back-and-forth battle in the final match of the afternoon between Hammer and 900 Global came down to the 10th frame. Last year’s regular season and playoff MVP, Andrew Anderson, delivered three strikes to clinch the win.

Anderson, who is from nearby Holly, Mich., struck to win the 2024 PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship and a regular season match of the PBA Elite League last season on the same lanes.

“Every time I bowl on this pair, I have to double to win something,” Andrew Anderson said. “I wish they’d make it a little easier on me. I wanted to throw a couple good ones for the guys. They bowled awesome and we made some good adjustments, so we’re moving on.”

“These guys are awesome. I don’t have to do anything. This is the greatest job ever,” 900 Global manager Gary Hulsenberg said. 

The experience of Ebonite prevailed over the youthful DV8 squad in the opening match. Three splits and open frames cost DV8, who lost 191-177.

Ebonite failed to carry the momentum into the second match against Hammer, striking just once in their first four frames.

Newly-inducted PBA Hall of Famer Bill O’Neill doubled in the 10th frame for Hammer to force Ebonite anchor Jake Peters to double himself. Peters missed left and left an odd 3-6-8-10 split.

In the third match, Roto Grip anchor Anthony Simonsen missed a 10-pin in the 10th frame, allowing O’Neill to strike and get nine pins for the win.

900 Global started the final match of the afternoon with four strikes, including the first two from the father-son duo of Ryan and Chris Barnes. The black-and-gold team made four spares in their next five frames to set up Anderson’s match-winning 10th frame.

900 Global will face Brunswick in the opening match on Sunday with the winner facing Motiv. 

The top seed Storm awaits in the Race-to-Two championship match.

More information on the PBA Elite League: Battle of the Brands is available here.

Prelims Round Scores

Match One: No. 7 Ebonite def. No. 8 DV8, 191-177
Match Two: No. 6 Hammer def. No. 7 Ebonite 214-199
Match Three: No. 6 Hammer def. No. 5 Roto Grip, 206-204
Match Four: No. 4 900 Global def. No. 6 Hammer, 237-219

Championship Round Matches

Match One: No. 3 Brunswick vs. No. 4 900 Global

Match Two: winner vs. No. 2 Motiv

Race-to-Two Championship: winner vs. No. 1 Storm