March 2, 2025 Nolan Hughes

The accredited duo of Jason Belmonte and Bill O’Neill has returned to the top of the PBA Tour. The doubles tandem notched their second career PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship title, defeating DJ Archer and Shawn Maldonado in the title match, 210-169.

Belmonte and O’Neill earned the top seed, leading the field through 36 games of qualifying — the combined total of their 18 individual PBA Owen’s Illinois Classic qualifying games — and 16 games of round-robin match play on dual oil patterns.

“We've been in this position so many times that this is the expectation to get to this point,” O’Neill said. “Leading the tournament, I think, was the biggest key for us. Getting to where, for me, the right lane could transition to a point where I felt really comfortable. If we don't lead the tournament, and we end up third or fourth, it probably doesn't end the same.”

Belmonte said the difficulty of winning the doubles event lies in the team component, needing both players to be at their best for the entire tournament.

“Throughout our career, we've had our ups and downs,” Belmonte said. “There were weeks where I've had it and Bill hasn't, and then there were weeks where Bill's had it and I hadn't. To win it, you have to have two guys that are rolling it great at the same time for the whole week. Then to finish it off, you both have to execute really well on TV. It's not easy to find that combo all week.”

Belmonte claimed his 32nd career PBA Tour title, while O’Neill secured his 15th career title.

The finals were taped Feb. 8 at Bowlero Vernon Hills in Vernon Hills, Ill. — one week after O’Neill learned he was elected to the PBA Hall of Fame as a member of the 2025 class.

“Getting inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame is pretty surreal,” O’Neill said. “I thought about it at the beginning of my career, but I never thought I'd be in this position. I never thought I'd be able to bowl doubles with like the greatest bowler of all time and do it for a decade. So to be able to win a tournament in the same week I was [elected] to the Hall of Fame, it's pretty special. I'll never forget it. It’s been an awesome bowl with (Jason) all these years and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

“One of our other really, really good friends, Tommy Jones, had the same kind of week when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame,” Belmonte said. “He had a fantastic win that same week. It really meant something to me that I wanted him to also feel that. (Bill) bowled incredible all week, and I was able to just chime in here and there to just boost our scores up. I'm really thrilled to be able to do it this week.”

The fifth-seeded Matt Ogle and Sean Rash won the first matches of the stepladder finals. The former doubles champions took down Tim Foy Jr. and Kevin McCune in the opening match, then bested Patrick Dombrowski and Bailey Mavrick in the second match.

Rash also learned of his election to the PBA Hall of Fame earlier in February in Illinois, where he said he has lived for the past 14 years. His bid for a perfect capstone to the week came up short as he and Ogle fell in the semifinal match to DJ Archer and Shawn Maldonado.

Archer and Maldonado, making their fifth career televised doubles championship round, notched their first career match victory in their 221-215 win.

The Texas natives ran out of steam in the title match as Belmonte and O’Neill, who finished runners-up in the event last year, were on a mission for vengeance.

Belmonte and O’Neill cruised to a 210-169 victory.

The PBA Tour continues with the PBA World Series of Bowling XVI at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev.

Competition gets underway on Tuesday, March 4. All qualifying and match play rounds will be livestreamed on BowlTV.

More information on the PBA WSOB is available here.

Championship Round Scores

Match One: No. 5 Matt Ogle and Sean Rash def. No. 4 Tim Foy Jr. and Kevin McCune, 238-172
Match Two: No. 5 Matt Ogle and Sean Rash def. No. 3 Patrick Dombrowski and Bailey Mavrick, 258-174
Match Three: No. 2 DJ Archer and Shawn Maldonado def. No. 5 Matt Ogle and Sean Rash, 221-215
Championship: No. 1 Jason Belmonte and Bill O’Neill def No. 2 DJ Archer and Shawn Maldonado, 210-169

Final Standings
  1. Jason Belmonte and Bill O’Neill, $50,000
  2. DJ Archer and Shawn Maldonado, $30,000
  3. Matt Ogle and Sean Rash, $20,000
  4. Patrick Dombrowski and Bailey Mavrick, $15,000
  5. Tim Foy Jr. and Kevin McCune, $12,000

More information on the PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship is available here.