2020 PBA Tour season

The 2020 PBA Tour season, the 61st season of play for the U.S. Professional Bowlers Association's ten-pin bowling tour, began on January 14, 2020 with the PBA Hall of Fame Classic in Arlington, Texas.

2020 PBA Tour season
LeagueProfessional Bowlers Association
SportTen-pin bowling
DurationJanuary 14 – TBD
PBA Tour

2020 is the first full PBA season under the new ownership of Bowlero Corporation, the world's largest operator of bowling centers. Bowlero's acquisition of the PBA was announced in September 2019.[1]

All PBA Tour events were suspended in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A limited return to competition began on June 6.

Media rights

All announced 2020 events (through June) are broadcast on Fox Sports channels, with a commitment for 24 first-run broadcasts on FS1 and five broadcasts on Fox network affiliates. Events after July 23 are TBA.[2] Prize funds for the events on the Fox Sports calendar have increased $400,000 over 2019, with two major championships (PBA Tournament of Champions and PBA World Championship) offering a $100,000 top prize in the new season.[3] The PBA World Championship winner's share was later increased to $150,000.[4]

CBS Sports Network covered the PBA Tour Finals in July, as it has since the tournament's inception in 2017.[5]

Tournament schedule

In 2020, all five majors were scheduled to be contested within the first three months of the Fox schedule. While the PBA Tournament of Champions and PBA Players Championship majors continued to be held in February, they were now followed in late February by the U.S. Open, which moved to the winter schedule for the first time since 2012. These three majors plus the Go Bowling! PBA Indianapolis Open on Feb. 29 and PBA World Championship on March 15 all offered a $1 million bonus for any player who rolls a 300 game in the championship match.[6]

The PBA's World Series of Bowling XI (which includes three standard PBA title events and the PBA World Championship — the season's fourth major) was scheduled to take place March 6–18 in Las Vegas, while the season's fifth and final major, the USBC Masters, was scheduled to take place March 23–29 in Reno, Nevada. The PBA World Championship concluded March 15, but the match play and final rounds of the animal pattern tournaments were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the USBC Masters, PBA Tour Playoffs, and PBA League were also postponed.[7]

On May 20, the PBA announced that it would resume competition beginning in June with several non-title, made-for-TV special events, including the PBA Strike Derby (June 6), PBA Summer Clash (June 13), and PBA King of the Lanes (July 20–22). These events were held at Bowlero Jupiter in Jupiter, Florida with no fans in attendance. Regularly scheduled PBA Tour events such as he remainder of the World Series of Bowling, and PBA Tour Playoffs are tentatively being rescheduled for the fall and winter.[8] The USBC Masters will not be contested due to the USBC cancelling all major tournaments through end of 2020.

The PBA announced on June 11 that the PBA Tour Finals, which features the top eight Tour points leaders over the last two seasons in an elimination-style tournament, would be held July 18–19 in Jupiter, Florida, despite the fact that top points earner Jason Belmonte of Australia will be unable to attend due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The #9 player in points, Norm Duke, took Belmonte's place. This was the first title event to be held since the COVID-19 pandemic halt. CBS Sports Network aired all rounds of the tournament (nine hours) in live broadcasts over the two days.[9]

The PBA Tour Finals were followed immediately by the King of the Lanes event on July 20–22 in Jupiter. Wes Malott, who won his eighth and most recent King of Bowling defense in February 2018 over Jason Belmonte,[10] returned in the initial "King" position. Two challengers faced each other in the first episode, broadcast live on FS1, for the right to face Malott, with the winner of that second match continuing as King. Two new challengers then competed head-to-head in each of the next five episodes, all broadcast live, for the right to face the reigning King. Challengers included all eight bowlers in the PBA Tour Finals, plus PBA legends Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Pete Weber, along with PWBA members Clara Guerrero and Gazmine Mason. All matches were standard ten-frame games.[11]

The PBA League held its draft on May 17, and announced that the League has expanded to ten teams (up from eight in previous seasons).[12] On June 23, following the cancellation of the 2020 PWBA Tour season, the PBA further announced that two all-women's teams will be added the to PBA League, bringing the team total to 12. The draft for the two women's teams (10 players total) was held July 7 from a pool of the top 35 PWBA players in 2019 season points.[13] The day after the women's draft, the PBA announced that the PBA League will take place September 26–28 in Portland, Maine. Following the seeding rounds on September 26, the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will all be broadcast live September 27–28 on FS1.[14]

Tournament summary

The 2020 PBA tournament schedule is shown below. Major tournaments are in bold. Career PBA title numbers for winners are shown in parenthesis (#).[15][2] Winner's share prize money is shown in US dollars.[3]

Tour points are awarded for most events. Besides the season-ending Harry Smith PBA Points Winner award, points are one consideration for Player of the Year voting, and also affect eligibility for the PBA Playoffs, PBA Tour Finals (combined with 2019 points), and the 2021 DHC PBA Japan Invitational. Points for tournaments are awarded differently based on a "tier" system. The tier of each qualifying tournament is shown in the Notes column on the tournament schedule, and is explained below.

  • Tier 3: PBA short format or limited field tournaments (2500 points for first, and descending thereafter)
  • Tier 2: PBA standard tournaments with a fully open field (double the points of Tier 3 events)
  • Tier 1: PBA major tournaments (triple the points of Tier 3 events)
EventAirdateCityPreliminary roundsFinal roundOil patternWinnerNotes
PBA Hall of Fame Classic
(304,000 viewers) [16]		 Jan 19 FS1 Arlington, TX Jan 14–18 Live Left lane: Dick Weber 45
Right lane: Mike Aulby 38		 Tommy Jones, USA (20) Open event (Tier 3–limited field). $30,000 top prize.+
PBA Oklahoma Open Jan 26 FS1 Shawnee, OK Jan 21–25 Live Left lane: Dragon 45
Right lane: Wolf 32		 Sean Rash, USA (15) Open event (Tier 2). $30,000 top prize.
PBA Greater Jonesboro Open
(296,000 viewers) [17]		 Feb 1 FS1 Jonesboro, AR Jan 27–31 Live Left lane: Shark 48
Right lane: Viper 36		 Kyle Troup, USA (4) Open event (Tier 3–limited field). $30,000 top prize.
PBA Tournament of Champions
(1,464,000 viewers) [18]		 Feb 9 Fox Fairlawn, OH Feb 4–8 Live Don Johnson 40 Kris Prather, USA (3) Invitational event (Tier 1). PBA major. $100,000 top prize.
PBA Players Championship
(541,000 viewers) [19]		 Feb 15 FS1 Columbus, OH Feb 11–14 Live Wayne Webb 38 Bill O'Neill, USA (12) Open members-only event (Tier 1). PBA major. $75,000 top prize.
76th U.S. Open
(1,146,000 viewers) [20]		 Feb 23 Fox Lincoln, NE Feb 16–22 Live U.S. Open (4 custom patterns) Jason Belmonte, Australia (23) Open event (Tier 1). PBA major. $30,000 top prize.
Go Bowling! PBA Indianapolis Open Feb 29 FS1 Indianapolis, IN Feb 25–26 Live Left lane: Mark Roth 42
Right lane: Marshall Holman 37		 Jesper Svensson, Sweden (9) Open event (Tier 2). $30,000 top prize.
Roth-Holman PBA Doubles Championship
(273,000 viewers)[21]		 Mar 8 FS1 Indianapolis, IN Feb 27–28 Feb 29 Left lane: Mark Roth 42
Right lane: Marshall Holman 37		 Jesper Svensson, Sweden (10) & Kyle Troup, USA (5) Open event (Tier 3–limited field). $30,000 top prize (team).
PBA WSOB XI Go Bowling! Cheetah Championship TBD FS1 Las Vegas, NV Mar 8, 14 Live Cheetah 33 Open event (Tier 3–short format). $25,000 top prize. Event is currently suspended due to COVID-19 outbreak.
PBA WSOB XI Chameleon Championship TBD FS1 Las Vegas, NV Mar 9, TBD Live Chameleon 39 Open event (Tier 3–short format). $25,000 top prize. Event is currently suspended due to COVID-19 outbreak.
PBA WSOB XI Scorpion Championship TBD FS1 Las Vegas, NV Mar 10, TBD Live Scorpion 42 Open event (Tier 3–short format). $25,000 top prize. Event is currently suspended due to COVID-19 outbreak.
PBA World Championship
(397,000 viewers) [22]		 Mar 15 FS1 Las Vegas, NV Mar 8–12 Live Qualifying: Cheetah, Chameleon, Scorpion
Cashers round thru finals: Earl Anthony 43		 Jason Belmonte, Australia (24) Open event for WSOB XI entrants (Tier 1). PBA major. $150,000 top prize.
USA vs. The World TBD FS1 Las Vegas, NV Mar 8–10 TBD Non-title team event held at WSOB XI. Participants (5 each team) based on 30 qualifying games from Cheetah, Chameleon and Scorpion events. $40,000 prize to winning team. Event is currently suspended due to COVID-19 outbreak.
PBA Strike Derby
(718,000 viewers)[23]		 Jun 6 Fox Jupiter, FL Jun 6 Live Jupiter 42 Kris Prather, USA Non-title event. $25,000 top prize.
PBA Summer Clash
(890,000 viewers)[24]		 Jun 13 Fox Jupiter, FL Jun 7 Jun 7 Jupiter 42 Sean Rash, USA Non-title event. $20,000 top prize.
PBA Tour Finals Jul 19 CBS Sports Jupiter, FL Jul 18–19 Live Johnny Petraglia 46 & Marshall Holman 37 Kyle Troup, USA (6) Invitational event. Top 8 in points from start of 2019 season through 2020 PBA World Championship. $30,000 top prize.
PBA King of the Lanes Jul 22 FS1 Jupiter, FL Jul 20–21 Live Jupiter 42 Kris Prather, USA Non-title event.
PBA League Quarterfinals 1 & 2: Sep 27 FS1
Semifinals: Sep 28 FS1
Finals: Sep 28 FS1		 Portland, ME Sep 26–28 Live Mark Roth 42 Non-title PBA team event.
2020 PBA Tour Playoffs Rd. of 24 (1): TBD FS1
Rd. of 24 (2): TBD FS1
Rd. of 16 (1 & 2): TBD FS1
Rd. of 16 (3): TBD FS1
Rd. of 16 (4): TBD FS1
Quarterfinal 1: TBD FS1
Quarterfinal 2: TBD FS1
Final Four: TBD Fox
Finals: TBD Fox		 Rd. of 24: Norco, CA
Rd. of 16: Lone Tree, CO
Quarterfinals: Euless, TX
Final Four & Finals: North Brunswick, NJ		 TBD Live Don Carter 39 Top 24 in points through YTD 2020 events, with the top 8 earning byes into the Round of 16. $100,000 top prize. Event is currently suspended due to COVID-19 outbreak.

+ Tommy Jones won an additional $10,000 for rolling a 300 game in the title match.[25]

gollark: ++delete <@!309787486278909952>
gollark: What? Seriously? That is a ridiculous application of the rules.
gollark: I hope we can agree that this is evidence that lyric bad.
gollark: And yet.
gollark: > they will stand forward unless they are unreasonableWell, you've shown that you might arbitrarily punish them, so no.

References
  1. "Bowlero Corp Announces Purchase of the Professional Bowlers Association". bowlerocorp.com. September 10, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  2. "Fox Sports, PBA Announce Expanded Television Schedule for 2020". PBA.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  3. Vint, Bill (November 8, 2019). "PBA Adds Nearly Half a Million Dollars to Prize Fund for 2020 Season on FOX; Three Events to Pay $100,000". PBA.com. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  4. Schneider, Jerry (March 15, 2020). "Belmonte Beats Simonsen to Win Third Consecutive PBA World Championship Title". pba.com. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  5. "Tournament Details - Barbasol PBA Tour Finals". PBA.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  6. Vint, Bill (February 26, 2020). "Sweden's Jesper Svensson Qualifies No. 1 for Go Bowling Indianapolis Open Stepladder Finals". PBA.com. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  7. Vint, Bill (March 17, 2020). "PBA Puts All Tournament Activity on Hiatus Due to Coronavirus Pandemic". PBA.com. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  8. Wiseman, Lucas (May 20, 2020). "PBA Set To Return With Special Summer Events In June, July". flobowling.com.
  9. Warner, K (June 15, 2020). "2020 PBA Tour Returns With Official Event in July". pba.com. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  10. Schneider, Jerry (February 6, 2018). "Wes Malott Extends PBA King of Bowling Reign With 2-0 Best-of-Three Match Win Over Jason Belmonte". pba.com. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  11. Warner, K. (June 18, 2020). "New PBA King of the Lanes series will be live on FS1 in July". pba.com. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  12. Warner, K (May 18, 2020). "PBA League Draft Results". pba.com. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  13. Warner, K (June 23, 2020). "Two Women's Professional Bowling Teams Join the 2020 PBA League Elias Cup". pba.com. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  14. Warner, K (July 8, 2020). "PBA League Rescheduled for September 26-28; Miami Waves and Phoenix Fury Teams Drafted". pba.com. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  15. "PBA 2020 Season Schedule". PBA.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  16. "PBA Hall of Fame Classic ratings". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  17. "PBA Greater Jonesboro Open ratings". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  18. "PBA Tournament of Champions ratings". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  19. "PBA Players Championship ratings". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  20. "PBA U.S. Open ratings". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  21. "ShowBuzz Daily Top 150 Original Cable Telecasts, 3.8.2020". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  22. "PBA World Championship ratings". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  23. "Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: IndyCar Series Puts NBC on Top in Demos". TheFutonCritic. June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  24. Metcalf, Mitch (June 16, 2020). "Skedball: Weekend Sports TV Ratings 6.8-6.14.2020". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  25. Schneider, Jerry (January 19, 2020). "Tommy Jones Caps Fairytale Week with Historic Championship Match Win in PBA Hall of Fame Classic". PBA.com. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
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