The 2019

PBA Tour The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, over 3,000 members worldwide make up the PBA. While most of the PBA members are Regional profess ...

season, the 60th season of play for the U.S.

Professional Bowlers Association The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the PBA membership consists of over 3,000 members worldwide. Member ...

ten-pin bowling Ten-pin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The objective is to knock down all ten pins on the first roll ...

tour, began in January 2019 with the PBA Hall of Fame Classic in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

. The season schedule had 27 singles title events, two doubles title events, and two non-title team events. The 2019 season introduced major changes, with

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

assuming the media and sponsorship rights to the PBA Tour, as well as the introduction of a revamped

PBA Tour Playoffs The PBA Tour Playoffs is an annual invitational event on the PBA Tour in North America that debuted in the 2019 season. After two years as a 24-player tournament, the event has been set up in a 16-player bracket-style format since 2021. Tournament ...

as a 24-player, bracketed elimination tournament. Another big change came later in the year, when the PBA was purchased by

Bowlero Corporation Bowlero Corporation (formerly known as Bowlmor AMF) is an American bowling center operator. It is the largest ten-pin bowling center operator in the world with around 300 centers, almost all of which are located in the United States. The centers ...

Media rights

On March 21, 2018,

announced that it had acquired the television rights for the PBA Tour, replacing

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, with a commitment for 26 broadcasts on

Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports 2 ...

and four on the

Fox broadcast network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

beginning in 2019 (totalling 58 hours, in comparison to the 30 hours of coverage provided by ESPN linear channels in 2018). To launch its coverage, Fox broadcast an invitational event, the PBA Clash, on December 23, 2018. Fox will air four events per-season, including the CP3 PBA Celebrity Invitational (which aired on the afternoon of

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...

). Fox and FS1 have aired 14 final rounds live during the 2019 season, as compared to the four live broadcasts aired on ESPN in 2018. Fox Sports also assumed the role of sponsorship sales for the tour. The PBA saw the deal as an effort to increase media exposure for the tour and its top players. In a similar manner to Fox's 2016 acquisition of

NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...

, Fox focused on developing new on-air features and technology to improve viewer understanding of the intricacies of the sport, and additional shoulder content. One such feature is StrikeTrack, a graphic (based on technology from the company Kegel) that displays the trajectory, speed, and rotation (RPM) of the ball as it travels down the lane. ''Broadcasting & Cable'' considered this feature akin to the infamous "

FoxTrax FoxTrax, also referred to as the glowing puck, is an augmented reality system that was used by Fox Sports' telecasts of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1996 to 1998. The system was intended to help television viewers visually follow a hockey ...

" used during Fox's National Hockey League coverage in the 1990s. On August 15, the PBA and Fox announced the return of the PBA Clash, the fifth 2019 event to air on Fox television. The November 3 broadcast (tape-delayed from October 21) will feature the top eight 2019 money leaders through September 21 vying for a $50,000 top prize. The PBA reported ratings growth in the first year of its contract; the Tournament of Champions finals broadcast on Fox was its highest-rated first-run telecast of the season, at 1,132,000 viewers. Including first-run and rerun broadcasts, the association reported that total viewership of all PBA telecasts on Fox networks through the PBA Tour Playoffs had seen an 85% increase in viewership over 2018, with the ten playoffs broadcasts being seen by at least 7.941 million.

Tournament schedule

On August 28, 2018, the PBA announced that all events televised on Fox and FS1, except for the

USBC Masters The USBC Masters is a championship ten-pin bowling event conducted by the United States Bowling Congress. The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) began recognizing it as a title event in 1998, and it was designated one of the four majors in 200 ...

, will only be open to members of the association. The USBC Masters has traditionally allowed qualifying USBC members who may not be PBA members to participate, and will continue to do so. PBA Xtra Frame Tour, PBA Regional Tour and PBA50 Tour events will also continue to allow qualifying non-members to participate. The 2019

PBA Tournament of Champions The PBA Tournament of Champions is one of the five major PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) Ten-pin bowling, bowling events. It is an invitational event and the only PBA Tour major that does not have any open field. All participants must meet qu ...

and

PBA Players Championship The PBA Players Championship is one of five major tournaments on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It is one of three PBA Tour major events that are open only to PBA members. (The U.S. Open and USBC Masters allow qualifying amateu ...

majors were held in February. In order to include it in Fox's new contract, the PBA's World Series of Bowling X (which included three standard PBA title events and the

PBA World Championship The PBA World Championship is one of five major PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) bowling events. It is one of three PBA Tour major events that are open only to PBA members. (The U.S. Open and USBC Masters allow qualifying amateurs to enter.) ...

— the season's third major) was postponed for 2018 and moved to March 2019, with live finals broadcasts occurring in prime time across four consecutive nights. For the first three majors of 2019 and the PBA Indianapolis Open, Fox and the PBA offered a $1 million bonus for any player who rolls a 300 game in the televised title match. Of the PBA's 26 televised 300 games, only two came in the title match, and neither of these was in a major tournament. The season's fourth major, the

, took place March 26–April 1 in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. The U.S. Open, the season's final major, was contested October 23–30 in

Mooresville, North Carolina Mooresville is a large town located in the southwestern section of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and is a part of the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 50,193 at the 2020 United States Census making it ...

. A new PBA Playoffs event featured the top 24 players in points after the first 13 events of the 2019 season (through the USBC Masters), and offered a $100,000 top prize. The single-elimination tournament was set up in a split format, with the elimination rounds held April 8–10 and the final four competing in two live broadcasts on June 1 and 2. The PBA League team event, which has been held since the 2012–13 season, continued into 2019. For the first time, all rounds of this tournament aired in live broadcasts, between July 16 and July 18. As in the previous two seasons,

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American pay television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports Television also known as ...

carried the PBA Tour Finals, which took place July 20 and 21 in

. (PBA Commissioner Tom Clark later announced an agreement with CBS Sports Network to cover the PBA Tour finals through the 2022 PBA season.) The tournament retained a similar format as in 2018, with eight top players seeded into two groups of four. The main difference for 2019 is that the eight players were determined based on Tour points ranking since the beginning of the 2018 season. (In previous PBA Tour Finals, the eight bowlers were chosen and seeded based on Tour earnings, not points.) CBS Sports Network broadcast an unprecedented nine hours of live coverage over the two days. The PBA Xtra Frame summer tour returned with some additional incentives. Renamed the USBC Cup tour, this consisted of nine title events in seven cities, beginning with the PBA Lubbock Sports Shootout in late June and concluding with the three-event PBA Summer Swing on August 24–31. All events aired live on the FloBowling Xtra Frame webcast service. The top five PBA members in points over these nine events shared in a $40,000 bonus pool, with the top points earner (

Sean Rash Sean Rash (born August 22, 1982) is an American ten-pin bowler who is considered one of the top players on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. He currently owns 17 PBA Tour titles, including two major championships, and was the 2011 ...

) winning a $20,000 bonus and the honor of USBC Cup champion. In addition, the top eight PBA members over these events earned berths in the FloBowling PBA ATX Summer Tour Finals on September 21 and the PBA China Tiger Cup on November 19–21. In the China Tiger Cup, the eight players will join eight Chinese PBA members in singles and team matches at the first PBA event to ever be held in China.

2019 Highlights

Player awards

Player awards for the 2019 season were announced on December 11, 2019. *

Chris Schenkel Christopher Eugene Schenkel (August 21, 1923 – September 11, 2005) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and bar ...

PBA Player of the Year:

Jason Belmonte Jason Belmonte (born 29 July 1983) is an Australian professional ten-pin bowler. He plays on the PBA Tour in the United States and in world events. He is known for being one of the first bowlers to gain media attention for using the two hand ...

* Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year: Mykel Holliman * Steve Nagy PBA Sportsmanship Award: Martin Larsen * Tony Reyes PBA Community Service Award: Chuck Gardner

Records and additional highlights

* Jason Belmonte won four tournaments on the season, two of them majors. With his second major win of the season at the PBA World Championship, Belmonte surpassed

Earl Anthony Earl Roderick Anthony (April 27, 1938 – August 14, 2001) was an American professional bowler who amassed records of 43 titles and six Player of the Year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. For over two decades, his care ...

and Pete Weber to become the PBA's all-time leader in major tournament wins (11). *

Norm Duke Norm Duke (born March 25, 1964) is an American professional bowler currently competing on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour and the PBA50 Tour. He has won 40 titles on the PBA Tour, including seven major championships, and another ...

won back-to-back tournaments at the PBA Indianapolis Open and PBA Jonesboro Open, becoming the third bowler in history to reach the 40 career titles plateau, after Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Earl Anthony. * After finishing runner-up in three previous major tournaments,

Jakob Butturff Jakob Butturff (born April 28, 1994) is a left-handed American ten-pin bowler from Chandler, Arizona and a member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He competes in events on the PBA Tour and in global events as a member of Team US ...

finally won his first major at the USBC Masters. *

Kristopher Prather Kristopher "Kris" Prather (born January 1, 1992) of Plainfield, Illinois is an American professional ten-pin bowler who competes on the PBA Tour. He is known for winning the inaugural PBA Tour Playoffs on June 2, 2019 and the PBA Tournament of ...

won the largest prize check of the season ($100,000) at the inaugural PBA Tour Playoffs. Qualifying as the #9 seed, Prather defeated #7 seed Bill O'Neill in the double-elimination final on June 2.

Tournament summary

The 2019 PBA tournament schedule is shown below. Major tournaments are in bold. Career PBA title numbers for winners are shown in parenthesis (#). Prize money is shown in US dollars. 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 2018 points), PBA China Tiger Cup (USBC Cup event points only) and the 2020 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)

References

External links

PBA 2018 Season SchedulePBA 2018 ESPN TV Schedule
{{Professional Bowlers Association seasons Professional Bowlers Association seasons 2019 in bowling