Chris Via (born March 9, 1992) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional ten-pin bowler from

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County, Ohio, Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approxim ...

known for winning the 2021 U.S. Open. Chris uses the two-handed shovel-style delivery with a dominant right hand. He competes in events on the

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 ...

and has also bowled internationally as a member of Team USA. Via rolled the PBA Tour's 30th-ever televised perfect 300 game, accomplished February 7, 2021 at the East Region Finals of the 2021

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 ...

. At the PBA Tour Finals on June 27, 2021, in

Allen Park, Michigan Allen Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 28,638. Ford Motor Company is an integral part of the community. Many of the company's offices and facilities lie within the city limit ...

, Via rolled the PBA's 32nd televised 300 game. He joined

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 ...

and

François Lavoie François Lavoie (born February 27, 1993) is a right-handed Canadian ten-pin bowler from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, now making his home in Wichita, Kansas. He is a member of the Professional Bowlers Association, and has been a member of Team C ...

as the only players in history to score 300 in two televised PBA Tour title events.

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 ...

would roll his second televised 300 game in 2022 to also join this group. Chris is the only one of the four to roll both of his 300 games in the same season. Via is a pro staff member for

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...

bowling balls and Turbo Grips inserts.

Early life

Via claims to have been bowling since age 1. He bowled in a Saturday morning league with an older sister until age 12, took a break to play on a traveling basketball team for a few years, then returned to bowling at age 15. He attended Kenton Ridge High School in Springfield, Ohio. His high school teams won the Ohio state bowling championships in 2009 and 2010.

Amateur career

Via bowled collegiately at

Notre Dame College Notre Dame College (Notre Dame College of Ohio or NDC) is a private Roman Catholic college in South Euclid, Ohio. Established in 1922 as a women's college, it has been coeducational since January 2001. Notre Dame College offers 30 majors and i ...

South Euclid, Ohio South Euclid is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is an inner-ring suburb of Cleveland located on the city's east side. As of the 2010 census the population was 22,295. Geography Acting approximately as a central point for the e ...

. While earning his degree in accounting, his bowling prowess won him National Collegiate All-American honors in three straight seasons (2011–12, 2012–13 and 2013–14). He was a member of Junior Team USA in 2011 and 2012, and won a Team Gold Medal at the 2012 World Youth Bowling Championships. While in college, he won a 2014

PBA Regional Tour The PBA Regional Tour is a series of "mini tours", run by the Professional Bowlers Association, spanning across seven regions within the United States. The Tour allows PBA members and qualifying non-member amateurs to compete in weekend events. The ...

event as a non-member. Chris went on to win the 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship, securing the title with a final match victory over Kamron Doyle. This earned Via a spot on Team USA for 2016, and he would remain a Team USA member through 2018. Via represented the US in the 2021

Weber Cup The Weber Cup, named after bowling legend Dick Weber, is a men's ten-pin bowling competition between Team Europe and Team USA. The teams competing over three days in a series of singles, doubles and team (baker) matches. The Weber Cup is equiv ...

, an annual USA vs. Europe competition. In the USA's 17–18 loss to Team Europe, Via participated in 11 of 35 matches, going 3–1 in singles, 2–2 in doubles, and 0–3 in team.

Professional career

Via joined the

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 ...

in 2017. In his first full season, he cashed in 12 of 20 events, made match play 7 times, made one championship round appearance, and won his first Regional Tour title as a PBA member. He made only one more championship round appearance over the next two seasons, while winning another Regional title in 2019. After appearing in the televised finals of four PBA majors between 2020 and 2021 without winning, Via won his first national PBA Tour title and first major at the 2021 U.S. Open. Having qualified as the #1 seed for the April 11 finals, Via won his lone TV match over second-seeded

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 ...

by a single pin, 214–213. Via finished third in the 2021

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 voting, behind

Kyle Troup Kyle Troup (born June 11, 1991) is an American professional ten-pin bowler residing in Taylorsville, North Carolina. He uses the two-handed shovel-style delivery with a dominant right hand. Troup says he needed two hands when learning to throw ...

and

, while also finishing second in Tour points (behind Troup), and sixth in earnings ($125,210).

Personal

In addition to earning a living on the lanes, Via co-owns TV Bowling Supply in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

with fellow PBA member Michael Tang. Chris now resides in

Blacklick, Ohio Blacklick is a small unincorporated community in southern Jefferson Township, Franklin County, Ohio, United States. Blacklick is also included in the Columbus Metropolitan area. The community was established by William A. Smith in 1852. It was ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Via, Chris American ten-pin bowling players 1992 births Living people