PBA’s GEICO World Series of Bowling IX Returns to Reno November 7-19
National Bowling Stadium to again host world’s premier international bowling showcase
RENO, Nev. (May 12, 2017) – For the third consecutive year, Reno and the National Bowling Stadium will host the world’s premier international bowling showcase when the ninth annual edition of GEICO’S Professional Bowlers Association World Series of Bowling begins a 13-day run on Tuesday, Nov. 7 and concluding with the PBA World Championship on Sunday, Nov. 19.
WSOB IX, presented by Eldorado Resorts Reno properties, Eldorado Resort Casino, Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus Reno in cooperation with Reno Tahoe USA, is expected to attract a capacity field of 185 PBA members from more than 20 countries to compete for shares of an estimated $700,000 in prize money and five PBA Tour titles in nationally-televised ESPN finals.
In keeping with PBA World Series tradition, the multi-event program will again present players with the world’s most prestigious test of bowling skills involving a variety of lane condition challenges and competition formats. The PBA members-only event, with an all-inclusive entry fee of $1,000 covering all five PBA Tour events, will include the PBA Cheetah, Chameleon, Scorpion and Shark Championships plus the PBA World Championship, the final major championship of the 2017 season.
The World Series, which always plays a significant role in PBA Player and Rookie of the Year competitions, will again feature the PBA’s most comprehensive test of versatility, using the composite 60-game qualifying totals from the four animal pattern events to determine the five players who will compete for the $60,000 first prize in the PBA World Championship finals. In 2016, EJ Tackett’s PBA World Championship victory propelled him to 2016 PBA Player of the Year honors.
In addition to the five PBA Tour events, the World Series also will host the fifth annual PBA Challenge Series, inviting the top players from PBA50 and PBA Regional programs to participate in the WSOB program. The PBA Regional points leaders in the East, South, Central, Midwest, Southwest, West, Northwest and Japan Regions as of the Oct. 15 qualifying deadline will receive WSOB and PBA Challenge Series invitations. The top eight players based on PBA50 Tour points will be determined at the conclusion of the PBA50 Tour season on Aug. 12.
The 2017 World Series will get underway earlier than it did in 2016 to avoid a conflict with the World Bowling Men’s World Championships which is scheduled to take place in December.
World Series competition officially begins with Cheetah, Chameleon, Scorpion and Shark Championship qualifying rounds Nov. 7-12. Qualifying will involve two-five game on freshly-oiled conditions, one squad with five players per pair, and one in six entrants cashing in each animal pattern event. Combined 40-game qualifying totals from those four events also will determine cashers who will advance to the final 20 games of PBA World Championship qualifying Nov. 13-14. The top 16 qualifiers in each of the four animal pattern events will then bowl single-elimination match play rounds Nov. 15-16 to determine the ESPN finalists in each event.
The 40-game qualifying totals for the four animal pattern championships also will serve as the basis for selecting the five American and five international players who will compete in a special USA vs. The World team event at the end of WSOB IX.
All ESPN finals are scheduled for Nov. 18-19 for delayed telecast on ESPN, but all shows will be live streamed on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app as they happen. The ESPN telecast schedule will be announced at a later date.
Entries for the World Series will be accepted on pba.com beginning July 10. All players are required to stay at one of the three Eldorado properties: Eldorado, Silver Legacy or Circus Circus Reno. Room reservation information will be announced soon.
All preliminary rounds of WSOB IX will be covered live, exclusively on PBA’s online bowling channel, Xtra Frame, as well as via live scoring on PBA’s official website, pba.com, and all outlets included as part of the PBA Network.
PBA WORLD SERIES OF BOWLING IX
National Bowling Stadium, Reno, Nev., Nov. 7-19
Tuesday, Nov. 7
10 a.m. – PBA Cheetah and Chameleon practice session
1 p.m. – PBA Regional and PBA50 Challenge finals, 8 games round robin match play
4:30 p.m. – PBA50 Challenge Finals (Xtra Frame)
5 p.m. – PBA Regional Challenge Finals (Xtra Frame)
7 p.m. – Players meeting
Wednesday, Nov. 8
11 a.m. – PBA Cheetah Championship qualifying, 5 games
5 p.m. – PBA Cheetah Championship qualifying, 5 games
Top 16 after 10 games advance to Cheetah Round of 16 match play on Nov. 15
Thursday, Nov. 9
11 a.m. – PBA Chameleon Championship qualifying, 5 games
5 p.m. – PBA Chameleon Championship qualifying, 5 games
Top 16 after 10 games advance to Chameleon Round of 16 match play on Nov. 15
Friday, Nov. 10
Noon – PBA Scorpion and Shark practice session
Saturday, Nov. 11
11 a.m. – PBA Scorpion Championship qualifying, 5 games
5 p.m. – PBA Scorpion Championship qualifying, 5 games
Top 16 after 10 games advance to Scorpion Round of 16 match play on Nov. 16
Sunday, Nov. 12
11 a.m. – PBA Shark Championship qualifying, 5 games
5 p.m. – PBA Shark Championship qualifying, 5 games
Top 16 after 10 games advance to Shark Round of 16 match play on Nov. 16
Top 25 percent of field after 40 combined qualifying games on Cheetah, Chameleon, Scorpion and Shark patterns advance to PBA World Championship cashers’ round on Nov. 13
Monday, Nov. 13
1 p.m. – PBA World Championship cashers’ round, five games, Cheetah pattern
5 p.m. – PBA World Championship cashers’ round, five games, Chameleon pattern
Tuesday, Nov. 14
1 p.m. – PBA World Championship cashers’ round, five games, Scorpion pattern
5 p.m. – PBA World Championship cashers’ round, five games, Shark pattern
Top five after 60 combined qualifying games on Cheetah, Chameleon, Scorpion and Shark patterns advance to PBA World Championship stepladder finals)
Wednesday, Nov. 15
11 a.m. – PBA Cheetah Championship Round of 16, best of five games single-elimination match play
1:30 p.m. – PBA Cheetah Championship Round of 8, best of three games single-elimination match play
Four winners advance to ESPN Cheetah Championship finals
3:30 p.m. – PBA Chameleon Championship Round of 16, best of five games single-elimination match play
6 p.m. – PBA Chameleon Championship Round of 8, best of three games single-elimination match play
Four winners advance to ESPN Chameleon Championship finals
Thursday, Nov. 16
11 a.m. – PBA Scorpion Championship Round of 16, best of five games single-elimination match play
1:30 p.m. – PBA Scorpion Championship Round of 8, best of three games single-elimination match play
Four winners advance to ESPN Scorpion Championship finals
3:30 p.m. – PBA Shark Championship Round of 16, best of five games single-elimination match play
6 p.m. – PBA Shark Championship Round of 8, best of three games single-elimination match play
Four winners advance to ESPN Shark Championship finals
Friday, Nov. 17
6 p.m. – National Bowling Stadium pro-am
Saturday, Nov. 18/Sunday, Nov. 19
ESPN finals, all events (details to be announced; all finals will be live streamed on ESPN3/Watch ESPN app)
About the PBA
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is an organization of more than 3,000 of the best bowlers from 27 countries who compete in PBA Tour, PBA International Tour, PBA Regional Tour, PBA Women’s Regional and PBA50 Tour events. The PBA is in its 58th consecutive year of nationally-televised competition, reaching bowling fans around the world who follow PBA activities through the PBA Network which includes Xtra Frame, the PBA’s exclusive online bowling channel, ESPN and CBS Sports Network, and the PBA on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. PBA sponsors include Barbasol, Brunswick, Ebonite International, Eldorado Properties, GEICO, Grand Casino Hotel and Resort, HotelPlanner.com, MOTIV, 900 Global, PBA Bowling Challenge Mobile Game, Storm Products and the United States Bowling Congress, among others. For more information, log on to http://www.pba.com.
