For the third consecutive year, Reno and the National Bowling Stadium will host the world’s premier international bowling showcase when the 9th annual edition of GEICO’S PBA World Series of Bowling takes place Nov. 7-19.
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.
The PBA members-only event, with an all-inclusive entry fee of $1,000 that covers 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 World Championship finals. In 2016, E.J. Tackett’s World Championship victory propelled him to PBA Player of the Year honors.
In addition to the five PBA Tour events, the World Series also will host the 5th 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.
Qualifying will involve two-five game blocks on freshly-oiled conditions — one squad with five players per pair — and one in six entrants will cash in each animal pattern event. Combined 40-game qualifying totals from those four events 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.
To view the complete World Series schedule, click here: http://www.bowlersjournal.com/world-series-of-bowling-returns-to-reno-november-7-19/.
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