AKRON — Eight games, five different leaders.
What can the 24 match-play survivors during the KIA PBA Tournament of Champions do for an encore Friday at AMF Riviera Lanes?
“I did quite well really with today’s plan,” 26-game leader Dom Barrett said, “but I will game plan for a couple of different scenarios if things change.”
Barrett, a 36-year-old Great Bentley, England, right-hander who owns eight PBA titles including a pair of majors, had 1,033 total pinfall over his first four games of match play en route to 6,094 total pinfall and a six-pin lead following Thursday’s opening match-play round.
That came despite Barrett’s 4-3-1 match-play record.
“The beginning went really well. I came out with a new game plan using a bit more urethane,” said Barrett, who sat ninth following the 18 games of qualifying and also held the lead following Games 4 and 5 of match play.
“I struck a lot during those first four games. I’m just trying to get my hand in the proper position on some of the pairs so I have a lot to work on for (Friday). Just have to try to repeat those first four games or something close and try to manage the transitions a little better.”
O’Fallon, Mo., right-hander Kyle Sherman compiled a 6-2 match-play mark and stands second at 6,088, followed by Plainfield, Ill., right-hander Kris Prather (6,086) and Australia’s Jason Belmonte (6,083). Belmonte, who has made the top five in all four PBA events this season, is seeking his record fourth TOC victory.
Belmonte jumped from 21st after qualifying into the top four.
Prather, who held the lead after Game 7 of the eight-game match-play round, is seeking his second TOC title after winning at Riviera in 2020.
“I caught a couple of breaks, but a lot of it was good execution,” said Prather, who was 25th entering the final round of qualifying but soared to eighth after 18 games and averaged over 235 on the day.
“I was able to win some really close games and throw some good shots in the 10th frame when I needed to. My spare game was really good today. I didn’t miss any makable spares all day. I’m not really leaving a lot of pins out there.”
Montgomery, Ill., right-hander Sean Rash, who holds 17 PBA titles including the 2012 Tournament of Champions, is fifth at 6,059 after tying Belmonte with the top match-play record of 7-1. Rash was 17th following qualifying.
Bluffton, Ind., right-hander EJ Tackett sits seventh at 6,012 after throwing the tournament’s lone 300 in Game 1 of match play.
“I found a little bit of something in warmups during open practice. When we went to our pair I decided to break it down way to the right with a urethane ball,” said Tackett, who jumped from 19th after starting with 300, 243 and 244. “I was able to stay away from everybody for a few games.
“I had a close win over (Tom) Hess in the fifth game and that’s when I moved in and got out of urethane. It was incredible for the first few games. It gave me a lot of miss room and I didn’t have to be so perfect where I felt with reactive to start the week I had to be pretty much spot on.”
Second-round qualifying leader Shawn Maldonado was 4-4 in match play and sits sixth with 6,024. Tommy Jones, who took the lead following Game 6 of match play, stands eighth with 5,977.
Qualifying leader Thomas Larsen, who came into match play with 4,126, struggled during the night block and fell to 21st with 5,821. Right behind him is defending champion Francois Lavoie of Canada (22nd, 5,733).
Barrett, who has past wins in the U.S Open and PBA National Championship, is looking to become the eighth player in PBA history to win the Triple Crown with his third major title.
The 24 match-play players will return at noon Friday for another eight-game block. The final match-play round begins at 5:30 p.m., with the cut to the final five for Sunday’s nationally televised finals following play.
What can we expect today? Tackett gave an indication.
“I’m going to go through open warmups and see if I can manipulate th planes the same way to start, although I may not be able to stay with urethane as lone,” Tackett said. “I anticipate more guys throwing it at the start, especially after what I did tonight.”
See complete standings at https://www.r2sports.com/website/standings.asp?TID=38031
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