PBA World Series of Bowling
The PBA World Series of Bowling is an annual multi-tournament ten-pin bowling event held by the Professional Bowlers Association in North America.
Formation
The inaugural World Series of Bowling event was held by the PBA at the start of the 2009–10 PBA Tour season, and took place in the Detroit, Michigan suburbs of Allen Park and Taylor. Part of the reason for developing the World Series, given the U.S. economic recession at the time, was to consolidate multiple tournaments into one location to save on travel and broadcast crew costs. The brainchild of then-Deputy Commissioner Tom Clark, the World Series included five “animal pattern” tournaments, each named for a custom lane-oiling pattern. All of the animal pattern tournaments took place in Allen Park's Thunderbowl Lanes. A stand-alone tournament at nearby Taylor Lanes, the Motor City Open, was also considered part of the inaugural World Series of Bowling. In addition to being stand-alone title tournaments, the animal pattern events served as initial qualifying for that season's PBA World Championship major. While television tapings for the final rounds of the Motor City Open and all five animal pattern tournaments took place September 5 and 6, the PBA World Championship finals were not held until December 13, 2009 in Wichita, Kansas.History
World Series of Bowling II moved to Las Vegas for the 2010–11 season. The event had five animal oil pattern events, with the PBA World Championship again running in a split format. Subsequent events ran only four or three animal pattern tournaments, but continued to use these events as initial qualifying for the PBA World Championship. After being held in Las Vegas for the next four years, the event moved to Reno, Nevada for three consecutive seasons.The World Series of Bowling has run every PBA season since its inception, except for 2018. After Fox Sports acquired the PBA television rights earlier that year, the decision was made to move the World Series to a spring event so it would be included in Fox's TV schedule. Thus, World Series of Bowling X was moved from late 2018 to March 2019, and was held in its original home of Allen Park, MI.
Bowlers from over 30 countries have participated in the World Series of Bowling. PBA Commissioner Tom Clark has credited the WSOB with inspiring an influx of international players who now regularly compete on the PBA Tour.
Tournament formats and qualifying have changed over the years. For the 2024 season, the WSOB had a maximum field of 108 entrants. Priority registration was given to the top 50 PBA players in 2023 season points, up to 20 international invitees not in the top 50, and any other PBA Tour title holders who are not in either previous group. The remaining entries came from a seven-game Pre-Tournament Qualifier. Following the PTQ, all 108 bowlers rolled 15 games of qualifying per animal pattern tournament, split into three blocks. The 45 total games of qualifying determined the top 16 bowlers for the PBA World Championship Match Play rounds. The top 16 players in each animal pattern tournament had their own 16-game match play rounds leading to the five-player stepladder finals. The PBA World Championship qualifiers had a 16-game match play round to determine the top nine seeds. The 5–9 seeds bowled a play-in stepladder to determine the fifth seed for the televised finals, while the top four seeds automatically advanced to the telecast.
Event results
World Series of Bowling I
Dates: August 2–September 6, 2009 and December 13, 2009Location: Allen Park, MI, except where noted
Events:
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Motor City Open | Nov 1 | Aug 2–6 | Sep 5 | Walter Ray Williams, Jr., USA | Chris Barnes, USA |
| Cheetah Championship | Nov 8 | Aug 11–13 | Sep 5 | Norm Duke, USA | Ryan Ciminelli, USA |
| Viper Championship | Nov 15 | Aug 14–16 | Sep 5 | Rhino Page, USA | Ryan Ciminelli, USA |
| Chameleon Championship | Nov 22 | Aug 18–20 | Sep 6 | Bill O'Neill, USA | Ronnie Russell, USA |
| Scorpion Championship | Nov 29 | Aug 23–25 | Sep 6 | Mike Devaney, USA | Jason Belmonte, Australia |
| Shark Championship | Dec 6 | Aug 27–29 | Sep 6 | Jack Jurek, USA | Mike Fagan, USA |
| PBA World Championship | Dec 13 | Aug 30–Sep 3 | Live | Tom Smallwood, USA | Wes Malott, USA |
World Series of Bowling II
Dates: October 25–November 6, 2010 and January 14–16, 2011Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Events:
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Cheetah Championship | Nov 28 | Oct 25, Nov 1 | Nov 5 | Eugene McCune, USA | Norm Duke, USA |
| Viper Championship | Dec 5 | Oct 26, Nov 1 | Nov 5 | Bill O’Neill, USA | Andres Gomez, Colombia |
| Chameleon Championship | Dec 12 | Oct 27, Nov 2 | Nov 6 | Scott Norton, USA | Sean Rash, USA |
| Scorpion Championship | Dec 19 | Oct 28, Nov 2 | Nov 6 | Yong-Jin Gu, South Korea | Jun-Yung Kim, South Korea |
| Shark Championship | Dec 6 | Oct 29, Nov 3 | Nov 6 | Osku Palermaa, Finland | Dan MacLelland, Canada |
| PBA World Championship | Jan 14–16 | Oct 25–29 | Live | Chris Barnes, USA | Bill O’Neill, USA |
World Series of Bowling III
Dates: November 5–19, 2011Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Events:
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Viper Open | Jan 22 | Nov 5 | Nov 18 | Stuart Williams, England | Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela |
| Chameleon Open | Feb 12 | Nov 6 | Nov 19 | Jason Belmonte, Australia | Sean Rash, USA |
| Scorpion Open | Feb 19 | Nov 7 | Nov 19 | Dominic Barrett, England | Sean Rash, USA |
| Shark Open | Mar 4 | Nov 8 | Nov 19 | Jason Belmonte, Australia | Chris Barnes, USA |
| PBA World Championship | Jan 15 | Nov 5–8, 17–18 | Nov 18 | Osku Palermaa, Finland | Ryan Shafer, USA |
Notes: WSOB III was the first and only World Series in which all events were won by players from outside North America.
World Series of Bowling IV
Dates: November 3–11, 2012Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Events:
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Cheetah Championship | Dec 16 | Nov 3–7 | Nov 10 | Bill O’Neill, USA | Mike Wolfe, USA |
| Viper Championship | Dec 23 | Nov 3–7 | Nov 10 | Brad Angelo, USA | Mika Koivuniemi, Finland |
| Chameleon Championship | Dec 30 | Nov 3–7 | Nov 11 | Scott Norton, USA | Jason Belmonte, Australia |
| Scorpion Championship | Jan 6 | Nov 3–7 | Nov 11 | Tom Daugherty, USA | Osku Palermaa, Finland |
| PBA World Championship | Jan 13 | Nov 3–9 | Nov 11 | Parker Bohn III, USA | Jason Belmonte, Australia |
World Series of Bowling V
Dates: October 25–November 3, 2013Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Events:
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Cheetah Championship | Dec 1 | Oct 25–26 | Nov 2 | Wes Malott, USA | Parker Bohn III, USA |
| Viper Championship | Dec 8 | Oct 25, 27 | Nov 2 | Chris Barnes, USA | Ryan Ciminelli, USA |
| Chameleon Championship | Dec 15 | Oct 25, 28 | Nov 2 | Ryan Ciminelli, USA | Dominic Barrett, England |
| Scorpion Championship | Dec 22 | Oct 25, 29 | Nov 3 | Tom Smallwood, USA | Marshall Kent, USA |
| PBA World Championship | Jan 13 | Oct 25–31 | Nov 3 | Dominic Barrett, England | Sean Rash, USA |
World Series of Bowling VI
Dates: October 25–November 2, 2014Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Events:
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Cheetah Championship | Dec 14 | Oct 25, 30 | Nov 2 | Anthony Pepe, USA | Dick Allen, USA |
| Viper Championship | Dec 21 | Oct 26, 30 | Nov 2 | Mika Koivuniemi, Finland | Connor Pickford, USA |
| Chameleon Championship | Dec 28 | Oct 27, 31 | Nov 2 | DJ Archer, USA | Ronnie Russell, USA |
| Scorpion Championship | Jan 4 | Oct 28, 31 | Nov 2 | Michael Haugen Jr., USA | Martin Larsen, Sweden |
| PBA World Championship | Jan 11 | Oct 25–31 | Live | Mike Fagan, USA | Wes Malott, USA |
World Series of Bowling VII
Dates: December 8–19, 2015Location: Reno, Nevada
Events:
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Cheetah Championship | Dec 20 | Dec 8, 14 | Dec 18 | Parker Bohn III, USA | Paul Moor, England |
| Viper Championship | Dec 27 | Dec 9, 14 | Dec 18 | Ryan Ciminelli, USA | Kim Bolleby, Thailand |
| Chameleon Championship | Jan 3 | Dec 10, 15 | Dec 19 | Jesper Svensson, Sweden | Pascal Winternheimer, Germany |
| Scorpion Championship | Jan 10 | Dec 11, 15 | Dec 19 | Jon Van Hees, USA | Jason Sterner, USA |
| PBA World Championship | Dec 17 | Dec 8–13 | Live | Gary Faulkner Jr., USA | E. J. Tackett, USA |
World Series of Bowling VIII
Dates: November 29–December 11, 2016Location: Reno, Nevada
Events:
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Cheetah Championship | Dec 18 | Nov 29, Dec 6, 8 | Dec 10 | Mike Wolfe, USA | Darren Tang, USA |
| Chameleon Championship | Dec 24 | Nov 30, Dec 6, 8 | Dec 10 | Mitch Beasley, USA | A. J. Johnson, USA |
| Scorpion Championship | Dec 25 | Dec 1, 7–8 | Dec 10 | Tommy Jones, USA | BJ Moore, USA |
| Shark Championship | Dec 25 | Dec 2, 7–8 | Dec 10 | François Lavoie, Canada | Walter Ray Williams Jr., USA |
| PBA World Championship | Dec 11 | Nov 29–Dec 5 | Live | E. J. Tackett, USA | Tom Smallwood, USA |
World Series of Bowling IX
Dates: November 8–19, 2017Location: Reno, Nevada
Events:
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Chameleon Championship | Dec 17 | Nov 8, 15 | Nov 18 | Liz Johnson, USA | Anthony Pepe, USA |
| Shark Championship | Dec 17 | Nov 9, 15 | Nov 18 | Richie Teece, England | Charlie Brown Jr., USA |
| Cheetah Championship | Dec 24 | Nov 11, 16 | Nov 19 | Jesper Svensson, Sweden | Thomas Larsen, Denmark |
| Scorpion Championship | Dec 24 | Nov 12, 16 | Nov 19 | E. J. Tackett, USA | Jason Belmonte, Australia |
| PBA World Championship | Dec 31 | Nov 8–9, 11–14 | Nov 19 | Jason Belmonte, Australia | Jesper Svensson, Sweden |
World Series of Bowling X
Dates: March 12–21, 2019Location: Allen Park, Michigan
Events:
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Cheetah Championship | Mar 18 | Mar 12, 18 | Live | Dick Allen, USA | Kyle Sherman, USA |
| Chameleon Championship | Mar 19 | Mar 13, 19 | Live | Jason Belmonte, Australia | Andres Gomez, Colombia |
| Scorpion Championship | Mar 20 | Mar 14, 20 | Live | Kristopher Prather, USA | BJ Moore, USA |
| PBA World Championship | Mar 21 | Mar 12–16 | Live | Jason Belmonte, Australia | Jakob Butturff, USA |
World Series of Bowling XI
Dates: March 6–15, 2020 & October 1–5, 2020Location: Las Vegas, Nevada & Centreville, Virginia
The PBA's World Series of Bowling XI. which included three standard PBA title events and the PBA World Championship, was scheduled to take place March 6–18, 2020 in Las Vegas, with live finals broadcasts occurring across four consecutive days on FS1. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, only the PBA World Championship was completed in March. The match play rounds and finals of the other three tournaments were postponed, and eventually rescheduled for October 1–5, 2020. The location for the animal pattern tournament conclusions was also changed to Centreville, Virginia, allowing it to follow the PBA League event.
Events:
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Cheetah Championship | Oct 4 | Mar 8, Oct 1 | Live | Sean Rash, USA | E. J. Tackett, USA |
| Chameleon Championship | Oct 4 | Mar 9, Oct 2 | Live | Jason Belmonte, Australia | Brad Miller, USA |
| Scorpion Championship | Oct 5 | Mar 10, Oct 3 | Live | Carsten Hansen, Denmark | BJ Moore, USA |
| PBA World Championship | Mar 15 | Mar 8–14 | Live | Jason Belmonte, Australia | Anthony Simonsen, USA |
World Series of Bowling XII
Dates: March 5–17, 2021Location: Tampa, Florida
The PBA announced on January 15, 2021 that World Series of Bowling XII would take place in Tampa, Florida on March 7–17, with a pre-tournament qualifier on March 5. As in the previous season, WSOB XII included three animal pattern events plus the PBA World Championship major. This season's WSOB also hosted the Roth-Holman PBA Doubles Championship. Combined pinfall from the three animal pattern qualifying rounds determines the top 30 that move on to the PBA World Championship cashers round, and also determines the top 16 teams that advance to the Roth-Holman Doubles match play rounds.
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| PBA Guaranteed Rate World Championship | Mar 13 | Mar 7–11 | Live | Tom Daugherty, USA | Jakob Butturff, USA |
| Roth-Holman Doubles Championship | Mar 14 | Mar 7–9, 12 | Live | Andrew Anderson, USA & Kris Prather, USA | Tom Daugherty, USA & BJ Moore, USA |
| Cheetah Championship | Mar 15 | Mar 7, 15 | Live | Sam Cooley, Australia | Kris Prather, USA |
| Chameleon Championship | Mar 16 | Mar 8, 16 | Live | Shawn Maldonado, USA | Jakob Butturff, USA |
| Scorpion Championship | Mar 17 | Mar 9, 17 | Live | Tom Daugherty, USA | Kyle Troup, USA |
World Series of Bowling XIII
Dates: March 3–16, 2022Location: Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
World Series of Bowling XIII took place in Wauwatosa, WI on March 3–16, with a pre-tournament qualifier on March 1. As in the previous season, WSOB XIII included three animal pattern events plus the PBA World Championship major. Combined pinfall from the three animal pattern qualifying rounds determined the top 30 that move on to the PBA World Championship cashers round. This season's WSOB opened with the Roth-Holman PBA Doubles Championship.
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| PBA Roth-Holman Doubles Championship | Mar 6 | Mar 3–5 | Live | E.J. Tackett and Marshall Kent | D.J. Archer and Shawn Maldonado |
| PBA World Championship | Mar 13 | Mar 7–11 | Live | Kristopher Prather | Jason Sterner |
| Cheetah Championship | Mar 14 | Mar 7, 14 | Live | Kyle Sherman | Cristian Azcona |
| Scorpion Championship | Mar 15 | Mar 8, 15 | Live | Jason Belmonte | Anthony Simonsen |
| Shark Championship | Mar 16 | Mar 9, 16 | Live | Keven Williams | A. J. Chapman |
World Series of Bowling XIV
Dates: April 7–23, 2023Location: Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
World Series of Bowling XIV took place in Wauwatosa, WI on April 9–23, with a pre-tournament qualifier on April 7. WSOB XIV included three animal pattern events plus the PBA World Championship major. Combined pinfall from the three 20-game animal pattern qualifying rounds determined the top 12 that moved on to World Championship match play. This season's WSOB television coverage opened with the USA vs. the World non-title event.
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Cheetah Championship | Apr 17 | Apr 9–10 | Live | E.J. Tackett | BJ Moore |
| Scorpion Championship | Apr 18 | Apr 11–12 | Live | Jakob Butturff | E.J. Tackett |
| Shark Championship | Apr 19 | Apr 13–14 | Live | Matthew Ogle | Sam Cooley |
| PBA World Championship | Apr 23 | Apr 9–14, 20 | Live | E.J. Tackett | Jason Belmonte |
World Series of Bowling XV
Dates: April 2–21, 2024Location: Allen Park, MI
World Series of Bowling XV returned to Allen Park, MI on April 2–21, kicked off by the Roth-Holman Doubles Championship on April 4. The pre-tournament qualifier for all singles events was April 6. In addition to the Doubles Championship, WSOB XV included three animal pattern events plus the PBA World Championship major. Combined pinfall from the three 15-game animal pattern qualifying rounds determined the top 16 that moved on to World Championship match play.
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Roth-Holman Doubles Championship | Apr 14 | Apr 4–5 | Apr 6 | Kristopher Prather & Andrew Anderson | Jason Belmonte & Bill O'Neill |
| Cheetah Championship | Apr 15 | Apr 8–9 | Live | Deo Benard | Marshall Kent |
| Scorpion Championship | Apr 16 | Apr 10–11 | Live | Matt Russo | Packy Hanrahan |
| Shark Championship | Apr 17 | Apr 12–13 | Live | E. J. Tackett | Shota Kawazoe |
| PBA World Championship | Apr 21 | Apr 8–13, 18, 20 | Live | E. J. Tackett | Matt Russo |
World Series of Bowling XVI
Dates: March 3–22, 2025Location: Reno, NV
The 16th PBA World Series of Bowling was held on March 3–22, 2025 in Reno, Nevada. For the first time since 2017, the WSOB included four animal oil pattern events prior to the PBA World Championship. Also, the Viper Championship returned to the slate of events at the WSOB for the first time since World Series of Bowling VII in 2015.
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Scorpion Championship | Mar 16 | Mar 4–5, 16 | Live | Rasmus Edvall | Rafiq Ismail |
| Viper Championship | Mar 17 | Mar 6–7, 17 | Live | Darren Ong | E. J. Tackett |
| Chameleon Championship | Mar 18 | Mar 8–9, 18 | Live | Tun Hakim | Kevin McCune |
| Shark Championship | Mar 19 | Mar 10–11, 19 | Live | E. J. Tackett | Tom Smallwood |
| PBA World Championship | Mar 22 | Mar 4–11, 14–15, 20 | Live | E. J. Tackett | Jason Belmonte |
World Series of Bowling XVII
Dates: April 29–May 12, 2026 & June 11–13, 2026Location: Brooklyn Park, MN & Allen Park, MI
The 17th PBA World Series of Bowling is set to take place in Greater Minneapolis on April 29 through May 12, with the PBA World Championship match play and finals contested in Allen Park, Michigan in June. As in 2025, there will be four animal pattern events that serve as initial qualifying for the PBA World Championship. All animal pattern finals broadcasts will also include the finals of a concurrent PBA50 World Series of Bowling event.
| Event | Airdate | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Runner-up |
| Animal Championship 1 | May 9 | Apr 30–May 1, 9 | Live | ||
| Animal Championship 2 | May 10 | May 2–3, 10 | Live | ||
| Animal Championship 3 | May 11 | May 4–5, 11 | Live | ||
| Animal Championship 4 | May 12 | May 5–6, 12 | Live | ||
| PBA World Championship | Jun 13 | Apr 30–May 12, Jun 11–12 | Live |
WSOB highlights
- 2009: Tom Smallwood, a 32-year old laid-off auto worker from Saginaw, Michigan who had re-qualified for the PBA Tour only seven months earlier, becomes the Cinderella story of the year, defeating Wes Malott in the PBA World Championship.
- 2010: The WSOB sees its first two international champions, as Yong-Jin Gu and Osku Palermaa win the Scorpion and Shark Championships, respectively.
- 2011: All five events are won by international players – Stuart Williams and Dominic Barrett, Jason Belmonte, and Osku Palermaa.
- 2012: Redemption for Tom Daugherty, who had rolled a record-low televised 100 score in the previous season's Tournament of Champions; Daugherty wins the Scorpion Championship for his first PBA Tour title. Also, the PBA World Championship is won by 49-year old Parker Bohn III.
- 2015: Gary Faulkner Jr. becomes the second African American to win a PBA Tour title and PBA major, as he takes the PBA World Championship crown.
- 2017: Liz Johnson becomes the second female to win on the PBA Tour and the first woman to win a WSOB event when she defeats fellow New Yorker Anthony Pepe for the Chameleon Championship title.
- 2019: Australian Jason Belmonte wins his second consecutive PBA World Championship title, giving him a record-breaking 11 major championships on the PBA Tour.
- 2020: Belmonte earns a three-peat in the PBA World Championship, becoming the second player to win this major three years in a row. The World Championship was the only event contested on schedule, due to the interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The finals of the three animal pattern events were eventually contested in October.
- 2021: It's the year of "Tampa Tom". In his hometown bowling center, Tom Daugherty wins two WSOB titles, including his first major in the PBA World Championship, and finishes second in another event.
- 2025: World Series of Bowling XVI sees the PBA Tour's first-ever winners from Singapore and Malaysia, as well as a three-peat by E. J. Tackett in the PBA World Championship.