2022 USBC Masters Mega-Preview
Hitting on all the key players and storylines before the final major of the 2022 PBA season.
Augusta National, you can keep your luscious green grass, no cell phone policy and old-boys-club ambiance.
The real Masters starts today in Las Vegas, on the second floor of the cigarette-infused Gold Coast Hotel and Casino. The Masters, perhaps the largest event in professional bowling, will crown a fifth and final major champion of 2022.
Three days of qualifying will whittle a 420-player field down to 64; defending champion Thomas Larsen will be guaranteed the 64th spot if he finishes outside the top-64.
Then, in true March Madness fashion, a double-elimination bracket will determine the five-player stepladder finals. Okay, that’s enough PR — click here if you want to learn more.
But while we’re on the subject… what’s the point of doing a bracket just to finish with a stepladder? And how can the top-seed, who went undefeated in match-play, lose the title with a single-game defeat?
It makes no sense — I demand the powers that be take my suggestions under advisement.
PBA Players to Watch
Jason Belmonte, as he does in every major, demands our full attention. A win would mark his fifth Masters title, secure his 15th career major title and seal a record-tying seventh Player of the Year award — all of which are unfathomable figures.
Belmonte ramped up the drama surrounding this year’s tournament by sharing that USBC requested to test his equipment but denied transparency. I truly have no idea if this means anything, but the Facebook Warriors prepared for battle in record time.
Returning to actual stakes: Dom Barrett, Kris Prather and Anthony Simonsen could make a last-ditch play for Player of the Year with a second major win in 2022. EJ Tackett, who leads the tour in average this season, could also enter the conversation with a Masters title. All four would need to make a deep run and probably win the PBA Playoffs to unseat Belmonte.
Lessons from Team USA Trials
The host venue makes for an interesting subplot. Team USA Trials was also held at Gold Coast back in January. Players who found success then may have an advantage matching up with the lane surface or understanding the house’s nuances. Additionally, both tournaments are USBC events, where the patterns differ from PBA competition.
At Team USA Trials, Darren Tang and Kyle Troup battled until the last game, but Tang emerged with the title. Nick Pate and AJ Johnson rounded out the top-four, while Jake Peters and Jakob Butturff also finished inside the top-10.
All three men’s US Amateur finalists will be competing this week: Dallas Leong, Nate Stubler and Trent Mitchell, the US Amateur champion.
Almost every notable player has probably competed at Gold Coast at some point in their career, so it’s not like the handful of players who bowled well in January possess any significant edge. But if Tang and Pate bowl for the title, you can bet I’m gonna have a self-righteous tweet ready to go.
College Stars Hit the Lanes
One of the coolest things about bowling is that elite youth and collegiate talents are able to compete with the pros. While I hope to see NCAA rules enable top female talents compete for cash, I appreciate how the PBA and PWBA are two of the rare professional sports league that actively find ways to showcase the next generation of athletes.
Last year, 18-year-old Spencer Robarge made the Masters show and climbed all the way to the semifinal. Robarge returns in 2022, joined by Wichita State teammates Alec Keplinger and Ryan Barnes.
St. Ambrose’s left-handed tandem of Cam Crowe and Stubler will make the trip to Sin City. Hopefully, this journey to Vegas went smoother than last time; check out my feature in the Feb. edition of Bowlers Journal for that story.
Some other collegiate stars competing this week include Calumet’s Petey Vergos, SCAD-Savannah’s Tyrell Ingalls, and UNLV’s Cerell Cardines.
Finally, the subjects of my mini-doc on how college bowlers can bowl for cash, William Paterson’s Hunter Kempton and St. Johns’ Andrew Hall, will also be competing in Las Vegas this week.
PWBA Crossovers
Five of the top female talents in the world will join the men in Las Vegas. Liz Johnson, who won the 2017 PBA Chameleon Championship, headlines the group.
Danielle McEwan returns from a significant foot/toe injury, and Gazmine “GG” Mason carries her energetic personality from Rhode Island.
Sandra Gongora and Clara Guerrero, round out the PWBA’s representatives. Guerrero made the TV finals of the 2013 PBA Cheetah Championship.
PBA Playoff Implications
The Masters represents the last regular season tournament of the 2022 PBA Tour. AJ Johnson, Bill O’Neill and Jake Peters are skating on thin ice with a host of players gunning for their spots. I wrote more about the Masters’ playoff implications over at PBA.com.
I have a feeling a player will arise from the depths of hell (outside the top-20 in points) and sneak into the playoffs.
The first name that jumped out was Darren Tang, who sits in 24th place and 2,140 points outside of the cut. The local standout — sorry, Darren, I’ve embraced this stupid bit — won Team USA Trials in this very building just a few months ago. He has struggled to meet his own expectations most of this season, but found his footing last week in Colorado Springs, finishing third.
Matt Russo, who sits in 23rd, also springs to mind. But I’m noticing that I’m often drawn to Tang and Russo, most likely because I interviewed them last summer for PBA.com features. Let’s steer in another direction then.
Andrew Anderson, the 2018 Masters champion, sits in a tie for 34th place and 3,200 points behind Peters, but a win would guarantee him a playoff spot. He’s never short for confidence, so it would be foolish to count him out.
Three-time major champion François Lavoie (currently 33rd; 3,100 points out) could be a factor, especially if the pattern plays difficult.
The reigning champion, Thomas Larsen, would also need a win to qualify for the postseason; he has struggled mightily this season, but could be rejuvenated with a jolt of confidence as the defending champion.
I can already feel the wrath of a Twitter brigade if I do not make a final selection. I can envision Russo or Anderson winning, and I still lean towards Russo, as it feels like a lefty-friendly week. (My super dark horse: Wesley Low.)
Final Predictions
I’m normally not in the business of predictions. There isn’t enough available data yet — though Lanetalk is making great progress — and I’d rather watch the tournament as an observer instead of rooting for my own predictions.
But I made an exceptions here for three reasons. First, making predictions is fairly harmless.
Second, it would be hilarious if someone won the tournament, then said on TV they read my story and wanted to prove me wrong.
Finally, on the chance I am right, I would tweet about it every single day solely to annoy all 316 of my followers.
Alright, I’ve dilly-dallied around why I presume you opened this email for long enough. Don’t put too much stock into these; I rely mostly on instinct and recent performance. A couple appetizers before the entrée:
Larsen finishes between 75-80th; loses his first match as 64-seed, then wins a pair before being eliminated.
Tommy Jones finishes outside the top-6 in a major for the time this season.
Sean Rash’s back injury flares up, and he either misses the cut or withdraws.
An amateur leads qualifying.
Perry Crowell IV finishes 122nd and Adam Zimmerman finishes 181st. These are two random names I found and I thought it’d be fun to throw a few darts.
Final Standings
Matt Russo
Tom Daugherty
EJ Tackett
Jason Belmonte
Kris Prather
6-8th: Packy Hanrahan, Chris Via, Nate Stubler
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