Chris Barnes leads qualifying at the PBA50 Monacelli Championship

July 24, 2024

Jackson, Michigan – The defending champion of the inaugural 2023 PBA50 World Series of Bowling World Championship is once again eyeing a chance to win one of the biggest tournaments and the biggest wins of the entire season. After finishing second in qualifying for the Ballard Championship on Monday, Chris Barnes came into Jax 60 on Tuesday to lead qualifying for the PBA50 Monacelli Championship. Barnes averaged 251.5 in eight games and hit +412. He has a 104-pin lead over fellow A-Squad bowler Brad Angelo in 2^and Location.

On the 40-foot Monacelli oil pattern, Barnes played much deeper in the lane as he noticed a lot of friction in the front part of the lanes. It was the same ball he used in his last four games on Monday and relied on to start his evening.

“Today was the culmination of the right ball selection and good ball reaction,” he said. “In the long formats, a block like this helps you stand out from the field. You have to take advantage of it and use it as motivation.”

Behind Angelo are B-team leader Paul Koehler, Brian Diede at +281 and Paul Fleming at +270. Koehler and Diede were on the same team and the duo worked well together. Koehler said they played the lanes pretty much the same, were able to read each other well and were on the same board every game. His son and daughter just bowled at the 2024 USA Bowling National Championships in nearby Allen Park, Michigan, last week, so Koehler figured he might as well compete at WSOB II. His 10-year-old son Kristopher’s team from the Coastal South region won the title in the under-12 division.

“They’ve been motivating me to bowl this week. My wife and daughter flew home on Saturday, but Kristopher stayed with me,” Koehler said. “I wanted him to help me this week by being the eyes behind me. He knows the ball movement. I try to get him involved quite a bit because it’s a good learning experience for him, too. He’s pretty talented.”

Koehler was able to complete all three stops in his home state of Florida this season, including a 3^rd place. He had tendonitis in his arms, so he decided to train with 15-pound equipment before this busy week. He used that on Monday. He was within the cut until a 171 in his last game put him at 23^rd Place. He had no pain on Tuesday, so he switched back to 16-pound equipment to slow down his hand, and he felt that saved him.

“I bowled well in this pattern when it was in Fort Myers last year and lost to John Janawicz just before the show, imagine that,” he said with a laugh. “Any of these patterns I feel comfortable in. I like longer formats. The more pins I can stack on my score, the more confident I am.”

Tom Hess and Troy Stus were the last two players to make the cut for the Monacelli Championship at +166. Bracket match play for that event will take place on Friday. Next up at WSOB II is the PBA50 Petraglia Championship, which begins on Wednesday at 9 a.m. Eastern Time with the A team, followed by the B team at 4 p.m. Bracket match play for that event will take place on Saturday. Currently, Barnes, Angelo, Jason Couch, Mike Koivuniemi and Mario Quintero have all made the cut this week.

The top 18 bowlers after 24 qualifying matches from the Ballard, Monacelli and Petraglia Championships will qualify for the World Championship. All qualifying pins will carry over into the match play rounds, which begin at 9 a.m. ET on Sunday. There are three standard titles and one major PBA50 title. You can watch the entire PBA50 WSOB II on BowlTV.

PBA50 Monacelli Championship Match Play-Advancers: