PBA World Championship


The PBA World Championship is one of five major PBA bowling events. Prior to 2002, the tournament was called the PBA National Championship. The PBA National Championship was first contested on November 28, 1960, then called the First Annual National Championship; the winner was PBA Hall of Famer Don Carter. Tournament champions currently win the Earl Anthony Trophy, named in honor of the late PBA legend who won this title a record six times. The World Championship has occasionally offered a $100,000 top prize, and as much as $150,000 in 2020.

Background

The National Championship and World Championship have been contested over the years using a variety of formats. Currently, the PBA World Championship format is different from normal PBA Tour events. Since the 2009–10 season, the initial qualifying scores for the World Championship have come from other stand-alone tournaments at the PBA World Series of Bowling, which celebrated its 11th anniversary in 2020. Thus, the current tournament is open to any PBA member who also enters the World Series of Bowling.
For the 2009–10 season, the PBA World Championship was part of the World Series of Bowling held in Allen Park, Michigan, and was contested in a split format. The qualifying rounds of the tournament were contested August 31 – September 4, with the televised finals being broadcast live on ESPN December 13, 2009. The PBA's second World Series of Bowling in 2010 was contested in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was again used as qualifying for the 2010–11 PBA World Championship. This time, the 60-game qualifying scores for the five "animal pattern" championships held at the World Series were used to determine the 8-bowler TV field for the PBA World Championship finals. The World Championship finals were televised live over three consecutive days, a PBA first.
Currently, combined scores from the 30 games of qualifying on the Cheetah 33, Chameleon 39 and Scorpion 42 oil patterns determine the top 45 for the cashers round of the PBA World Championship. These 45 players then bowl ten more games on the Earl Anthony 43 oil pattern, which is named after the six-time winner of this event. The cashers field is subsequently cut to 16 players for two eight-game, roundrobin match play rounds. Total pinfall from all 56 qualifying games, including 30 bonus pins for head-to-head match play wins, determines the five players that advance to the televised finals.

World Champions

2020 event

A five-player stepladder format was used in the 2020 PBA World Championship finals, contested March 15 at the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas, Nevada. The tournament had 120 entries and a total prize fund of $484,350. One-third of the field cashed, with the champion earning $150,000.
Number 1 seed and two-time defending champion Jason Belmonte successfully defended his title, defeating Anthony Simonsen 213–190 in the final match for his 24th PBA title, 3rd consecutive PBA World Championship title and record-extending 13th career major overall.
+ Due to the 2012–13 "Super Season" running from November 2012 to December 2013, there were two PBA World Championship events: one in November 2012 and one in November 2013.