by Bill Vint

Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pa., derailed Brian Valenta’s hopes for a first title, throwing two strikes in the 10th frame to edge Valenta, 243-235, in the Professional Bowlers Association Tour Badger Open championship match at the Grand Casino Resort Event Center.

The finals of the third of five Oklahoma’s Grand Casino Resort PBA Summer Swing events, contested on a 52-foot Badger lane condition – the longest oiling pattern in PBA’s library of lane conditions – aired Tuesday on CBS Sports Network.

Along with his fifth career PBA Tour title – and first since the 2012 Cheetah Championship – O’Neill earned $10,000 and a berth in Oklahoma’s Grand Casino Resort King of the Swing, a special event that will conclude the Summer Swing.

While Valenta, a two-handed, high-revolution player, played a severe inside line, lofting the ball 10 feet or more down the lane, O’Neill moved to the right side of the lane and played a much straighter shot to the pocket.

“I knew I couldn’t play (as far inside as Valenta was playing),” O’Neill said. “Mika (Koivuniemi) couldn’t do it, Marshall (Kent) couldn’t do it and Pete (Weber) couldn’t do it. If Pete can’t play inside, I have no business being there, so I told myself two hours ago, in practice, I’m going to stay right here and make it work.

“It was one of those days when everything worked out, and when I got up in the 10th, I really wasn’t nervous. I knew what I had to do. Whatever (Valenta) did, it didn’t matter. I knew I was going to get up there and double, and that’s what I did.

“It felt great to do so. It’s been a while since I’ve been in that position. I couldn’t be happier.”

Valenta was obviously disappointed about falling short of his first title, but the 29-year-old seventh-year pro was pleased about winning three matches in his first PBA Tour television appearance.

“My ‘A’ game is lofting, and I did pretty well today,” Valenta said. “I only made two bad shots. I knew if other guys played to the right of me, they had to go straight. If they moved left to where I was, then it was playing my game against yours and we’ll see who wins. I wanted them to come my way because I figured my rev rate would be the equalizer.

“I had a great time,” he added. “I got a little intense, but I didn’t go crazy.”

In his first match, Valenta threw strikes on his first five shots and filled the final five frames in cruising to a 237-172 win over Koivuniemi, a 13-time PBA Tour winner from Hartland, Mich.

With the oil burning out in the front part of the lane, Valenta began lofting the ball past the arrows and continued striking in an easy 236-165 win over Kent, a PBA rookie from Yakima, Wash., who didn’t strike until the eighth frame.

Valenta moved even farther left and lofted the ball farther down the lane, putting together one string of three strikes in a cat-and-mouse battle with Weber, a PBA Hall of Famer and 37-time titlist, in the semifinal match. Weber trailed by four pins after eight frames, but missed a 7 pin spare attempt in the ninth to let Valenta escape with a 204-190 decision.

The title match was a frame-to-frame battle all the way to the 10th where Valenta doubled to force O’Neill to duplicate his feat for the win.

Oklahoma’s Grand Casino Resort PBA Summer Swing continues next Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sport Network with the finals of the PBA Oklahoma Open. Finalists will be top qualifier E.J. Tackett of Huntington, Ind., the 2013 PBA Rookie of the Year; Chris Loschetter of Avon, Ohio; Bill O'Neill of Langhorne, Pa.; Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C., and reigning PBA Player of the Year Jason Belmonte of Australia. As top qualifier, Tackett earned the right to select the lane conditioning pattern, and he decided to the bowl the finals on the demanding 40-foot flat Bear pattern.

CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.

A pre-game show for each PBA Summer Swing event will be posted on PBA’s subscription-based online bowling channel, Xtra Frame and on PBA’s YouTube page on Monday prior to the telecast. Post-game shows will air on Xtra Frame and YouTube following each telecast. The complete telecast of each event will be archived on Xtra Frame seven days after the original air date.

2014 PBA BADGER OPEN

Grand Casino Resort Event Center, Shawnee, Okla., May 24 (telecast: June 17)

Final Standings: 1, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa., $10,000. 2, Brian Valenta, Lockport, Ill., $5,000. 3, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., $4,000. 4, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., $3,500. 5, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., $3,000.

Playoff Results: Match One – Valenta def. Koivuniemi, 237-172. Match Two – Valenta def. Kent, 236-165. Semifinal Match – Valenta def. Weber, 204-190. Championship – O’Neill def. Valenta, 243-235.