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Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions Moves to Detroit in January

Posted Dec 20, 2013 In: Bowling News | PBA Bowling
By Bowling.com

The 2014 Professional Bowlers Association Barbasol Tournament of Champions will move to Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich., beginning Jan. 18 and concluding with a live ESPN telecast at noon ET on Sunday, Jan. 26, the PBA announced Friday.

The change in venue and dates for the 49th TOC from previously announced April in Indianapolis is accompanied by a revised PBA League competition and ESPN air-date schedule.

The 2014 PBA Tournament of Champions will be open to any PBA member who has ever won a PBA Tour, International Tour, PBA50, PBA Women’s Series or PBA Regional title. The PBA champions will compete in a 49-game qualifying and match play format with the top five players advancing to the stepladder finals.

The Tournament of Champions was first held in 1962 in Indianapolis as a showcase tournament for the elite players who had won PBA titles. In April 2013, in its return to Indianapolis, PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber of St. Ann, Mo., at age 50, became the oldest TOC winner when he defeated Australia’s Jason Belmonte, 224-179, to win the title for the second time. With his win, Weber also tied bowling legend Earl Anthony for most PBA major titles (10) and he became the first player ever to complete the PBA Triple Crown (TOC, U.S. Open and PBA World Championship) twice.

All 2014 TOC qualifying and match play rounds Jan. 18-21 will be covered live on PBA’s exclusive online bowling channel, Xtra Frame. For Xtra Frame subscription information, visit pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame link.

The PBA League season on ESPN kicks off with the Chris Paul PBA League All-Stars on Sunday, Feb. 2, with the first week of quarterfinal action in the eight-team bracket airing Feb. 9. Each match in the eight-team bracket seen on ESPN will feature singles, doubles, trios and five-player Baker-format games. The final two teams will advance to the PBA League Elias Cup Finals which will be held in North Brunswick, N.J. The final will air on ESPN on April 13.

The PBA League, in its second year, features eight teams of five PBA stars each, representing different cities and prominent team owners from the sports and entertainment worlds. The New York City WTT KingPins, owned by tennis legend Billie Jean King, are defending champions. Other teams include the Motown Muscle (owner Jerome Bettis), Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits (owner LaMarr Woodley), Silver Lake Atom Splitters (owner Chris Hardwick), Philadelphia Hitmen (owner Kevin Hart), L.A. X (owner Chris Paul), BROOKLYN STyLES (owner Jesse Williams) and Dallas Strikers (owner Terrell Owens).

For a complete list of PBA League team rosters, managers and additional information, visit pba.com and look for “The League” under the Bowlers tab (https://www.pba.com/Bowlers/#tab-league).

2014 PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., Jan. 18-26 (all times ET)

Friday, Jan. 17 1:30 p.m. – official practice session

Saturday, Jan. 18 11 a.m. – 5 qualifying games, all players 6 p.m. – 5 qualifying games, all players

Sunday, Jan. 19 11 a.m. – 5 qualifying games, all players PBA Tour National title winners and top 2/3 of rest of field advance 6 p.m. – 5 qualifying games, PBA Tour titlists and additional qualifiers

Monday, Jan. 20 11 a.m. – 5 qualifying games, PBA Tour titlists and additional qualifiers Top 24 after 25 qualifying games advance to round robin match play 6 p.m. – Top 24, 8 games round robin match play

Tuesday, Jan. 21 11 a.m. – Top 24, 8 games round robin match play 6 p.m. – Top 24, 8 games round robin match play Top five after 49 games advance to ESPN stepladder finals

Sunday, Jan. 26 Noon – Top five, live ESPN stepladder finals

PBA LEAGUE SCHEDULE Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., Jan. 23-27 (Elias Cup Finals: Brunswick Carolier Lanes, N. Brunswick, N.J., Feb. 23)

Thursday, Jan. 23 3 p.m. – Official PBA League practice session

Saturday, Jan. 25 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. – Pro-Am squads 5 p.m. – PBA League Quarterfinal Match: L.A. X vs. BROOKLYN STyLES (ESPN telecast Sunday, Feb. 9, 3 p.m. ET) 8 p.m. – PBA League Quarterfinal Match: New York City WTT KingPins vs. Motown Muscle (ESPN telecast Sunday, Feb. 16, 3 p.m. ET)

Sunday, Jan. 26 Noon – PBA Tournament of Champions stepladder finals, live on ESPN 4:30 p.m. – PBA League Quarterfinal Match: Silver Lake Atom Splitters vs. Dallas Strikers (ESPN telecast Sunday, March 2, 3 p.m. ET) 7:30 p.m. – PBA League Quarterfinal Match: Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits vs. Philadelphia Hitmen (ESPN telecast Sunday, March 23, 1 p.m. ET)

Monday, Jan. 27 4:30 p.m. – PBA League Semifinal Match One, Winner Quarterfinal Match One vs. Winner Quarterfinal Match Two (ESPN telecast Sunday, March 30, 4:30 p.m. ET) 7:30 p.m. – PBA League Semifinal Match Two, Winner Quarterfinal Match Three vs. Winner Quarterfinal Match Four (ESPN telecast Sunday, April 6, 1 p.m. ET)

Sunday, Feb 23 6:30 p.m. - PBA League Elias Cup Finals (ESPN telecast Sunday, April 13, 2 p.m.)

REVISED 2014 ESPN TELEVISION SCHEDULE Sunday, Jan. 5 – World Bowling Tour Men's and Women's Finals presented by PBA, South Point, Las Vegas, 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 12 – Round1 Japan Cup, Minami Suna Round1 Bowling Center, Tokyo, Japan, 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19 – PBA Regional Players Invitational Finals, PBA50 Tour Finals, Teen Masters Grand Championship, South Point, Las Vegas, 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26 – PBA Tournament of Champions, Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., Noon (live) Sunday, Feb. 2 – Chris Paul PBA League All-Stars, Lucky Strike-L.A. Live, Los Angeles, 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9 – PBA League Quarterfinals, Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16 – PBA League Quarterfinals, Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23 – USBC Masters (live), Brunswick Zone Carolier, North Brunswick, N.J., 3 p.m. Sunday, March 2 – PBA League Quarterfinals, Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., 3 p.m. Sunday, March 23 – PBA League Quarterfinals, Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., 1 p.m. Sunday, March 30 – PBA League Semifinals, Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., 4:30 p.m. Sunday, April 6 – PBA League Semifinals, Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., 1 p.m. Sunday, April 13 – PBA League Elias Cup Finals, Brunswick Zone Carolier, North Brunswick, N.J., 2 p.m.