Chris Barnes Makes Sixth TV Appearance of Season

[onefrombills]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mike Jakubowski | PR/Media Relations

Professional Bowlers Association | 719 Second Avenue, Suite 701 | Seattle, WA 98104

Tel: 800.903.0930 | Fax: 206.332.9722 | mike.jakubowski@pba.com





Chris Barnes Makes Sixth TV Appearance of Season at

PBA Don Johnson Buckeye State Eliminator

Joining Barnes in finals will be Mika Koivuniemi, Mike Scroggins and Rhino Page



COLUMBUS, Ohio (March 7, 2009) – Reigning Professional Bowlers Association Player of the Year and 10-time Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour titlist Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, is among four finalists who survived a unique elimination format Saturday to advance to Sunday’s ESPN-televised finals of the PBA Don Johnson Buckeye State Eliminator at Sequoia Pro Bowl.



Barnes, along with eight-time PBA Tour titlist Mika Koivuniemi, five-time titlist Mike Scroggins, and Rhino Page, who won his second career title earlier this season, survived three two-game elimination rounds where the lowest two-game total in each group of four players was eliminated from the tournament.



In Saturday’s Round of 8, which determined the finalists, the 39-year-old Barnes defeated 12-time Tour titlist Tommy Jones 440-366. Looking for his first title of the season, it will be Barnes’ sixth television appearance. His best finish was second in the PBA World Championship which opened the season last October and most recently finished fifth in last week’s Etonic Marathon Open in Indianapolis.



“It’s going to take better bowling and a little luck,” said Barnes, who won last year’s Columbus event. “Like the match I had with Tommy, I bowled well and he had a string or four five bad frames.



“Over the past week we’ve identified and worked through some things that I need to correct. I got into a situation last week where I was throwing the ball hard and not hitting it at release so it’s just up to me to put it all together.”



For the ESPN finals Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern, the four finalists will bowl one game on the same pair with the low scorer eliminated. The top three will bowl another game, with the low score eliminated and the final two survivors advancing to the title match. All of the finalists will have to negotiate a demanding scoring environment with different Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour lane conditions on each lane. The left lane will feature the Scorpion pattern and the right the Viper pattern.



The Buckeye State Eliminator is part of the PBA’s 50th Anniversary season “Extreme Swing,” which also includes the GEICO Plastic Ball Championship, Ultimate Scoring Championship, Etonic Marathon Open, and the GoRVing Match Play Championship. The creative format events are meant to test the greatest bowlers in the world in different areas of the game, provide television audiences with a fresh look while providing education on pertinent aspects of the game.



The official charity of the Don Johnson Buckeye State Eliminator is the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Last year $31,526 was raised for the charity and all money raised this year will go to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus to help buy insulin pumps and medicine for families in need.





LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA TOUR

Don Johnson Buckeye State Eliminator

Sequoia Pro Bowl – Columbus, Ohio



ELIMINATOR ROUND

Low two-game score eliminated in each group, each round



GROUP A

Round One

Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 467 (248-219)

Michael Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 467 (233-234)

Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 395 (202-193)

Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 369 (179-190) (Shafer eliminated, earned $2,600)



Round Two

Scroggins 518 (277-241)

Fagan 417 (190-237)

Malott 392 (181-211) (Malott eliminated, earned $3,000)



Round Three

Scroggins 456 (196-258) (Scroggins advances to ESPN finals)

Fagan 426 (243-183) (Fagan eliminated, earned $4,000)



GROUP B

Round One

Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 499 (245-254)

Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 493 (215-278)

Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 467 (247-220)

Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C., 452 (205-246) (Allen eliminated, earned $2,600)



Round Two

Koivuniemi 468 (246-222)

Bohn 439 (256-183)

Wiseman 427 (224-203) (Wiseman eliminated, earned $3,000)



Round Three

Koivuniemi 451 (235-216) (Koivuniemi advances to ESPN finals)

Bohn 398 (215-183) (Bohn eliminated, earned $4,000)



GROUP C

Round One

Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 448 (212-236)

Bill O’Neill, Southampton, Pa., 442 (229-213)

Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 435 (258-177)

Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 368 (176-192) (McCune eliminated, earned $2,600)



Round Two

Jones 463 (199-264)

Barnes 443 (186-257)

O’Neill 424 (225-199) (O’Neill eliminated, earned $3,000)



Round Three

Barnes 440 (245-195) (Barnes advances to ESPN finals)

Jones 366 (201-165) (Jones eliminated, earned $4,000)



GROUP D

Round One

Joe Bailey, Pittsburgh, 455 (201-254)

Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan., 443 (228-215)

Ed VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 403 (189-214)

Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 378 (190-188) (DeVaney eliminated, earned $2,600)



Round Two

Bailey 452 (232-220)

Page 393 (135-258)

VanDaniker 380 (214-166) (VanDaniker eliminated, earned $3,000)



Round Three

Page 447 (245-202) (Page advances to ESPN finals)

Bailey 432 (234-298) (Bailey eliminated, earned $4,000)





About the PBA

The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) features the best bowlers in the world competing in National, Regional and Senior Tour events and will award over $4.3 million in prize money during the 2008-09 Lumber Liquidators PBA National Tour. The organization has more than 4,000 members spanning 13 countries, and nearly one million viewers tune-in to watch the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour every Sunday on ESPN throughout the season. PBA sponsors include Bayer, Brunswick, CLR, Denny's, Etonic, Flomax, GEICO, Go RVing, H&R Block, Lumber Liquidators, Motel 6, Pepsi-Cola and the USBC, among others. For more information on the PBA, log on to www.pba.com. This season marks the 50th Anniversary of the PBA Tour.

[kev3inp]

I really hope Mika makes a show in the remainder of the season. Nice pants. I think Chris must have mugged Guppy Troup to get them.