Williams and Barnes Among Semifinalists For PBA Go RVing Match Play Championship
Norwich, Conn. - 3/20/2009


The Professional Bowlers Association’s all-time win leader Walter Ray Williams Jr. and reigning PBA Player of the Year Chris Barnes are among four surviving players after Friday’s elimination rounds in the PBA Go RVing Match Play Championship at Norwich Bowling and Entertainment Center.

In a showdown between two of the PBA’s all-time greats, Williams, of Ocala, Fla., defeated Norm Duke of Clermont, Fla., 4-0, in the best-of-seven games Round of 8 match. Williams, who entered the eliminations as the No. 5 seed is PBA’s all-time win leader with 45 Tour victories and No. 4 seed Duke ranks tied for fifth all-time with 32 victories.

In three other Round of 8 matches Friday, Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, defeated Andrew Cain of Scottsdale, Ariz., 4-0, Mike Wolfe of New Albany, Ind., defeated Billy Oatman of Chicago, 4-0, and Chris Loschetter of Avon, Ohio, defeated Brad Angelo of Lockport, N.Y., 4-2.

Williams, Barnes, Loschetter and Wolfe will now enter the semifinals which will take place on Saturday beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern with coverage on Xtra Frame, the PBA’s online video service. The live ESPN-final match for the Go RVing Match Play Championship will be conducted Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern. Both the semifinals and the live ESPN finals will feature three-game total pinfall matches.

The final leg of the PBA Tour’s five-event “Extreme Swing” also involves the pressure of earning points to qualify for the GEICO PBA Team Shootout hosted by Six Flags, scheduled for June in Jackson, N.J. The top eight in Extreme Swing points will earn spots in that special event.

The Go RVing Match Play Championship is part of the PBA’s 50th Anniversary season “Extreme Swing,” which also includes the Ultimate Scoring Championship, GEICO Plastic Ball Championship, Etonic Marathon Open, and the Don Johnson Buckeye State Eliminator. 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 winner earns a first prize of $25,000 and a one-year exemption on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour.


Go RVing Match Play Championship
Norwich Bowling and Entertainment Center – Norwich, Conn.
Round of 8 – Losers Eliminated, Earnings
#5 Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., def. #4 Norm Duke ($4,100), Clermont, Fla., 4-0
#16 Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, def. #8 Brad Angelo ($4,100), Lockport, N.Y., 4-2
#23 Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., def. #15 Billy Oatman ($4,200), Chicago, 4-0
#3 Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, def. #11 Andrew Cain ($4,100), Scottsdale, Ariz., 4-0