APRIL 14, 2024 NOLAN HUGHES– Story and Photo
For months, Andrew Anderson believed he and Kris Prather would win the 2024 Roth/Holman PBA Doubles Championship, which was held in the Holly, Mich. native’s backyard at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park.
At the PBA World Series of Bowling XV, Anderson turned his dream into reality. He threw the title-clinching strike against Jason Belmonte and Bill O’Neill to win the tournament in front of more than 50 family members and close friends.
The title match, much like their qualifying, got off on the wrong foot as Prather opened in the first and third frames of the baker doubles match. But the 2021 Roth/Holman Doubles champions never waved. Prather moved right in the fifth frame, starting a rally of seven consecutive strikes to seize a 233-215 victory.
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Anderson netted his fourth career PBA Tour title and first since their 2021 doubles win, while Prather earned his sixth title and first since the 2022 PBA World Championship. The two split the $30,000 top prize.
“The entire time in the eighth, ninth and 10th frames, I was just mumbling to myself, I believe,” Prather said. “Both of us have been working so insanely hard these last couple of years to just feel good, like ourselves. He’s a former Player of the Year and I was in Player of the Year running for a couple years. And then injuries happen, life happens and bowling suffers.”
“I think this means more to us than some doubles teams,” Anderson said. “I think we know what each other has gone through. We’re together all the time. We want it more for each other than some others might. I think that’s why some of those shots mean so much to us. I think what drives Kris and I to be so good is that when one of us sees the other — and this is more for me maybe — but when I see him throw some shots that are so incredible, I’m like ‘I’ve got to somehow one-up that?’ Every time, we take another step of trying to throw it better and better and better. We get to places like this where we’re like, ‘We can’t lose.’”
Defending champions Packy Hanrahan and Mitch Hupé defeated two-time doubles champions Kyle Troup and Jesper Svensson in the opening match, 231-182.
The finals were contested on dual-pattern conditions, with the 42-foot Roth pattern on the left lane and 38-foot Holman on the right lane.
Anthony Simonsen and Dom Barrett, the only player without a Roth/Holman Doubles title on the show, knocked out the Wichita State alums in the second match, 224-187.
Bill O’Neill and Jason Belmonte won the semifinal match, 204-179, as Barrett left a four-count split and opened in the ninth frame. O’Neill, leading the PBA Tour in points entering the WSOB, sought to win his second title of a potential Player of the Year season.
O’Neill struck in the ninth frame, thanks to a well-timed messenger, which set up Belmonte with an opportunity to double and get nine pins for the win. Belmonte left a 4-pin on his first shot in the 10th, opening the door for Anderson.
Anderson, who had thrown three strikes and left one 10-pin in his four shots, aced a double to clinch the match.
The show was taped on April 6, a day that will be hard to top in Anderson’s career. Earlier in the day, Anderson struck to clinch a PBA Elite League match victory for his Las Vegas High Rollers over Prather’s Portland Lumberjacks.
One day. Two game-winning moments. One hour from his hometown.
“I’ve thrown a lot of shots when I need them and they tend to work out,” Anderson said. “That was one of the hardest ones I’ve had. In front of (all the fans), I knew how crazy they would go. That’s why when I let it off my hand I put my hands on my knees. I couldn’t feel my legs. I was like, ‘I think that’s good.’ And then it ended up being good. What a special moment.”https://www.instagram.com/p/C5wR48KulHM/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=810&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pba.com&rp=%2F2024%2Fapril%2Fandrew-anderson-kris-prather-win-rothholman-pba-doubles-championship#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A253.70000004768372%2C%22ls%22%3A56.10000002384186%2C%22le%22%3A245%7D
The PBA World Series of Bowling XV continues with three consecutive days of televised championship rounds, airing at 7pm ET on FS1.
- Monday’s Cheetah Championship finals features top seed Marshall Kent, BJ Moore and three first-time finalists
- Tuesday’s Scorpion Championship finals features top seed Matt Russo, Jason Belmonte, four left-handers and five two-handers
- Wednesday’s Shark Championship finals features top seed Shota Kawazoe of Japan, EJ Tackett, Anthony Simonsen, Prather and Russo
On Thursday, the top 16 players in the PBA World Championship bowl 16 games of round-robin match play to determine the nine players advancing to the televised semifinals and finals, airing next weekend on FS1 and FOX.
Roth/Holman PBA Doubles Championship Round Scores
Match 1: No. 5 Mitch Hupé and Packy Hanrahan def. No. 4 Kyle Troup and Jesper Svensson, 231-182
Match 2: No. 3 Dom Barrett and Anthony Simonsen def. No. 5 Mitch Hupé and Packy Hanrahan, 224-187
Match 3: No. 2 Bill O’Neill and Jason Belmonte def. No. 3 Dom Barrett and Anthony Simonsen, 204-179
Championship: No. 1 Kris Prather and Andrew Anderson def. No. 2 Bill O’Neill and Jason Belmonte, 233-215
Final Standings
- Kris Prather and Andrew Anderson, $30,000
- Bill O’Neill and Jason Belmonte, $20,000
- Dom Barrett and Anthony Simonsen, $15,000
- Mitch Hupé and Packy Hanrahan, $12,000
- Kyle Troup and Jesper Svensson, $10,000
More information on the Roth/Holman PBA Doubles Championship is available here.