PBA Tour: Belmonte, O’Neill Eye Redemption, Earn Top Seed in PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship

February 11, 2025 Nolan Hughes- pba.com

A year ago, Jason Belmonte and Bill O’Neill came up just short in the position round and again in the title match, losing the PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship to Andrew Anderson and Kris Prather.

This year, the longtime doubles teammates seized the top seed with an emphatic performance in the position round. Belmonte and O’Neill will be the No. 1 seed for the PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship, taping Saturday afternoon at Bowlero Vernon Hills and airing March 2 at 1 p.m. Eastern on FS1.

DJ Archer and Shawn Malonado will be the No. 2 seed, with the teams of Patrick Dombrowski and Bailey Mavrick, Tim Foy Jr. and Kevin McCune, and Matt Ogle and Sean Rash rounding out the championship round.

Wes Malott and his son Jordan, hoping to complete a heartwarming, full-circle story, finished in sixth place, followed by Darren Tang and Chris Via, and defending champions Anderson and Prather.https://www.instagram.com/p/DFzAE_lOggA/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=810&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pba.com&rp=%2F2025%2Ffebruary%2Fbelmonte-oneill-eye-redemption-earn-top-seed-pba-rothholman-doubles-championship#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A414.90000000596046%2C%22ls%22%3A106.80000001192093%2C%22le%22%3A410.5%7D

Belmonte and O’Neill led the field through 36 games of qualifying, the combined total of their 18 individual PBA Owen’s Illinois Classic qualifying games.

After leading through the entirety of the first round of match play, which shifted to baker games on dual patterns (43-foot Roth on the left lane, and 38-foot Holman on the right lane), they started the final eight-game round with three games south of 210.

Meanwhile, Archer and Maldonado started with games of 269, 289, 279 and 300 — the latter coming against Belmonte and O’Neill.

Belmonte and O’Neill rediscovered their stride late, firing 277 in Game 7 and the front-8 in the position round to lock up the top seed.

“We had struggled for a good portion of the day, either bowling 280 or 190-200,” O’Neill said. “To finish the way we did there was good for our confidence. We didn’t want to be the No. 3 or 4 seed, and you always want to be as high as you can.”

“When we both had (a good look), I think we both bowled really well,” Belmonte said. “When we didn’t have it, we didn’t bowl 150s or 160s. We grinded our way to 190-200. It was frustrating, but once his ball split the 8-9-pin and once mine split the 8-9-pin, we took advantage of that pair. I think that was key.”

Both players said they were excited once match play began and they could truly compete as a team.

“We talked so much more,” O’Neill said, comparing baker match play to singles qualifying. “We’re invested in each other and it’s a lot more fun that way. We enjoy communicating with each other and being able to root for each other instead of kind-of-sort-of rooting for each other.”

“I got my first high-five in Game 17 of 18,” Belmonte said.

“Listen, once I was leading in the singles I was rooting for him,” O’Neill said laughing.

The Illinois events were the first O’Neill competed in since learning he will be inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame this spring.

“I’m very proud of him,” Belmonte said. “I’m very thrilled for him. We always knew he was going to be in the Hall of Fame, but until your name is etched in stone and it’s official, you’re not in that yet. He deserves it for an incredible career, and I hope we get an opportunity to add to that Hall of Fame career of his.”

While Archer and Maldonado came up shy in earning the top seed, the two were overjoyed to return to a championship round. This marks their fifth championship round as doubles partners.

“What gave us the edge tonight was getting the ball over the front part of the lane,” Maldonado said. “(DJ) does that naturally and I knew I had to do that, too. Our carry percentage was better and we were able to blend out the lane.”

Archer and Maldonado led the event in 2022, but fell to Marshall Kent and EJ Tackett in the title match. While the native Texans have a long history of success bowling together, they have yet to win this event.

“We just need to get a win on the show,” Maldonado said. “We’ve been there too many times to not get one win.”

“The last time in Milwaukee, during qualifying I bowled on the right lane and (Maldonado) bowled on the left lane,” Archer said. “And on the TV show, we switched. That won’t happen. He’ll be on the right lane, and I’ll be on the left lane. We’re not going to try to over-strategize it. We’ll just go out there and have a good time.”

Dombrowski and Mavrick do not have decades of experience competing together, but they will be the No. 3 seed for the stepladder finals regardless. The PBA Central Region stalwarts felt their strengths matched up well for the dual-pattern format.

“He bowls great on short patterns, and I’m better on long patterns,” Dombrowski said.

Foy and McCune have been friends for years, but this year marked their first time bowling the PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship together. The partnership pairing paid immediate dividends as the duo surged from 14th place comfortably into the finals.

McCune said the team rode Foy’s momentum after he advanced to the PBA Owen’s Illinois Classic finals on Thursday night.

“(Foy) beating Belmo to make the singles show, that gave us a big momentum boost,” McCune said. “He brought that into today and we just rolled with it. We stayed patient and trusted our shots.”

Ogle and Rash, who also both qualified for the PBA Owen’s Illinois Classic finals, will look to win their second PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship title. They’ll need to climb the stepladder, just as they did in 2019.

Ogle and Rash entered the position round with an 85-pin cushion over the Malotts, but the match could have spiraled after Ogle left the 3-6-9-10 in the second frame and missed them all on the spare attempt. Instead, they laughed off the gaffe (literally) and handled their business.

“It was pretty funny,” Rash said. “Matt and I bowl very, very well together during qualifying as doubles partners. We’re both very patient. We’re both very aggressive at the same time, and we feed off each other very well.

“That’s why we work so well together,” Ogle said. “I probably would’ve done the same thing (if Rash missed the spare).

Rash credited each of their commitments to a stronger fitness and nutrition regimen to their early success this season.

Rash’s week in Vernon Hills, which is about an hour from his hometown of Montgomery, began with learning he will join O’Neill as a member of the 2025 PBA Hall of Fame class. 

“I knew it was gonna be a great week,” Ogle said. “He’s on a high. He’s the local. What could go wrong?”

“The fans were great back here in Vernon Hills,” Rash said. “I appreciate all the fans and support. I have so many messages on my phone. It’s been a surreal week. Regardless if I win or lose on the lanes, it’s been a win this week for me.”

PBA Tournament standings

After 51 Games

The PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship will air on FS1 at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 2.