Tenpin Bowling: Australia’s Jason Belmonte wins 25th PBA Tour title

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Australia’s world number one Tenpin Bowler, Jason Belmonte has won his 25th Professional Bowlers Association title, the Chameleon Championship at the 2020 World Series of Bowling in Centreville, Virginia.

The man affectionately known as ‘Belmo’ is now equal 10th on the all-time winners list with 25 titles, tied with PBA Hall of Famer, Brian Voss. When you consider he made his PBA debut in 2009, 25 tour titles in 11 years, which includes a record 13 majors, is quite remarkable for the man best known for his unique two-handed delivery style.

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The PBA’s World Series of Bowling tournaments host the best players in the world, but no one has had more success than Belmonte who has now won eight WSOB titles during the 11-year history of the event.  

Belmonte defeated Brad Miller 232-202 in the final, broadcast live on FS1 in the US and he is now on track to claim a sixth PBA Player of the Year award after dominating in the earlier tournaments before the tour was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Belmonte’s Chameleon Championship win follows his PBA US Open victory in February and PBA World Championship win in March.

The 37-year-old from Orange, New South Wales who had previously won the Player of the Year award in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019, will likely equal the great Earl Anthony with six. PBA Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr holds the record with seven, but on his current trajectory, that is another record that may fall to the Australian.

It was difficult for Belmonte to leave his family behind after 6 months of being home in Orange due to the pandemic, but once he was allowed back to the US to compete on the re-started PBA tour, his 25th title made it all worth it.

“Being home for so long, being a dad and husband for 6 months straight re-invigorated the true reason why I’m happy all the time. It’s all because of the beautiful family I am lucky to have. You make me beyond happy actually and coming here during COVID, I wanted to make the sacrifice to leave, worth it”, Belmonte said on Instagram.

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#25 just happened! To my family back home watching the stream. This was the most difficult departure from you ever. Being home for so long, being a dad and husband for 6 months straight re-invigorated the true reason why I’m happy all the time. It’s all because of the beautiful family I am lucky to have. You make me beyond happy actually and coming here during COVID, I wanted to make the sacrifice to leave, worth it. I love you Kimberly, Aria, Hugo and Sylvie. Thank you for wanting me to hit the lanes again and feel this winning feeling again. Congratulations to Brad Miller on his runner up placing. He rolled an impressive 9th and 10th frame and gave himself a chance by forcing me to show up! I know how badly he wanted his first title, and it will come. Today was further proof how much he is improving. Thanks for a really great match mate. Thank you to Bill and Barbara Chrisman the owners of @stormproducts for allowing me to use their equipment and your support. Love being part of the #stormnation family. Really special thank you to the president of Storm, Dave Symes. Over the course of the pandemic, Dave has called me just to check in and be a mate. His was always optimistic of my participation of these events and always encourages me to be my best. With everything going on in our lives because of this virus, your support Dave means so much. Thank you. @coolwickapparel , @dexterbowling and @viseinserts thank you for wanting me to represent your products also. I believe in the products I use, I would only use the products that work and I’m really grateful to be able to! And finally a massive thank you to the @pbatour for finding a way to get the WSOB events back on the air. Can’t imagine the planning needed to run a successful event during a pandemic. Now a few days rest before the PBA playoffs starts up and I’m really keen to get back to the TV set for that!

A post shared by Jason Belmonte (@jbelmo) on

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He then went on to thank the PBA for getting the tour back up and running and is now preparing himself for the upcoming PBA Playoffs on October, 10.

“A massive thank you to the PBA Tour for finding a way to get the WSOB (World Series of Bowling) events back on the air. Can’t imagine the planning needed to run a successful event during a pandemic.

“Now a few days rest before the PBA playoffs starts up and I’m really keen to get back to the TV set for that”.