Pierson, Beres take doubles lead at 2024 Bowlers Journal Championships
May 03, 2024
LAS VEGAS – David Beres of Greenfield, Wisconsin, and Chris Pierson of West Bend, Wisconsin, edged their way to the top spot in Open Doubles by a pin Wednesday night at the 2024 Bowlers Journal Championships, finishing with a 1,492 total at the South Point Bowling Center.
Beres led the charge with games of 252, 267 and 234 for a 753 series, and Pierson added 213, 268 and 258 for a 739 set to go around the 1,491 posted by Open Singles leader Jeffrey Martin and Gregory Tack on April 22.
The pair had just made their way into Las Vegas in preparation for their annual appearance at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
“We went into the tournament just getting off the plane and trying to get loose and get some games under our belt,” said Pierson, a two-time Eagle winner at the USBC Open Championships. “At the end, it was a getting a little close, and we tried to bear down and throw as many good shots as we could.”
Beres felt the pattern used for the Bowlers Journal Championships played to their strengths as they quickly got comfortable in the set.
“We bowled the Bowlers Journal to get some reps in, and since it’s on the doubles and singles pattern, it’s also a good practice session,” said Beres, who joined Pierson in claiming the victory in Team All-Events at the 2018 Open Championships. “We liked what we saw and got some strikes going.
“My reaction was starting to go away a little bit in Game 3, but Chris’ was getting better as the night went on. Going into the 10th, I left a 4 pin and then left a pocket 7-10, so I was fortunate to not get that a little earlier, because I knew I was losing it. We could’ve gotten a little more, and I think someone might shoot 1,500, but it’s nice to leave with the lead.”
Pierson is no stranger to success inside the walls of the South Point Bowling Center. During the 2021 Open Championships, he teamed with Milwaukee’s David Labinski to earn the Regular Doubles title with a 1,466 total at the 64-lane facility.
“That center has been great,” Pierson said. “I bowled a lot of college tournaments there, and winning doubles in 2021 was awesome. It’s easy for me to get comfortable there.
“We knew we left a lot of pins out there at the Bowlers Journal, but we also bowled really well. Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to have it hold up for the rest of the tournament, but there’s definitely some good scores to be had up there. We’ll have our fingers crossed the rest of the way.”
Pierson and Beres, along with Labinski, Chad Maas and Matt Hibbard brought the momentum from that performance to the South Point Bowling Plaza on Friday, as the team made a run at the lead in Regular Team at the 2024 Open Championships.
Known as Team H5G, the group posted games of 1,026, 1,151 and 1,164 to get to second place with a 3,341 total. Trip 4 Pro Shop of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, leads Regular Team at the 2024 event with 3,363.
Labinski, a two-time winner at the Open Championships, led the team performance with a 699 series and was followed by Hibbard with 698. Pierson had 674, and 2018 Team All-Events champion Chad Maas posted 669. Beres finished with 601.
The group will be back on the lanes Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Pacific to make its run at Team All-Events. Maximum Potential Pro Shop of Rome, New York, took the lead in Team All-Events on April 29 with a 10,032 total.
“Anytime you go into a tournament and have a good performance right before, it helps you feel like you’re making good shots,” Beres said. “We got here today and bowled great as a team. I struggled a little bit with ball reaction, but the rest of team held me in there to put up a great number.”
The 2024 Open Championships got underway Feb. 23 and will run through July 29 at the South Point Bowling Plaza. The tournament is scheduled to feature more than 11,000 teams and 55,000 bowlers making their way to compete in Las Vegas.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
Beres led the charge with games of 252, 267 and 234 for a 753 series, and Pierson added 213, 268 and 258 for a 739 set to go around the 1,491 posted by Open Singles leader Jeffrey Martin and Gregory Tack on April 22.
The pair had just made their way into Las Vegas in preparation for their annual appearance at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
“We went into the tournament just getting off the plane and trying to get loose and get some games under our belt,” said Pierson, a two-time Eagle winner at the USBC Open Championships. “At the end, it was a getting a little close, and we tried to bear down and throw as many good shots as we could.”
Beres felt the pattern used for the Bowlers Journal Championships played to their strengths as they quickly got comfortable in the set.
“We bowled the Bowlers Journal to get some reps in, and since it’s on the doubles and singles pattern, it’s also a good practice session,” said Beres, who joined Pierson in claiming the victory in Team All-Events at the 2018 Open Championships. “We liked what we saw and got some strikes going.
“My reaction was starting to go away a little bit in Game 3, but Chris’ was getting better as the night went on. Going into the 10th, I left a 4 pin and then left a pocket 7-10, so I was fortunate to not get that a little earlier, because I knew I was losing it. We could’ve gotten a little more, and I think someone might shoot 1,500, but it’s nice to leave with the lead.”
Pierson is no stranger to success inside the walls of the South Point Bowling Center. During the 2021 Open Championships, he teamed with Milwaukee’s David Labinski to earn the Regular Doubles title with a 1,466 total at the 64-lane facility.
“That center has been great,” Pierson said. “I bowled a lot of college tournaments there, and winning doubles in 2021 was awesome. It’s easy for me to get comfortable there.
“We knew we left a lot of pins out there at the Bowlers Journal, but we also bowled really well. Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to have it hold up for the rest of the tournament, but there’s definitely some good scores to be had up there. We’ll have our fingers crossed the rest of the way.”
Pierson and Beres, along with Labinski, Chad Maas and Matt Hibbard brought the momentum from that performance to the South Point Bowling Plaza on Friday, as the team made a run at the lead in Regular Team at the 2024 Open Championships.
Known as Team H5G, the group posted games of 1,026, 1,151 and 1,164 to get to second place with a 3,341 total. Trip 4 Pro Shop of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, leads Regular Team at the 2024 event with 3,363.
Labinski, a two-time winner at the Open Championships, led the team performance with a 699 series and was followed by Hibbard with 698. Pierson had 674, and 2018 Team All-Events champion Chad Maas posted 669. Beres finished with 601.
The group will be back on the lanes Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Pacific to make its run at Team All-Events. Maximum Potential Pro Shop of Rome, New York, took the lead in Team All-Events on April 29 with a 10,032 total.
“Anytime you go into a tournament and have a good performance right before, it helps you feel like you’re making good shots,” Beres said. “We got here today and bowled great as a team. I struggled a little bit with ball reaction, but the rest of team held me in there to put up a great number.”
The 2024 Open Championships got underway Feb. 23 and will run through July 29 at the South Point Bowling Plaza. The tournament is scheduled to feature more than 11,000 teams and 55,000 bowlers making their way to compete in Las Vegas.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.