WILMINGTON, N.C. (Aug. 14, 2019) – BJ Moore of Greensburg, Pennsylvania defeated 13-time Professional Bowlers Association titlist Sean Rash of Montgomery, Illinois, 243-215, to win his first PBA Tour title in the Go Bowling! Professional Bowlers Association Tour’s Wilmington Open Wednesday at Ten Pin Alley Family Fun Center.

Moore, a 30-year-old right-hander, ended a seven-year quest for his first title in his 50th PBA Tour tournament. Moore’s previous best finish was second place in both the 2016 and 2019 PBA Scorpion Championships.

“I don’t know what to say; it’s awesome,” Moore said. “I’m a process guy and that’s definitely what I was focused on this week. Sometimes you have to take your lumps before you can win, but it’s all been worth it.”

Rash praised Moore for his performance. “He threw it great when he needed to,” Rash, the top qualifier, said. “It was a great effort.”

Moore gained the upper hand in the final match, throwing strikes on his first four shots while Rash left a 7-10 split and opened in his fourth frame. Moore, however, failed to convert the 3-6-10 in his fifth frame to slow his momentum. Nursing a modest lead and taking advance of Rash’s inability to carry strikes on the right lane, Moore put together another string of four strikes to win going away.

In the first match of the four-man stepladder finals, Marshall Kent of Yakima, Washington flirted with the first perfect game in FloBowling’s inaugural season of PBA Tour livestreaming coverage, rolling strikes in the first nine frames of a 274-179 victory over reigning PBA Player of the Year Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan. Kent lost his bid for a 300 game when he left the 3-6 on his first shot in the 10th frame.

In the semifinal match, Kent failed to convert a 2-5-7 split in the fourth frame, but Moore returned the favor, leaving the 4-6-10 split for an open in his sixth frame. Kent doubled to regain the lead, but made another mistake, leaving the 2-8-10 for another open frame. Moore responded with three strikes to lock up a 214-181 win to advance to the title match.

The Wilmington Open was the fourth of 10 events that are part of the FloBowling PBA Summer Tour. The FloBowling PBA Summer Tour resumes Saturday when the PBA Gene Carter’s Pro Shop Classic qualifying gets underway at Mid-County Bowling and Entertainment in Middletown, Delaware.

For subscription information, visit FloBowling.com.

For current FloBowling PBA Summer Tour competition points standings that affect the USBC Cup, FloBowling PBA ATX Invite and PBA China Tiger Cup invitation lists, visit https://www.pba.com/SeasonStats/PointsLists/132.

PBA WILMINGTON OPEN

Ten Pin Family Fun Center, Wilmington, N.C., Wednesday

Final Standings:
1, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa., $10,000,

2, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., $5,000.

3, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., $3,000.

4, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., $2,400.

Playoff Results:

Match One – Kent def. Anderson, 274-179.

Semifinal Match – Moore def. Kent. 214-181.

Championship – Moore def. Rash, 243-215.

Final Round of 8 Standings (after 17 games; top 4 advanced):

1, Rash, 4,007.
2, Moore, 3,998.
3, Kent, 3,990.
4, Anderson, 3,989.
5, Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 3,948, $1,800.
6, EJ Tackett, Bluffton, Ind., 3,937, $1,500.
7, Brad Miller, Lees Summit, Mo., 3,890, $1,300.
8, Dom Barrett, England, 3,889, $1,200.

Round of 16 Cashers (after 15 games, top 8 advanced):

9, AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa, 3,468, $1,100.
10, Stuart Williams, England, 3,464, $1,000.
11, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 3,460, $950.
12, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 3,451, $900.
13, x-William Svensson, Sweden, 3,412, $875.
14, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3,392, $850.
15, Michael Davidson, Versailles, Ohio, 3,374, $825.
16, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 3,360, $800.

Other Cashers Round (after 12 games; top 16 advanced):

17, Nick Kruml, Downers Grove, Ill., 2,726, $675.
18, Cristian Azcona, Puerto Rico, 2,726, $670.
19, Zacharay Wilkins, Canada, 2,720, $665.
20, Christopher Sloan, Ireland, 2,718, $660.
21, Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, 2,712, $655.
22, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 2,705, $650.
23, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 2,688, $645.
24, Nick Pate, Inver Grove Heights, Minn., 2,683, $640.
25, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 2,676, $635.
26, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 2,660, $630.
27, Greg Ostrander, Brick, N.J., 2,654, $625.
28, JR Raymond, Clinton Twp., Mich., 2,652, $620.
29, Jeff Beasley, Angier, N.C., 2,597, $615.
30, Mike Coffey, Melbourne, Fla., 2,561, $610.
31, Andrew Suscreba, Clifton, N.J., 2,552, $605.
32, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 1,900, $600.

x-Svensson (268) def. Kruml (239) and Azcona (232) in a one-game roll-off to break a tie for 16th place.

n-denotes non-PBA member.

UPCOMING GO BOWLING! PBA TOUR SCHEDULE

PBA GENE CARTER’S PRO SHOP CLASSIC

(A 2019 FloBowling PBA Summer Tour event)

Mid-County Bowling and Entertainment, Middletown, Del., Aug. 16-18 (all times Eastern)

Friday, Aug. 16
11 a.m. - Practice session

2:30 p.m. – AB Sports Youth Scholarship Pro-am
5:15 and 8 p.m. – Anchor Buick-GMC/Williams Chevrolet adult pro-am squads

Saturday, Aug. 17
8 a.m. - A Squad, 7 qualifying games

4 p.m. – B Squad, 7 qualifying games
            Top one-third of field after 7 games advances to cashers round

Sunday, Aug. 18

9 a.m. – Cashers round, 5 games (top 12 after 12 games advance to match play)

12:30 p.m. – Top 12, 12 games round robin match play (top four after 24 games advance to stepladder finals)

6:45 p.m. - Top 4 stepladder finals