Brunswick: Wicked Siege

52 Hook 15 Length 15.5 Breakpoint Shape

Core Design: The Mechanical Asymmetric Core Engineering (MACE) design has a medium RG of 2.53, and Diff of .050. There is nearly 6” of track flare with the 3.5 and 4.5” layouts and lower quadrant weight holes.

Coverstock: The Propel X reactive coverstock features a black and purple pearl mixture. The surface is 500-grit sanded, then “ruff-buff” polished. Traction in oil is above average with box finish; response time off drier boards is quick. This version of the coverstock reminds me of a hybrid.

Manufacturer’s Intent: Said Bill Orlikowski, Brunswick Product Manager, “With the Wicked Siege, we wanted a cleaner and quicker response to friction that opens up carry angles for better pin action. To do that, we developed a new coverstock, Propel X, and redesigned the MACE core.”

Test Results: The Wicked Siege’s reaction between the Siege (heavier oil) and Evil Siege (lighter oil) made perfect sense to us. Testing reinforced the Wicked Siege is truly a benchmark ball with its middle road reaction qualities. These qualities are by no means a negative, but more a positive for their wide range of use. The Wicked Siege will match up on far more lane conditions than its condition-specific predecessors in Brunswick’s Pro Performance category. Apply your favorite layout and start striking on fresh, transitioned and moderately beaten-down medium to medium/heavy oil.

When to Use: We had great looks on our short, medium and longer average-volume house shots, as the Wicked Siege always supplied adequate length and sufficient breakpoint recovery. We rarely saw over-skid, oil sensitivity or hook-out as long as we played the patterns intelligently. Higher rev rates will enjoy the control aspect of this ball, while rev-challenged players will appreciate the continuous motion through the pins. On Sport patterns, our best looks were with our 5” pin distances, which created more roll at the breakpoint and beyond. Shorter pins created too much length and too much angularity when leaving the oil patterns for our liking. The versatility of the Propel X’s coverstock offers yet another big plus for this ball.