Third consecutive major championship of the year to air live on ESPN Feb. 21; event will return to PBA major title status.

Bill Vint
Professional Bowlers Association

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl will host the 2016 Barbasol PBA Players Championship, a Professional Bowlers Association major championship that will conclude with live ESPN television coverage on Sunday, Feb. 21, at 1 p.m. ET.

The 2016 Barbasol PBA Players Championship will return to PBA major title status, featuring a 48-game qualifying and match play format, and a five-player stepladder final with a $40,000 first prize. All of the preliminary rounds of Players Championship week will be covered live, exclusively on PBA’s Xtra Frame online video-streaming service.

“We are thrilled to extend our long-standing partnership with the PBA again this year,” said John Price, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Perio, Inc. “The Barbasol PBA Players Championship will showcase the best bowling talent from around the world in Columbus, Ohio, which has a rich history with the PBA.”

With its sponsorship, the Official Shaving Cream of the PBA continues to expand its fully-integrated partnership with the PBA, which also includes jersey sponsorship of the PBA League’s Motown Muscle.

The Barbasol partnership brings the PBA event close to the company’s headquarters and manufacturing facilities. Perio Inc., the parent company of Barbasol LLC, is located in Dublin, a suburb of Columbus, and the company’s Barbasol products are manufactured in Ashland, Ohio.

PBA CEO and Commissioner Tom Clark was excited to welcome Barbasol’s continuing participation with the PBA.

“Barbasol is an American classic product,” said PBA CEO and Commissioner Tom Clark. “Continuing its relationship with the PBA as a partner in the production of a major championship tournament is a great fit, for Barbasol and for bowling.”

The third consecutive major championship of the 2016 season will follow on the heels of the FireLake PBA Tournament of Champions in Shawnee, Okla., and the United States Bowling Congress Masters in Indianapolis, both of which will conclude with live ESPN coverage on Feb. 7 and Feb. 14, respectively.

The Players Championship will get underway on Monday, Feb. 15, with practice and a celebrity pro-am at Columbus Bowl, which is co-owned by PBA Hall of Famer Wayne Webb. Eight-game qualifying rounds will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by an eight-game cashers round on Thursday, and three eight-game round-robin match play rounds Thursday and Friday. Additional pro-am squads that provide an opportunity for Ohio grassroots adult, youth and senior league bowlers to bowl alongside the pros will be conducted on Saturday, leading up to Sunday’s live ESPN finals.

The tournament will be open to all PBA members. Additional entry information will be announced soon.

2016 BARBASOL PBA PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl, Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 15-21 (times listed are Eastern)

Monday, Feb. 15

Noon – Official practice session

7 p.m. – Celebrity pro-am

Tuesday, Feb. 16

9 a.m. – Squad A, 8 qualifying games

4 p.m. – Squad B, 8 qualifying games

Wednesday, Feb. 17

9 a.m. – Squad B, 8 qualifying games

4 p.m. –Squad A, 8 qualifying games

Top one-fourth of the field after 16 games advance to cashers’ round

Thursday, Feb. 18

10 a.m. – Cashers’ round, 8 games

Top 24 after 24 games advance to round-robin match play

5 p.m. – Top 24, 8 games match play

Friday, Feb. 19

10 a.m. – Top 24, 8 games match play

5 p.m. – Top 24, 8 games match play

Top 5 after 48 games advance to ESPN stepladder finals

Saturday, Feb. 20

tba – Pro-Am squads

Sunday, Feb. 21

1 p.m. – Top 5 ESPN stepladder finals