Crews goes 2-0 on Day 1 of match play at 2026 USBC Senior Masters
June 06, 2026
Anthony Crews of Sebring, Florida, posts up a shot during match play at the 2026 USBC Senior Masters, which is being contested at Sam's Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas. One day after authoring one of the greatest performances in bowling history, Crews recorded his third 300 game of this year's tournament and was one of just 16 competitors to finish 2-0 on Friday.
FINAL QUALIFYING STANDINGS
BRACKETS
LAS VEGAS – On Thursday, Anthony Crews of Sebring, Florida, authored one of the greatest single-day performances in bowling history while competing at the 2026 United States Bowling Senior Masters, which is being contested at Sam’s Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas.
During Round 3 of qualifying, the 54-year-old left-hander set a new Senior Masters record and tied the fourth-highest five-game series in USBC history with 1,414 (a 282.8 average), which he arrived at thanks to scores of 279, 278, 300, 279 and 278. During that run, Crews struck on 56 of 60 deliveries and had zero open frames.
The question on everyone’s mind when match play started at Sam’s Town on Friday morning was what would Crews do for an encore?
He responded by beginning his first-round match against Andrew Rettig of Hamburg, New York, with 12 strikes in a row to record his second 300 game in as many days and his third thus far at this year’s Senior Masters.
The 300 extended Crews’ remarkable run by giving him 1,714 pins over the course of his last six games at Sam’s Town, which translates to a 285.67 average over that stretch.
Crews’ scoring pace would slow down thereafter; nevertheless, he managed to win both of his three-game, total-pinfall matches – 740-700 over Rettig and 716-605 against Joe Petrovich of Lincoln, California – to become one of just 16 bowlers to get through Day 1 of Senior Masters match play undefeated at 2-0.
Despite shooting 300 and winning in convincing fashion, Crews didn’t feel like he put his best foot forward during his opening-round match.
“Yes, I shot 300 that game, but it was a very poorly thrown game; I actually think Andrew (Rettig) rolled the ball better than I did, but I got the reward,” Crews said. “I felt like I threw it a little better during the second match. I had to adjust more than I did yesterday, but I was able to knock down some pins and was lucky enough to win.”
According to Crews, yesterday’s success definitely played a role in his inability to get comfortable during the early stages of competition on Friday.
“I absolutely think that how I was feeling today was a byproduct of everything that went on yesterday,” Crews said. “It made this morning sort of feel like a continuation, which made everything more nerve-racking.”
Nevertheless, Crews was able to overcome the nerves and end the way in the Winners Bracket. Now, he’s hoping the downtime before he gets back on the lanes for Round 3 on Saturday morning will give him some much-needed rest and allow the fervor created by Thursday’s historic performance to continue dying down.
“I’m hoping the majority of the attention is now behind me,” Crews said. “I’m sure there will be more throughout the rest of the weekend, but it seems like the crowds are a little smaller, which I think will help.”
Crews knows that he’ll need all the help he can get in order to get past Round 3 opponent Brian Hoffman of San Antonio, who posted a perfect 2-0 mark of his own on Friday thanks to victories against Jeffrey Bonte of Murfreesboro, Tennessee (643-631), and Tony Ruth of Northampton, Pennsylvania (675-642).
“Brian (Hoffman) will be tough; his game and my game are similar,” Crews said. “He has a little bit heavier roll than I do. That may burn them up sooner, so I think I may have to move right a little faster than I have been.”
If the first four days of competition are any indication of things to come, then the smart money is on Crews making the right moves.
Also enjoying success on Friday were former Senior Masters champions Chris Warren of Plano, Texas, who won the tournament in 2018, and two-time winner (2015 and 2019) Amleto Monacelli of Venezuela.
USBC and PBA Hall of Famer Monacelli remained unbeaten by topping Josh Hale of Billings, Montana (718-680), and Dave Paffumi of Crossville, Alabama (719-700), while Warren posted a 2-0 record thanks to wins against Rick Meneley of Henderson, Nevada (696-638), and John Verbich of Griffith, Indiana (698-682).
If Warren wins his third-round match against Chris Hibbitts of Keller, Texas, on Saturday morning, he’ll take on the winner of a bout between Sam Ventura of Norwich, New York, and Troy Lint of Blandon, Pennsylvania – Lint recorded an 803 series (278, 247, 278) during a Rd. 2 win (803-636) over Brazil’s Jair Dartora.
The other side of the Winners Bracket features some heavy hitters as well, including USBC and PBA Hall of Famers Jason Couch of Clermont, Florida, and Mika Koivuniemi of Traverse City, Michigan, as well as 2025 Senior Masters fourth-place finisher Anthony Franklin of Frisco, Texas.
That isn’t to say, however, that all of the talent remaining in this year’s Senior Masters field is found amongst the unbeatens as there are several outstanding competitors remaining in the Elimination Bracket as well.
That roster includes defending champion Tom Daugherty of Riverview, Florida, and former winners Jon Rakoski of Estero, Florida (2024), and Dino Castillo of Highland Village, Texas (2022), as well as 2023 Super Senior Classic champion John Marsala of St. Louis and USBC and PBA Hall of Famers Chris Barnes of Denton, Texas, and Parker Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey, last year’s Senior Masters runner up.
In addition to that crop of home-grown stars, the Elimination Bracket also features talented international players like Dartora from Brazil and Rolando Sebelen of the Dominican Republic, who rolled a perfect game on Friday en route to a 762-681 victory over No. 1 seed Michael Machuga of Erie, Pennsylvania.
Senior Masters competition will resume on Saturday at noon Eastern with three-game total-pinfall bracket matches continuing until the field is cut to the top five for the stepladder finals, which will start Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern and be streamed live on BowlTV.
Since the stepladder will be broadcast on BowlTV, the top seed will have to be defeated twice in the tournament’s true double-elimination format. The winner of the 2026 USBC Senior Masters will take home a major championship on the PBA50 schedule and the first-place prize of $20,000.
CLICK HERE for scores and information about the 2026 USBC Senior Masters.
FINAL QUALIFYING STANDINGS
BRACKETS
LAS VEGAS – On Thursday, Anthony Crews of Sebring, Florida, authored one of the greatest single-day performances in bowling history while competing at the 2026 United States Bowling Senior Masters, which is being contested at Sam’s Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas.
During Round 3 of qualifying, the 54-year-old left-hander set a new Senior Masters record and tied the fourth-highest five-game series in USBC history with 1,414 (a 282.8 average), which he arrived at thanks to scores of 279, 278, 300, 279 and 278. During that run, Crews struck on 56 of 60 deliveries and had zero open frames.
The question on everyone’s mind when match play started at Sam’s Town on Friday morning was what would Crews do for an encore?
He responded by beginning his first-round match against Andrew Rettig of Hamburg, New York, with 12 strikes in a row to record his second 300 game in as many days and his third thus far at this year’s Senior Masters.
The 300 extended Crews’ remarkable run by giving him 1,714 pins over the course of his last six games at Sam’s Town, which translates to a 285.67 average over that stretch.
Crews’ scoring pace would slow down thereafter; nevertheless, he managed to win both of his three-game, total-pinfall matches – 740-700 over Rettig and 716-605 against Joe Petrovich of Lincoln, California – to become one of just 16 bowlers to get through Day 1 of Senior Masters match play undefeated at 2-0.
Despite shooting 300 and winning in convincing fashion, Crews didn’t feel like he put his best foot forward during his opening-round match.
“Yes, I shot 300 that game, but it was a very poorly thrown game; I actually think Andrew (Rettig) rolled the ball better than I did, but I got the reward,” Crews said. “I felt like I threw it a little better during the second match. I had to adjust more than I did yesterday, but I was able to knock down some pins and was lucky enough to win.”
According to Crews, yesterday’s success definitely played a role in his inability to get comfortable during the early stages of competition on Friday.
“I absolutely think that how I was feeling today was a byproduct of everything that went on yesterday,” Crews said. “It made this morning sort of feel like a continuation, which made everything more nerve-racking.”
Nevertheless, Crews was able to overcome the nerves and end the way in the Winners Bracket. Now, he’s hoping the downtime before he gets back on the lanes for Round 3 on Saturday morning will give him some much-needed rest and allow the fervor created by Thursday’s historic performance to continue dying down.
“I’m hoping the majority of the attention is now behind me,” Crews said. “I’m sure there will be more throughout the rest of the weekend, but it seems like the crowds are a little smaller, which I think will help.”
Crews knows that he’ll need all the help he can get in order to get past Round 3 opponent Brian Hoffman of San Antonio, who posted a perfect 2-0 mark of his own on Friday thanks to victories against Jeffrey Bonte of Murfreesboro, Tennessee (643-631), and Tony Ruth of Northampton, Pennsylvania (675-642).
“Brian (Hoffman) will be tough; his game and my game are similar,” Crews said. “He has a little bit heavier roll than I do. That may burn them up sooner, so I think I may have to move right a little faster than I have been.”
If the first four days of competition are any indication of things to come, then the smart money is on Crews making the right moves.
Also enjoying success on Friday were former Senior Masters champions Chris Warren of Plano, Texas, who won the tournament in 2018, and two-time winner (2015 and 2019) Amleto Monacelli of Venezuela.
USBC and PBA Hall of Famer Monacelli remained unbeaten by topping Josh Hale of Billings, Montana (718-680), and Dave Paffumi of Crossville, Alabama (719-700), while Warren posted a 2-0 record thanks to wins against Rick Meneley of Henderson, Nevada (696-638), and John Verbich of Griffith, Indiana (698-682).
If Warren wins his third-round match against Chris Hibbitts of Keller, Texas, on Saturday morning, he’ll take on the winner of a bout between Sam Ventura of Norwich, New York, and Troy Lint of Blandon, Pennsylvania – Lint recorded an 803 series (278, 247, 278) during a Rd. 2 win (803-636) over Brazil’s Jair Dartora.
The other side of the Winners Bracket features some heavy hitters as well, including USBC and PBA Hall of Famers Jason Couch of Clermont, Florida, and Mika Koivuniemi of Traverse City, Michigan, as well as 2025 Senior Masters fourth-place finisher Anthony Franklin of Frisco, Texas.
That isn’t to say, however, that all of the talent remaining in this year’s Senior Masters field is found amongst the unbeatens as there are several outstanding competitors remaining in the Elimination Bracket as well.
That roster includes defending champion Tom Daugherty of Riverview, Florida, and former winners Jon Rakoski of Estero, Florida (2024), and Dino Castillo of Highland Village, Texas (2022), as well as 2023 Super Senior Classic champion John Marsala of St. Louis and USBC and PBA Hall of Famers Chris Barnes of Denton, Texas, and Parker Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey, last year’s Senior Masters runner up.
In addition to that crop of home-grown stars, the Elimination Bracket also features talented international players like Dartora from Brazil and Rolando Sebelen of the Dominican Republic, who rolled a perfect game on Friday en route to a 762-681 victory over No. 1 seed Michael Machuga of Erie, Pennsylvania.
Senior Masters competition will resume on Saturday at noon Eastern with three-game total-pinfall bracket matches continuing until the field is cut to the top five for the stepladder finals, which will start Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern and be streamed live on BowlTV.
Since the stepladder will be broadcast on BowlTV, the top seed will have to be defeated twice in the tournament’s true double-elimination format. The winner of the 2026 USBC Senior Masters will take home a major championship on the PBA50 schedule and the first-place prize of $20,000.
CLICK HERE for scores and information about the 2026 USBC Senior Masters.