Finland's Raatikainen shoots 300 en route to lead at USBC Super Senior Classic
May 31, 2025
Finland's Timo Raatikainen receives his award for having the highest pinfall in Round 2 of qualifying at the Super Senior Classic
STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 2 OF QUALIFYING
LAS VEGAS – Finland’s Timo Raatikainen rolled a 300 game Friday on his way to the lead at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Super Senior Classic at Sam’s Town Bowling Center.
Raatikainen, a 63-year-old right-hander from Helsinki, put together an impressive second round of qualifying as he averaged 254.66 for his six games (253,193, 300, 226, 279, 277) in the event featuring players 60 and older.
His total pinfall of 2,927 is good for a 105-pin lead over Mexico’s Carlos Denot as the tournament heads into Saturday’s casher’s round. Raatikainen’s perfect game is the only one of the event.
Raatikainen, who was in fifth place after Round 1, took advantage of bowling on the fresh 39-foot oil pattern.
“I think the fresh is better for me,” Raatikainen said. “I used urethane the entire time and started with my target between first and second arrow. I only moved a little left, to about second arrow, as the round went on.”
Raatikainen, who bowls only senior and super senior events in his home country, is competing in the Super Senior Classic for just the second time after failing to cash last year. He is in Las Vegas with fellow native Finlander and USBC and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Mika Koivuniemi who will bowl the USBC Senior Masters next week.
Entering the event, Raatikainen hadn’t set any goals regarding his performance.
“I don’t have any expectations,” Raatikainen said. “The last time I bowled was five weeks ago. I bowl so little nowadays. I’m just trying to keep it fun. I enjoy coming here and seeing old friends like Tom Hess and Parker (Bohn III) and all those guys I’ve admired for many, many years.”
Denot, 60, led after Round 1 and was stellar again in Round 2 as he started with games of 255 and 257 and ended with a 256 game. He averaged 232.66 in Round 2 and has a total pinfall of 2,822.
While Raatikainen and Denot are both seeking their first PBA60 title, the next three players in the standings are all members of both the USBC and PBA Halls of Fame.
Ron Mohr dropped one spot into third (2,737). Mohr, a 69-year-old right-hander from Las Vegas, won this event in 2017 and 2022. He owns 11 PBA50 titles and is the all-time leader with five PBA60 wins.
A pair of PBA legends round out the top five.
Pete Weber of St. Ann, Missouri, didn’t have a game lower than 207 on Friday and averaged 235.83 to climb from 30th to fourth place (2,734). Weber, who owns 37 PBA Tour titles and 14 PBA50 titles, is seeking his first PBA60 title.
Parker Bohn III is the lone left-hander in the top five. The resident of Jackson, New Jersey, ended his second round of qualifying with a 278 game to help him move from 11th to fifth (2,729). Like Weber, Bohn is looking for his first PBA60 win to go with his 35 PBA Tour and 11 PBA50 titles.
Defending champion Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, New York, finished 55th, missing the cut to the casher’s round by 13 pins.
Qualifying consisted of two six-game blocks over Thursday and Friday for the 208-player field, with one squad being contested on the fresh 39-foot oil pattern and one block on the burn.
The top 52 bowlers after 12 games of qualifying will move on to Saturday’s cashers’ round at the 2025 Super Senior Classic.
The PBA Tour’s all-time titles leader, Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Oxford, Florida, grabbed the 52nd and final spot for the casher’s round. Williams totaled 2,517 pins for his 12 games of qualifying (209.75 average).
The advancers will bowl another six-game block, starting Saturday at noon Eastern, with total pinfall for 18 games helping place the top 12 into one of two match-play groups.
Group 1 will feature the qualifiers who placed as an odd seed (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11), while Group 2 will consist of the even seeds (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12). The match-play round will get underway Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern.
Each participant in match play will bowl six head-to-head games in their group, including a final position round. Each victory will be worth 30 bonus pins.
At the end of match play, the top finisher in each group – based on 24-game totals including bonus pins – will earn a spot in Sunday’s main stepladder finals. The player with the top pinfall total will be the No. 1 seed for the main stepladder, while the other group leader will be the No. 2 seed.
The second-, third- and fourth-place finisher in each match-play group will have the opportunity to work their way into the main stepladder through a group stepladder Sunday at Sam’s Town. The group stepladder will begin at noon Eastern.
The bowlers in the third and fourth position in each group will face each other in a single-game match, with the winner advancing to take on the competitor in the second position. The winners of the final match in the group stepladder will advance to Sunday’s main stepladder and face each other in the opening match, starting at 2 p.m. Eastern.
The winner of the 2025 Super Senior Classic will take home an $8,000 top prize, while the runner-up collects $6,550.
After the conclusion of the Super Senior Classic, the top bowlers age 50 and older will take to the lanes at Sam’s Town for the 2025 USBC Senior Masters.
The Senior Masters is the second major championship on the 2025 PBA50 Tour schedule and will be held from June 2-8.
BowlTV.com is providing livestream coverage of both events.
For more information on the Super Senior Classic, visit BOWL.com/SuperSenior. To learn more about the USBC Senior Masters, head to BOWL.com/SeniorMasters.
To stay informed on the PBA50 Tour, check out PBA.com.
STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 2 OF QUALIFYING
LAS VEGAS – Finland’s Timo Raatikainen rolled a 300 game Friday on his way to the lead at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Super Senior Classic at Sam’s Town Bowling Center.
Raatikainen, a 63-year-old right-hander from Helsinki, put together an impressive second round of qualifying as he averaged 254.66 for his six games (253,193, 300, 226, 279, 277) in the event featuring players 60 and older.
His total pinfall of 2,927 is good for a 105-pin lead over Mexico’s Carlos Denot as the tournament heads into Saturday’s casher’s round. Raatikainen’s perfect game is the only one of the event.
Raatikainen, who was in fifth place after Round 1, took advantage of bowling on the fresh 39-foot oil pattern.
“I think the fresh is better for me,” Raatikainen said. “I used urethane the entire time and started with my target between first and second arrow. I only moved a little left, to about second arrow, as the round went on.”
Raatikainen, who bowls only senior and super senior events in his home country, is competing in the Super Senior Classic for just the second time after failing to cash last year. He is in Las Vegas with fellow native Finlander and USBC and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Mika Koivuniemi who will bowl the USBC Senior Masters next week.
Entering the event, Raatikainen hadn’t set any goals regarding his performance.
“I don’t have any expectations,” Raatikainen said. “The last time I bowled was five weeks ago. I bowl so little nowadays. I’m just trying to keep it fun. I enjoy coming here and seeing old friends like Tom Hess and Parker (Bohn III) and all those guys I’ve admired for many, many years.”
Denot, 60, led after Round 1 and was stellar again in Round 2 as he started with games of 255 and 257 and ended with a 256 game. He averaged 232.66 in Round 2 and has a total pinfall of 2,822.
While Raatikainen and Denot are both seeking their first PBA60 title, the next three players in the standings are all members of both the USBC and PBA Halls of Fame.
Ron Mohr dropped one spot into third (2,737). Mohr, a 69-year-old right-hander from Las Vegas, won this event in 2017 and 2022. He owns 11 PBA50 titles and is the all-time leader with five PBA60 wins.
A pair of PBA legends round out the top five.
Pete Weber of St. Ann, Missouri, didn’t have a game lower than 207 on Friday and averaged 235.83 to climb from 30th to fourth place (2,734). Weber, who owns 37 PBA Tour titles and 14 PBA50 titles, is seeking his first PBA60 title.
Parker Bohn III is the lone left-hander in the top five. The resident of Jackson, New Jersey, ended his second round of qualifying with a 278 game to help him move from 11th to fifth (2,729). Like Weber, Bohn is looking for his first PBA60 win to go with his 35 PBA Tour and 11 PBA50 titles.
Defending champion Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, New York, finished 55th, missing the cut to the casher’s round by 13 pins.
Qualifying consisted of two six-game blocks over Thursday and Friday for the 208-player field, with one squad being contested on the fresh 39-foot oil pattern and one block on the burn.
The top 52 bowlers after 12 games of qualifying will move on to Saturday’s cashers’ round at the 2025 Super Senior Classic.
The PBA Tour’s all-time titles leader, Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Oxford, Florida, grabbed the 52nd and final spot for the casher’s round. Williams totaled 2,517 pins for his 12 games of qualifying (209.75 average).
The advancers will bowl another six-game block, starting Saturday at noon Eastern, with total pinfall for 18 games helping place the top 12 into one of two match-play groups.
Group 1 will feature the qualifiers who placed as an odd seed (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11), while Group 2 will consist of the even seeds (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12). The match-play round will get underway Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern.
Each participant in match play will bowl six head-to-head games in their group, including a final position round. Each victory will be worth 30 bonus pins.
At the end of match play, the top finisher in each group – based on 24-game totals including bonus pins – will earn a spot in Sunday’s main stepladder finals. The player with the top pinfall total will be the No. 1 seed for the main stepladder, while the other group leader will be the No. 2 seed.
The second-, third- and fourth-place finisher in each match-play group will have the opportunity to work their way into the main stepladder through a group stepladder Sunday at Sam’s Town. The group stepladder will begin at noon Eastern.
The bowlers in the third and fourth position in each group will face each other in a single-game match, with the winner advancing to take on the competitor in the second position. The winners of the final match in the group stepladder will advance to Sunday’s main stepladder and face each other in the opening match, starting at 2 p.m. Eastern.
The winner of the 2025 Super Senior Classic will take home an $8,000 top prize, while the runner-up collects $6,550.
After the conclusion of the Super Senior Classic, the top bowlers age 50 and older will take to the lanes at Sam’s Town for the 2025 USBC Senior Masters.
The Senior Masters is the second major championship on the 2025 PBA50 Tour schedule and will be held from June 2-8.
BowlTV.com is providing livestream coverage of both events.
For more information on the Super Senior Classic, visit BOWL.com/SuperSenior. To learn more about the USBC Senior Masters, head to BOWL.com/SeniorMasters.
To stay informed on the PBA50 Tour, check out PBA.com.