JONESBORO, Ark. (Feb.  1, 2020) – Colorful two-handed bowler Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, North Carolina, threw 11 consecutive strikes to defeat Hall of Famer Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, 290-269, to win the PBA Jonesboro Open at Hijinx Family Entertainment Center Saturday for his fourth career PBA Tour title.

The Jonesboro finals aired live on FS1. The finals, as well as the rest of the tournament, was contested on a dual oiling pattern featuring the 48-foot Shark lane condition on the left lane and the 36-foot Viper pattern on the right lane.

Troup started the title match on the shorter-oil lane, leaving a 3-6-7-10 split that he converted before striking out. Barnes, who had missed the pocket only one time in three previous games, left two single pins, converted both, but that’s all the margin Troup needed.

“I thought I made a really good shot in the first frame, but after that, I moved my feet and that was it,” Troup said. “I knew I needed to throw the 10 best shots of my life to beat Chris and I did it.

“I wasn’t really too bothered. I was really lined up on the left lane all week and today it played to my liking,” he added. “I was little nervous about finding my zone quickly. I’ve never been the No. 1 seed before today, so I’ve always had a game to adjust. But I told myself when I woke up this morning, I had to have my killer mentality. (Storm ball rep) Tim Mack told me one time to expect to win, don’t hope to win.”

The flamboyant Troup, known for his “afro” hair style and colorful clothing, wore purple-and-gold pants and jersey as a tribute to his favorite basketball player, Kobe Bryant. He also dedicated his win to his mother, Sherri, who is battling bone cancer.

“She’s been struggling,” Troup said. “She has her bad days and her good days. This was kind of special for me because I know how happy it’ll make her.”

In the opening match between a pair of PBA Hall of Famers, Barnes eliminated No. 5 qualifier Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, South Carolina, 226-220, to avenge his loss to Jones two weeks earlier in the PBA Hall of Fame Classic that Jones then won with a 300 game in the title match. Both players started with three strikes before Jones left the 3-6-9-10 in fourth frame and converted. Barnes then left and converted back-to-back 10 pins followed by a double that gave him an 11-pin lead that he never gave up.

Australia’s Jason Belmonte, in his 2020 television debut, left the 2-10 split on his first shot and failed to convert. He rebounded quickly with three strikes, but Barnes ran off his own string of five strikes to build a 35-pin lead. Belmonte nearly took himself out of the match when he left the 2-4-8-10 in the sixth frame. The five-time PBA Player of the Year converted that split, but an even worse break – a pocket 7-10 in the eighth frame – put an end to his hopes as Barnes completed an error-free 259-207 win.

AJ Johnson of Oswego, Illinois, started the semifinal match with four strikes, converted a 10 pin and threw three more strikes. But Barnes, a 19-time PBA Tour titlist who is less than a month away from his 50th birthday, was nearly perfect, throwing strikes on nine of his first 10 attempts to end the 27-year-old Johnson’s hopes for his first PBA Tour title, 267-256.

The fourth tournament of the 2020 Go Bowling PBA Tour’ season and the first of three consecutive majors gets underway Monday with a pre-tournament qualifier (PTQ) for the PBA Tournament of Champions at AMF Riviera Lanes in Fairlawn, Ohio. The TOC’s first two qualifying rounds will be held at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. EST Wednesday. All preliminary rounds will be livestreamed by FloBowling leading up to the live stepladder finals on FOX on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 5 p.m. Eastern.

PBA JONESBORO OPEN

(A 2020 Go Bowling PBA Tour Tier 2 event)

Hijinx Family Entertainment Center, Jonesboro, Ark., Saturday

Final Standings

1, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., $30,000.
2, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, $15,000.

3, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., $9,000.

4, Jason Belmonte, Australia, $7,000.

5, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., $5,000.

Playoff Results:

Match One: Barnes def. Jones, 226-220.

Match Two: Barnes def. Belmonte, 259-207.

Semifinal Match: Barnes def. Johnson, 267-256.

Championship: Troup def. Barnes, 290-269.