JONESBORO, Ark. (Jan. 30, 2020) – Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, North Carolina, won 13 of his 16 matches Thursday on his way to earning the top berth in Saturday’s stepladder finals of the PBA Jonesboro Open at HiJinx Family Entertainment Center. The finals will air live on FS1 at 4:30 p.m. EST.

Troup, a three-time PBA Tour title winner, will face the survivor of an all-star battle that will begin with No. 5 qualifier Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, South Carolina, winner of the PBA Hall of Fame Classic to kick off the 2020 Go Bowling PBA Tour season, bowling against No. 4 Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, Jones’ close friend and long-time doubles partner in a duel of PBA Hall of Famers. That winner will face Australia’s Jason Belmonte, a five-time PBA Player of the Year and 23-time PBA Tour title winner who will make his first television appearance of the 2020 season.

The winner of the Belmonte match advances to the semifinal contest against AJ Johnson, a 27-year-old sixth-year PBA member who has been flirting with winning his first title ever since finishing second in the 2015 USBC Masters as an amateur bowler.

Troup, a righthanded two-handed player and the son of PBA Tour champion Guppy Troup, led qualifying with a 30-game total of 7,203 pins, beating Johnson by a comfortable 102-pin margin to earn the top berth in the stepladder finals. His previous titles include the 2015 PBA Wolf Open in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and the 2018 Storm Lucky Larsen Masters in Malmo, Sweden. He also partnered with Sweden’s Jesper Svensson to win the Mark Roth-Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship in Portland, Maine, in 2017.

The Jonesboro Open has been contested on a dual pattern scoring environment that included the 48-foot Shark 48 oiling pattern on the left lane and the Viper 36 on the right. The third tournament of the 2020 Go Bowling PBA Tour season is a Tier 2 event in the PBA’s competition points structure. The winner will earn 5,000 points with all other players earning points of declining value based upon their finishing positions.

FloBowling, the PBA’s online streaming partner, will livestream Saturday’s finals live to its international subscribers. For subscription information, visit flobowling.com.

PBA JONESBORO OPEN

(A 2020 Go Bowling PBA Tour Tier 2 event)

HiJinx Family Entertainment Center, Jonesboro, Ark., Thursday

Final Match Play Standings (after 30 games, including match play bonus pins; top five advance to Saturday’s stepladder finals live on FS1 at 4:30 p.m. EST)

1, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 13-3, 7,203.
2, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 11-5, 7,101.
3, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 9-7, 7,079.
4, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 10-6, 7,063.
5, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 9-7, 6,963.
6, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 7-9, 6,900, $4,800.
7, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 9-7, 6,861, $4,400.
8, EJ Tackett, Bluffton, Ind., 7-9, 6,819, $4,100.
9, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 9-7, 6,808, $3,800.
10, Darren Tang, Las Vegas, 8-8, 6,779, $3,600.
11, Mitch Hupé, Wichita, Kan., 7-9, 6,778, $3,400.
12, Arturo Quintero, Mexico, 7-9, 6,692, $3,200.
13, Anthony Simonsen, Little Elm, Texas, 8-8, 6,636, $3,000.
14, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 5-11, 6,521, $2,800.
15, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 4-12, 6,394, $2,600.
16, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 5-11, 6,319, $2,500.

300 Games: none.