Weber, Burkett advance to main stepladder at 2025 Super Senior Classic
June 01, 2025
MATCH PLAY STANDINGS
STANDINGS AFTER CASHERS' ROUND
LAS VEGAS – Pete Weber of St. Ann, Missouri, and John Burkett of Fort Worth, Texas, earned the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds respectively for Sunday’s main stepladder finals at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Super Senior Classic.
Weber, a 62-year-old right-hander, led Group B after six games of match play Saturday at Sam’s Town Bowling Center, posting a 5-1 record. The USBC and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer totaled 5,712 for his 24 games, including 30 bonus pins for each victory. He outdistanced Burkett, who was Group A’s top qualifier, by 85 pins.
Burkett, a former Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher, was 11th overall and sixth in his group heading into match play on Saturday. He then authored a perfect 6-0 match play record to earn the No. 2 seed for Sunday’s stepladder finals with a 5,627 total.
The 208-player field at the 2025 Super Senior Classic was down to 52 players to start competition Saturday, and after a six-game cashers’ round, the top 12 bowlers (based on pinfall for 18 games) advanced to match play.
Competitors were placed into one of two match-play groups. Group A consisted of the qualifiers who placed as an odd seed after the cashers’ round (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11), while Group B featured the even seeds (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12).
Each participant in match play added to their 18-game totals as they bowled six head-to-head matches, including a final position round. Each win in match play was worth 30 bonus pins (ties were worth 15 bonus pins).
While Weber and Burkett secured their spots in the finals, six other competitors remained in contention for the title at the 2025 Super Senior Classic.
The second-, third- and fourth-place finisher in each match-play group advanced to a group stepladder, which will begin Sunday at noon Eastern at Sam’s Town and will determine the No. 3 and 4 seeds for the main stepladder finals.
In the group stepladder, the bowlers in the third and fourth position in each group will face each other in a single-elimination 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 Sunday, starting at 2 p.m. Eastern.
USBC and PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III, of Jackson, New Jersey (third – 5,559) will face Finland’s Timo Raatikainen (fourth – 5,537) in the opening match of the group stepladder for Group A. The winner will go against another USBC and PBA Hall of Famer – Ron Mohr of Las Vegas (second – 5,610). Mohr is a two-time winner of this event (2017 and 2022) and is the all-time leader with five PBA60 titles.
In Group B, James Campbell of Loudon, Tennessee (third – 5,475), will take on 2021 Super Senior Classic champion Amleto Monacelli of Venezuela (fourth – 5,465). The winner of that match will battle Mexico’s Carlos Denot (second – 5,479), for the chance to advance to the main stepladder. Denot led after Round 1 of this year’s event.
Weber, who owns 37 PBA Tour titles and 14 PBA50 titles, is after his first win in the PBA60 classification. He averaged a field-best 231.75 for his 24 games. For Weber, Saturday was all about keeping his mind free.
“Today I felt really good and just got comfortable with what I was doing,” Weber said. “I didn’t take much time on the approach. Once I got set, I went. That way I knew I was going to let the ball go clean. Once I start thinking too much, I start getting that grab thing going, and that’s no fun.”
The ball choices Weber made on Saturday allowed him to get into his comfort zone early and often.
“I’ve been using my reliable Phaze II and the new Equinox that I think is about a year old,” Weber said. “It just seems the Equinox reads the mid-part of the lane a little better than the other ones, and that’s what I look for – the skid, roll, hook – because I’m still old fashioned. The other guys are looking for length and hook, and I like to see my ball roll in the middle of the lane. I was seeing that today.”
Weber’s last win came in the 2023 PBA50 Bud Moore Players Championship where he was also the No. 1 seed. Weber knows that getting settled in quickly will be a key on Sunday.
“I’ve only got one game to bowl, so I’ll need to get comfortable in a hurry,” Weber said. “So, it’s just a matter of throwing the ball like I know how to do it and whatever happens, happens.”
Burkett caught fire during Saturday’s match play round thanks to his ability to get things matched up in his game.
“I had a pretty good look the whole tournament on the fresh,” Burkett said. “But I was having a hard time getting my hand down and getting my rev rate to match up with my speed. Tonight, it all came together. I finally dialed my speed down, got my hand relaxed to a point where I was able to catch up to my speed, and my strike percentage went way up.”
Burkett, a 60-year-old right-hander, will be after his second senior win after collecting the title in the 2022 PBA50 South Shore Open. But he knows the task is a formidable one, especially with Weber as the No. 1 seed.
Asked about the possibility of bowling him for the title, Burkett laughed and said, “I don’t want to say anything and have Pete see it. Tell him I’m scared to death of him, and I have no chance. But, in all seriousness, a win would be amazing. I won one title in 2022, and now I’m really focused on winning a major, and this feels like it would be that. It would be an amazing accomplishment, but there’s still two more games to go.”
Qualifying at the 2025 Super Senior Classic took place Thursday and Friday at Sam’s Town, with two six-game blocks determining the 52 bowlers advancing to Saturday’s cashers’ round.
Raatikainen took the overall lead after Round 2 of qualifying, and he was able to maintain the top spot after Saturday’s cashers’ round, finishing with a 4,241 total (235.61 average), heading into match play.
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 CASHERS' ROUND
LAS VEGAS – Pete Weber of St. Ann, Missouri, and John Burkett of Fort Worth, Texas, earned the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds respectively for Sunday’s main stepladder finals at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Super Senior Classic.
Weber, a 62-year-old right-hander, led Group B after six games of match play Saturday at Sam’s Town Bowling Center, posting a 5-1 record. The USBC and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer totaled 5,712 for his 24 games, including 30 bonus pins for each victory. He outdistanced Burkett, who was Group A’s top qualifier, by 85 pins.
Burkett, a former Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher, was 11th overall and sixth in his group heading into match play on Saturday. He then authored a perfect 6-0 match play record to earn the No. 2 seed for Sunday’s stepladder finals with a 5,627 total.
The 208-player field at the 2025 Super Senior Classic was down to 52 players to start competition Saturday, and after a six-game cashers’ round, the top 12 bowlers (based on pinfall for 18 games) advanced to match play.
Competitors were placed into one of two match-play groups. Group A consisted of the qualifiers who placed as an odd seed after the cashers’ round (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11), while Group B featured the even seeds (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12).
Each participant in match play added to their 18-game totals as they bowled six head-to-head matches, including a final position round. Each win in match play was worth 30 bonus pins (ties were worth 15 bonus pins).
While Weber and Burkett secured their spots in the finals, six other competitors remained in contention for the title at the 2025 Super Senior Classic.
The second-, third- and fourth-place finisher in each match-play group advanced to a group stepladder, which will begin Sunday at noon Eastern at Sam’s Town and will determine the No. 3 and 4 seeds for the main stepladder finals.
In the group stepladder, the bowlers in the third and fourth position in each group will face each other in a single-elimination 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 Sunday, starting at 2 p.m. Eastern.
USBC and PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III, of Jackson, New Jersey (third – 5,559) will face Finland’s Timo Raatikainen (fourth – 5,537) in the opening match of the group stepladder for Group A. The winner will go against another USBC and PBA Hall of Famer – Ron Mohr of Las Vegas (second – 5,610). Mohr is a two-time winner of this event (2017 and 2022) and is the all-time leader with five PBA60 titles.
In Group B, James Campbell of Loudon, Tennessee (third – 5,475), will take on 2021 Super Senior Classic champion Amleto Monacelli of Venezuela (fourth – 5,465). The winner of that match will battle Mexico’s Carlos Denot (second – 5,479), for the chance to advance to the main stepladder. Denot led after Round 1 of this year’s event.
Weber, who owns 37 PBA Tour titles and 14 PBA50 titles, is after his first win in the PBA60 classification. He averaged a field-best 231.75 for his 24 games. For Weber, Saturday was all about keeping his mind free.
“Today I felt really good and just got comfortable with what I was doing,” Weber said. “I didn’t take much time on the approach. Once I got set, I went. That way I knew I was going to let the ball go clean. Once I start thinking too much, I start getting that grab thing going, and that’s no fun.”
The ball choices Weber made on Saturday allowed him to get into his comfort zone early and often.
“I’ve been using my reliable Phaze II and the new Equinox that I think is about a year old,” Weber said. “It just seems the Equinox reads the mid-part of the lane a little better than the other ones, and that’s what I look for – the skid, roll, hook – because I’m still old fashioned. The other guys are looking for length and hook, and I like to see my ball roll in the middle of the lane. I was seeing that today.”
Weber’s last win came in the 2023 PBA50 Bud Moore Players Championship where he was also the No. 1 seed. Weber knows that getting settled in quickly will be a key on Sunday.
“I’ve only got one game to bowl, so I’ll need to get comfortable in a hurry,” Weber said. “So, it’s just a matter of throwing the ball like I know how to do it and whatever happens, happens.”
Burkett caught fire during Saturday’s match play round thanks to his ability to get things matched up in his game.
“I had a pretty good look the whole tournament on the fresh,” Burkett said. “But I was having a hard time getting my hand down and getting my rev rate to match up with my speed. Tonight, it all came together. I finally dialed my speed down, got my hand relaxed to a point where I was able to catch up to my speed, and my strike percentage went way up.”
Burkett, a 60-year-old right-hander, will be after his second senior win after collecting the title in the 2022 PBA50 South Shore Open. But he knows the task is a formidable one, especially with Weber as the No. 1 seed.
Asked about the possibility of bowling him for the title, Burkett laughed and said, “I don’t want to say anything and have Pete see it. Tell him I’m scared to death of him, and I have no chance. But, in all seriousness, a win would be amazing. I won one title in 2022, and now I’m really focused on winning a major, and this feels like it would be that. It would be an amazing accomplishment, but there’s still two more games to go.”
Qualifying at the 2025 Super Senior Classic took place Thursday and Friday at Sam’s Town, with two six-game blocks determining the 52 bowlers advancing to Saturday’s cashers’ round.
Raatikainen took the overall lead after Round 2 of qualifying, and he was able to maintain the top spot after Saturday’s cashers’ round, finishing with a 4,241 total (235.61 average), heading into match play.
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.