Striking Spotlight

The #5 seed won all four matches to earn the last berth in the PBA Players Championship Finals

Jupiter, Fla.— Fifth seed Dick Allen climbed the stepladder and defeated #1 seed Jesper Svensson in the final match to win the South Region Finals. With four victories and a 270 average, Allen became the first and only player to advance to the PBA Players Championship Finals from anywhere other than the top seed.

While Allen averaged 270, his opponents averaged 258. Every match led to Allen needing a clutch performance in the 10^th frame to secure victory.

“This is what we’re out here to do,” said Allen of bowling under pressure. “This is why we play the game. You have to control the heart rate, the blood rushing through the veins, the emotions. You get the job done and then you can celebrate. To be able to do that on this stage just feels good.”

With a strike and spare to finish the opening match, Allen defeated Tom Daugherty, who started his game with the front eight, by a single pin. Allen then doubled in the 10^th to get past Ryan Ciminelli by five pins. Needing a strike and six pins to win the semifinal match against Cristian Azcona, Allen rolled all three strikes for the win. In the final match, Allen needed to fill 17 pins in the 10^th to defeat Jesper Svensson, then filled 28 to win the South Region.

“I knew the lanes were going to be high-scoring,” said Allen. “I just did whatever I could. As the middle started to hook and the back ends started to hook some more, my point of origin stayed the same but the destination down lane changed. I tried to keep moving my eyes left, keep my speed up and stay aggressive.”

Allen, who owns seven PBA Tour titles and will be looking to win his first major, joins Anthony Simonsen (West), François Lavoie (Southwest), Tom Smallwood (Central) and Kyle Troup (East) in next week’s PBA Players Championship Finals, when the five players will compete for a top prize of $250,000.

“I’m going to try to stay in every match and hope I get a chance to step up in the 10^th and do what I like to do,” said Allen.

The PBA Players Championship Finals will air live on FOX Broadcast Channel Feb. 21.

South Region Stepladder Finals Results

Bowlero Jupiter – Jupiter, Fla.

1. Dick Allen, advances to PBA Players Championship Finals
2. Jesper Svensson, earns $15,000
3. Cristian Azcona, $13,000
4. Ryan Ciminelli, $11,000
5. Tom Daugherty, $10,000

Match Scores

Match 1 – No. 5 Allen def. No. 4 Daugherty, 269-268

Match 2 – No. 5 Allen def. No. 3 Ciminelli, 258-253

Match 3 – No. 5 Allen def. No. 2 Azcona, 278-258

Match 4 – No. 5 Allen def. No. 1 Svensson, 277-255

Upcoming Players Championship Television Schedule

Bowlero Jupiter – Jupiter, Fla.

Sunday, Feb. 21 at 12:30 p.m. on FOX – PBA Players Championship Finals

About the PBA

The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the world’s preeminent organization dedicated to the sport of bowling and its professional competition, with thousands of members and millions of fans throughout the world. The PBA plays host to bowling’s biggest tournaments from the PBA Tour, PBA Regional Tour, and PBA50 Tour. In 2020, the PBA launched PBA Jr., a club for elite youth bowlers under the age of 17 and the PBA Pinsiders, a membership for fans of the sport. For more information, please visit PBA.com. 

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