Geico PBA Team Shootout To Debut This Weekend

If you miss watching the PBA Tour on ESPN, never fear, the GEICO PBA Team Shootout debuts Sunday, June 22 at 1 p.m. ET.

One of the Denny’s PBA Tour's most unique events in its 50-year history unfolds over a 5-week series on ESPN. The GEICO PBA Team Shootout hosted by Six Flags Great America, which featured 18 of the greatest bowlers in the world drafted into a rare team event held outdoors June 6-8 on specially-constructed lanes surrounded by the roar of park's roller coasters, airs its first three of 15 half-hour shows beginning at 1 pm ET Sunday.

The 18 bowlers (16 champions from the 2007-08 Denny’s PBA Tour along with one additional player designated by the PBA, PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber, and another designated by major sponsor USBC, World Bowler of the Year Jason Belmonte from Australia) were divided into three teams with players being selected by three “captains” – PBA Hall of Famers Mark Roth, Carmen Salvino and Brian Voss.

The three legendary captains drafted the players during a ceremony on June 5. Complete coverage of the draft party, a glimpse into the selection process of the teams airs on PBA.com’s Xtra Frame beginning today.

The ESPN audience will be able to follow along with every shot of the groundbreaking made-for-TV format, which found the three teams competing in round robin, Baker style match play with a total of 12 matches taking place. Each team bowled four matches against the other two teams, with each match taking place on a different oil pattern. The only one of the five PBA oil patterns not be used during round robin play was the Cheetah pattern, which was used in the championship round.

With six players on a team, one bowler sat out each game for the five-man Baker style matches. Team captains designated which five players competed during the matches.

After the 12 matches were complete, the top two teams based on match play record advanced to the championship round, which consisted of one singles match, one doubles match and one Baker-style match, with the captains choosing the participants for each match.

The singles and doubles matches were each worth one point while the Baker match was worth two points. In the event of a tie, one player from each team – who will be determined prior to the start of the competition by the team captains – will participate in a one-ball sudden death roll-off. The winning team will split $100,000.

One special feature that will carry over from last year’s doubles summer event held at Six Flags Great America in St. Louis, was the “Endless 10th Frame,” which will only be used in the round robin match play portion of the event. Should a bowler strike with his fill ball in the 10th frame, his team will continue to bowl until they do not strike again, with each additional strike adding 10 pins to the team’s total score.

Additionally, a total of $1,000 in bonus money was up for grabs in each round robin match with $100 on the line in each frame. In every frame, the bowlers on opposite teams competed against each other for the bonus money. The bowler with the most successful frame received $100 for their team. Should the bowlers tie in a given frame, that money was carried over to the next frame. If a tie takes place in the 10th frame, bonus money goes to the team that won the match. Endless 10th frames do not factor into the individual frame bonus money.

Below is a look at the participants:

Name - Qualified
Patrick Allen - 2007 Lumber Liquidators Championship
Chris Barnes - 2008 Bayer Classic/2008 Don Johnson Buckeye State Classic
Jason Belmonte - USBC selection
Parker Bohn III - 2007 Spartanburg Classic
Norm Duke - 2008 Denny’s World Championship/65th Denny’s U.S. Open
Mike Fagan - 2008 PBA Exempt Doubles Classic
Michael Haugen Jr. - 2007 Lake Co. Indiana Classic/2008 Tournament of Champions
Tommy Jones - 2008 ConstructionJob.com Championship/2008 GEICO Classic
Mika Koivuniemi - Dydo Japan Cup 2008
Wes Malott 2008 Lumber Liquidators Earl Anthony Medford Classic
Rhino Page - 2008 Go RVing Classic
Sean Rash - 2007 USBC Masters
Mike Scroggins - 2008 Motel 6 Dick Weber Open/2008 Pepsi Championship
Robert Smith - 2007 CLR Windy City Classic
Pete Weber - PBA selection
Walter Ray Williams Jr. - 2007 Motor City Classic/2007 Great Lakes Classic
Danny Wiseman - 2008 PBA Exempt Doubles Classic
Mike Wolfe - 2007 Etonic Championship

CAPTAINS
Mark Roth - 34-time Denny’s PBA Tour titlist, PBA Hall of Famer
Carmen Salvino - 17-time Denny’s PBA Tour titlist, PBA Hall of Famer
Brian Voss - 24-time Denny’s PBA Tour titlist, PBA Hall of Famer

Below is a complete list of air times. All dates and times are subject to change.

Date Network Times (Shows)
Sun., June 22 ESPN 1 – 2:30 p.m. ET (3)
Sun., June 29 ESPN 1 – 3 p.m. ET (4)
Sun., July 6 ESPN 1 – 2 p.m. ET (2)
Sun., July 13 ESPN 3 – 4 p.m. ET (2)
Sat., July 20 ESPN 1 – 3 p.m. ET (4)