ROUND1 Finals in Japan Marked by a Perfect Game and the Youngest Champion in Event History

The ROUND1 Grand Championship Bowling is the one day of the year when Japan's professionals from the JPBA share the lanes with the country's two big amateur organisations, Japan Bowling (JB) and the Nippon Bowlers Federation (NBF).

The 2026 final was bowled on Saturday at Round1 Stadium Sakai Chuo Kanjo in Osaka, with 132 players in six divisions and an 18 million yen prize fund on the day, part of 30 million yen across the whole series.

The two biggest prizes, 4 million yen (approx. $25,000) each, went to Yoshinao Shimoji, a 19-year-old two-handed amateur from Okinawa, in the men's Regular division, and to JPBA pro Mizuki Nakajima, 22, who won the women's Regular title also making a 300 game.

Pros won four of the six titles, JB amateurs won two and the NBF none, although NBF bowlers finished second in four of the six finals.

We previewed the format and the prize table in our ROUND1 Grand Championship 2026 final preview.

Yoshinao Shimoji, 19, wins the men's Regular title without meeting a pro in the final

Shimoji, a right-handed two-handed bowler who won Japan's 48th All-Japan High School Championship in 2024, qualified with 721 over three games. He then won his two-game knockout matches with 413 in round one and 494 in the semifinal.

No JPBA professional reached the men's final. Shimoji, bowling for JB, met NBF amateur Mitsuki Terashima and won 440 to 393 over two games. Terashima took 1 million yen for second place. Pros Kazuaki Watanabe and Taiyo Ibuki tied for third and earned 400,000 yen each.

Mizuki Nakajima bowls 300, then wins the women's Regular title with 488

Nakajima, a JPBA pro from Fukuoka, had the most eventful day in Sakai. After qualifying with 677, she bowled a 300 game in the second game of her round-one match and finished that match with 494. It was the first perfect game of the 2026 final, worth a 50,000 yen bonus (approx. $300), and the third sanctioned 300 of her career.

She kept going with 504 in the semifinal and then beat NBF amateur Yuka Yoshida 488 to 386 in the two-game final. Pro Seika Matsuo and JB amateur Haru Suzuki tied for third. The top women's qualifier, Ayaka Kubota, who won the women's Regular division at the JPBA pro final in October, shot 724 in qualifying but went out in round one.

All six finals at a glance: the two Regular winners took 4 million yen each, the Active Generation winners 500,000 yen (approx. $3100) and the Grand Generation winners 150,000 yen (approx. $900).

Active Generation: Shigeo Saito and Fumimi Kondo win for the JPBA

The Active Generation divisions are for bowlers aged 50 and over, with a one-game final. Shigeo Saito, 54, had the most one-sided final of the day, beating NBF amateur Koichi Kobayashi 266 to 151. It was Saito's third career title and his first since the Coca-Cola Cup 2015 Chiba Open, about 11 years ago.

The women's final was the only all-pro title match of the day. Fumimi Kondo, 59, beat Mikiko Zama 160 to 152 for her 16th career title and her first since 2019. Zama had won the women's Active Generation division at the JPBA pro final in October, the event that decided which pros went to Sakai. Both winners took 500,000 yen (approx. $3100).

Grand Generation: a 10th career title at 74 for Yoshiki Osawa

In the Grand Generation divisions (65 and over), 74-year-old Yoshiki Osawa, a JPBA pro since 1974, beat NBF amateur Shinya Yokoo 216 to 184 for the 10th title of his career.

The women's final was all JB. Atsuko Oku, 71, from Kyoto, beat Hanami Yanagawa 176 to 163, one year after finishing second in the same division at the 2025 final. Each Grand Generation winner earned 150,000 yen (approx. $900).

How the 2026 final worked

Each organisation sent eight players to each Regular and Active Generation division (24 per division) and six to each Grand Generation division (18 per division). Everyone bowled three qualifying games, and eight players per Regular and Active Generation division moved on to the knockout rounds.

• Regular divisions: round one, semifinal and final, each decided by a two-game total.
• Active Generation: two-game round one and semifinal, then a one-game final.
• Grand Generation: six players to a two-game round one, then a one-game semifinal and a one-game final.

A 300 game earned a 50,000 (approx. $300) yen bonus up to the semifinals, and a perfect game in a title match would have paid 1 million yen. Nakajima's 300 came in round one, so the big perfect-game prize was not claimed.

Pros 4, amateurs 2: how the three organisations compared

The JPBA won four titles (Nakajima, Saito, Kondo and Osawa) and JB two (Shimoji and Oku). The NBF did not win a division but reached four of the six finals, with Terashima, Yoshida, Kobayashi and Yokoo all finishing second. The Regular titles were split this time, one to an amateur and one to a pro, after amateurs won both Regular divisions at the 2025 final.

Full placings and prize money for all 132 players are in the official JPBA final standings.