Darren Tang did something no PBA player had done before.
He became the first player in PBA history to win PBA Tour titles as both a one-handed and two-handed player.
That's a little bit ironic, because the number two followed him all the way to the trophy.
Tang won the PBA Chameleon Championship, the second title event of the PBA World Series of Bowling XVII, as the No. 2 seed. He defeated Jason Belmonte 2-0 in the Race-to-Two championship match to claim the second PBA Tour title of his career and the first one as a two-hander.
Call it the power of 2.
But the real story is bigger than a number.
Tang’s first PBA Tour title came in 2021 at the PBA Bowlerstore.com Classic, when he was still bowling one-handed. He switched to two-handed bowling during the 2025 season after a difficult stretch on tour. This win confirms not just for Tang but for all bowlers that the change can work at the highest level.
Tang entered the bracket finals after qualifying second at Bowlero Brooklyn Park. With the top four seeds earning a bye, he started his TV run in the quarterfinals.
He opened with a 242-195 win over Boog Krol, then defeated Santtu Tahvanainen 201-192 in a close semifinal.
That sent him into the title match against Belmonte, the top seed, three-time Chameleon Championship winner, and the most successful two-handed bowler in PBA history with 32 career titles.
The matchup could hardly have been written better. Tang, still rebuilding his career as a two-hander, had to beat the player who changed the way the bowling world looks at two-handed bowling.
He did exactly that.
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Tang won Game 1 of the championship match, 241-217. Game 2 was lower scoring, but Tang survived after Belmonte’s missed shot in the final frame to complete the sweep, 176-167.
The PBA Chameleon Championship was the second title event of WSOB XVII.
Packy Hanrahan won the opening event, the PBA Cheetah Championship, on Saturday after defeating Matt Sanders 2-0 in the Race-to-Two title match.
The World Series of Bowling continues with the PBA Scorpion Championship on Monday and the PBA Shark Championship on Tuesday, both airing live on CBS Sports Network.
Match Results
Round of 12
Mitch Hupé def. Anthony Simonsen, 206-182
Kyle Sherman def. Riley Woodard, 244-233
Boog Krol def. Tobias Börding, 288-165
Santtu Tahvanainen def. Deo Benard, 232-227
Quarterfinals
Jason Belmonte def. Mitch Hupé, 215-205
Kyle Sherman def. Jakob Butturff, 206-181
Darren Tang def. Boog Krol, 242-195
Santtu Tahvanainen def. Jason Sterner, 245-206
Semifinals
Jason Belmonte def. Kyle Sherman, 194-193
Darren Tang def. Santtu Tahvanainen, 201-192
Championship Match
Game 1: Tang def. Belmonte, 241-217
Game 2: Tang def. Belmonte, 176-167
PBA World Series of Bowling XVII Schedule
Monday, May 11
6 p.m. local / 7 p.m. ET - PBA Scorpion Championship semifinals
8 p.m. local / 9 p.m. ET - PBA Scorpion Championship finals
Tuesday, May 12
6 p.m. local / 7 p.m. ET - PBA Shark Championship semifinals
8 p.m. local / 9 p.m. ET - PBA Shark Championship finals
Saturday, June 13
11 a.m. ET - PBA World Championship semifinals on CBS Sports Network
1 p.m. ET - PBA World Championship finals on CBS and Paramount+
