The PBA Chameleon Championship at WSOB XVI has been too easy for the 200-player field so far, with 20 perfect games already recorded. Five players scored 250+ average during 12 games of qualification, with 25 more scoring over 240. Yet, no one has been as dominant in qualifying as Canada’s Mitch Hupé and Japan’s Yuma Haraguchi.
Hupé and Haraguchi topped the leaderboard on the 41-foot Chameleon oil pattern, averaging an impressive 256.92 across 12 games for a total of 3,083. They finished just three pins short (3,080) of breaking the 12-game scoring record set earlier this year by Michael Davidson at the PBA Delaware Classic.
Thanks to their strong performances, both bowlers secured a bye to the Round of 16 in elimination match play. They were joined by Lanndyn Carnate, Tun Hakim, Jesper Svensson, Chris Via, Pontus Andersson, and Zach Weidman, who also earned byes as top-eight qualifiers.
In the Round of 24, EJ Tackett and Boog Krol cruised through their matchups with 3-0 sweeps, securing spots in the Round of 16. Tackett has now advanced to this stage in all three animal pattern events at WSOB XVI.
Other notable players moving forward include Thomas Larsen, Andrew Anderson, Tomas Käyhkö, AJ Johnson, Kevin McCune, and Zach Wilkins. The battle continues with the Rounds of 16 and 8 set for Tuesday, March 18, leading up to the championship match later that day at 4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. ET) on FS1.
PBA Shark Championship Kicks Off
The WSOB XVI is far from over. The PBA Shark Championship, the final event before the PBA World Championship, is just getting underway. B-squad begins qualifying at 9 a.m. PT, followed by A-squad at 2:30 p.m. PT. The second round of qualifying takes place Tuesday, followed by the Round of 24 that evening.
All WSOB XVI qualifying and match play rounds can be found live on BowlTV.
Round 2 Leaders | PBA Chameleon Championship
Mitch Hupé, 3,083
Yuma Haraguchi, 3,083
Lanndyn Carnate, 3,036
Tun Hakim, 3,021
Jesper Svensson, 3,000
Chris Via, 2,996
Pontus Andersson, 2,985
Zach Weidman, 2,979
Full standings are available here.
Round of 24 Results | PBA Chameleon Championship
No. 10 Zach Wilkins defeated No. 23 Trevor Roberts, 3-1
No. 11 Kevin McCune defeated No. 22 Matt Zweig, 3-1
No. 13 Boog Krol defeated No. 20 Jakob Butturff, 3-0
No. 15 EJ Tackett defeated No. 18 Peter Fox, 3-0
No. 17 Thomas Larsen defeated No. 17 Gabriel Alvarez, 3-1
No. 19 AJ Johnson defeated No. 14 Jason Belmonte, 3-2
No. 21 Tomas Käyhkö defeated No. 12 Shota Kawazoe, 3-2
No. 24 Andrew Anderson defeated No. 9 Nathan Ruest-Lajoie, 3-2
Round of 16 Matches | PBA Chameleon Championship
No. 1 Mitch Hupé vs. No. 17 Thomas Larsen
No. 2 Yuma Haraguchi vs. No. 15 EJ Tackett
No. 3 Lanndyn Carnate vs. No. 19 AJ Johnson
No. 4 Tun Hakim vs. No. 13 Boog Krol
No. 5 Jesper Svensson vs. No. 21 Tomas Käyhkö
No. 6 Chris Via vs. No. 11 Kevin McCune
No. 7 Pontus Andersson vs. No. 10 Zach Wilkins
No. 8 Zach Weidman vs. . 24 Andrew Anderson
Leaders After 32 Games | PBA World Championship
Jason Belmonte, 8,563
EJ Tackett, 8,545
Boog Krol, 8,490
BJ Moore, 8,490
Tim Foy Jr., 8,483
Jesper Svensson, 8,408
Trevor Roberts, 8,346
Mitch Hupé, 8,340
Darren Ong, 8,312
Zach Wilkins, 8,287
Full standings are available here.
Full PBA World Series of Bowling XVI Schedule:
Monday, March 10
9 a.m. – PBA Shark Championship - B-Squad Qualifying Round 1 (six games)
2:30 p.m. – PBA Shark Championship - A-Squad Qualifying Round 1 (six games)
Tuesday, March 11
9 a.m. – PBA Shark Championship - A-Squad Qualifying Round 2 (six games)
2:30 p.m. – PBA Shark Championship - B-Squad Qualifying Round 2 (six games)
7 p.m. – PBA Shark Championship - Match Play Round of 24 (best-of-five games)
Wednesday, March 12
12 p.m. – PBA World Championship - Practice
Thursday, March 13
10 a.m. – PBA World Championship - Advancer Round 1 (eight games)
Friday, March 14
10 a.m. – PBA World Championship - Advancer Round 2 (eight games)
6 p.m. – PBA Jr. National Championships - Match Play
Saturday, March 15
9 a.m. – PBA Jr. National Championships - Match Play
12:30 p.m. – PBA Jr. National Championships - Stepladder Finals (Mixed, U18 Boys and U18 Girls)
3 p.m. on FS1 – PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic - Finals
7 p.m. – PBA Jr. National Championship - Finals taping
Sunday, March 16
9 a.m. – PBA Scorpion Championship - Match Play Round of 16 (best-of-five games)
11:30 a.m. – PBA Scorpion Championship - Match Play Round of 8 (best-of-five games)
5 p.m. on FS1 – PBA Scorpion Championship - Finals
Monday, March 17
9 a.m. – PBA Viper Championship - Match Play Round of 16 (best-of-five games)
11:30 a.m. – PBA Viper Championship - Match Play Round of 8 (best-of-five games)
4 p.m. on FS1 – PBA Viper Championship - Finals
Tuesday, March 18
9 a.m. – PBA Chameleon Championship - Match Play Round of 16 (best-of-five games)
11:30 a.m. – PBA Chameleon Championship - Match Play Round of 8 (best-of-five games)
4 p.m. on FS1 – PBA Chameleon Championship - Finals
Wednesday, March 19
9 a.m. – PBA Shark Championship - Match Play Round of 16 (best-of-five games)
11:30 a.m. – PBA Shark Championship - Match Play Round of 8 (best-of-five games)
4 p.m. on FS1 – PBA Shark Championship - Finals
Thursday, March 20
10 a.m. – PBA World Championship - Round-Robin Match Play Round 1 (eight games)
5 p.m. – PBA World Championship - Round-Robin Match Play Round 2 (eight games)
Saturday, March 22
12 p.m. on FOX – PBA World Championship Finals
