Beaudoin & Hartman Capture 1st Ever PJBT Title on LIVE FINALS

The PJBT held its 24th event of the 2014-2015 Season on Sunday, January 18, 2015.  It was our 6th Major Event of the Season.  It was a Major Singles Event at ABC East Lanes in Harrisburg, PA.  However, this event was the most unique event we ever had in 15+ years of the PJBT.  For the FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, the PJBT TELEVISED THE FINALS LIVE online at Youtube.com, with the help of our sponsor, Heartland Bowling Tournaments.  Heartland Bowling Tournaments was created by the Bower Family Boys….Jonathan & Brandon….as a means for Adult Bowling Events in the Harrisburg area and to be the most unique by offering the finals televised live online.  We got to experience the LIVE finals of this event online and the spectators loved it!  I understand that anyone who could not make the event watched from home and we had as high as 79 views watching live at one time….pretty good for our first live event.  Thanks to Heartland Bowling Tournaments for helping us make this live finals happen!

In case you haven’t watched it, SEE OUR LIVE VIDEO FEED ON THE MAINPAGE OF THE SITE.  I posted the finals in its entirety.

On this day, we had 79 bowlers compete in our 6th major.  Sadly, we lost some entries from the morning ice storm that hit the eastern part of Pennsylvania.  Some of our bowlers from the Eastern Side of PA were not able to make it after the PA Turnpike closed from a 60-car accident on the icy roads!  Due to this, we started the event about an hour late…around 11:30am.  We also made the decision to wait until all bowlers arrived at the center and to cut qualifying back from our normal 6 games for a major to just 5 games (similar to a regular event).  We did 5 games, 3 games match play, and the top 7 advanced to our televised finals.  The finals was 2 shootout matches (3 bowlers, top bowler advancing) and 2 stepladder matches to obtain our winner.

In the Scratch Division, Paul Beaudoin captured his 1st PJBT title of the season.  Beaudoin was seeded tied for 2nd after the 5 games of qualifying.  Beaudoin shot 1045 or +45 and was tied for 2nd with Dylan Zimmerman.  Both of them trailed tournament leader Bryanna Leyen by 5 pins.  In match play, Beaudoin captured some wins and shot some good games….boosting him to the tournament lead entering the live finals.  In the title match, Beaudoin took on 5th seed Ethan Resh.  Resh had made it to the title match by winning every televised final match.  He won both shootout rounds and defeated Dylan Zimmerman in the semi-final 186-179.  In the title match, Beaudoin defeated Resh 200-169 and took home the title and the $300 top prize.

In the Handicap Division, Nathan Hartman of Pine Grove, Pa, captured his 1st PJBT title.  Hartman was seeded 3rd after qualifying with a score of 1044 or +44.  He only trailed tournament leader Dylan Dundore and 2nd seed Isaac Erickson.  Hartman won 2 of his 3 match-play matches and advanced himself into the 2nd position on the board entering the finals.  He only trailed tournament leader  Chris McCormick.  McCormick, similar to last week, made a run in match play and took the lead of the event entering the finals.  McCormick was attempting to become the first bowler of the year to win back-to-back events.  Hartman took on 3rd seed Isaac Erickson in the semifinal match.  Hartman defeated Erickson 219-172 to advance to the title match vs McCormick.  In the title match, Hartman and McCormick were neck and neck to the end.  However, Hartman beat McCormick 192-171 and took home the title and $300 top prize.

In addition, Ethan Resh ($35) and Daysia Santee ($20) won the eliminator bracket….and Zack Dragovits ($45) / Alexander Horton ($20) won the Winner Take All Jackpot.  The top 2 finishing girls received scholarships….thanks to our Sponsors Shotmakers Pro Shop & Lane Tamers Pro Shop.  Bryanna Leyen was top finisher ($50) and 2nd place was Brianna Barna ($30).

No honor scores were bowled so the PJBT 300 Pot stands at $219 entering next week!