Chris Gibbons defeated Derek Eoff in the finals of the survivor round to win the MAST event at Leisure Lanes in Monroe Sunday.
Ten frames weren’t enough to determine a winner. After struggling with pin carry early, Eoff rallied with a late string of strikes and a ring 10 on his final shot for 236. Gibbons responded with the first two strikes in his 10th frame, but his last shot drifted high for a 6-10 for 236 to force a 9th & 10th frame roll-off. Eoff’s opening shot in the roll-off drifted high for a 6-7 split which he was unable to convert, and Gibbons then struck the 9th, 10th & 11th to lock up the title, the seventh of his MAST career.
Gibbons qualified 15th at 895, then followed up with the top score of each of the first two survivor rounds at 279 and 248, and fired clutch shots late for a semi-final score of 227 to edge out top qualifier Chris Jackson’s 226 for the second spot in the finals.
Gibbons took home $550 for the win, with Eoff earning $304 for second. The other payouts Sunday were $194 for 3rd-4th, $147 for 5th-8th, and $114 for 9th-16th. Gibbons also won $275 in the Bet To Win pot.
Sixty-four bowlers competed on Leisure’s house pattern. The cut after four games of qualifying was 894, which turned out to be a tie between Sean Gibson and Jeff Prein. Prein won that two-frame roll-off 30-27 to claim the 16th spot in the survivor round, with Gibson receiving $57. Prein would make a deep run in the survivor round before falling in the semi-finals. Tournament leader Jackson led qualifying at 1050 which included two of the day’s three honor scores (300-813). Rick Thomas also shot 300 in his second qualifying game.
Tour co-sponsor Schwoegler’s Pro Shop donated a DV8 Pitbull Growl bowling ball at cost, won by Tim Morris. Host center Leisure Lanes provided a lineage discount and added two $10 gift cards, won by Harley Aumann and Gail Myers. MAST extends a huge Thank You to Schwoegler’s Pro Shop and Leisure Lanes for their generosity.
Our next event is the same-squad doubles at Schwoegler’s Entertainment Center in Madison on Sunday, January 14th. We will be using the 35-foot Kegel Boardwalk oil pattern for that event. Sign-up is not required but will be appreciated, please visit the MAST Facebook page or contact a MAST official to do so. We hope to see you all there.