In MAST’s first-ever visit to Sugar River Lanes in Belleville Sunday, Mike Hoffman defeated Chris Pounders 279-193 to claim his 24th career title and second in a row, following up his win at our last event at Viking Lanes in January.
Hoffman qualified third at 973, and averaged over 246 through his three matches en route to the win. The only blemish on his 279 finish was a solid 9-pin in the eighth frame.
Pounders led qualifying at 1,039 including the day’s only honor count with 300 in game two, and averaged 217 in his first two matches to reach the final.
Hoffman earned $655 for the win along with $65 from the Bet To Win pot, and Pounders took home $355 for second. The other match play payouts Sunday were $259 for 3rd-4th, $164 for 5th-8th, and $137 for 9th-12th.
Forty-four bowlers competed on Sugar River’s house shot. The cut after four games of qualifying was 888. Jason Decker from event sponsor Paoli Pub qualified seventh at 931 including games of 289 and 280, and won a pair of matches before falling to Hoffman 236-213 in the semifinals.
Our prize fund was bolstered by donations of $300 from Paoli Pub and $100 from King Pin Management. Storm donated a Next Factor bowling ball at cost, won by Chris Pounders. Sugar River Lanes added three $10 gift cards, won by Mark Newkirk, Nick Peterson, and Tara Glassmaker. Combined proceeds resulted in an additional $530 for this event. MAST extends a huge Thank You to Paoli Pub, King Pin Management, Storm, and Sugar River Lanes for their generosity.
The upcoming split-squad doubles event at Middleton Sport Bowl in Middleton on Saturday, February 28th will mark our 500th event in our thirty-seven seasons. Squad starting times for that event will be 10:00am and 1:00pm; it will be contested on Sport Bowl’s house shot and will feature Survivor finals. That field is capped at 40 teams and is currently full; please check MAST’s Facebook page or contact one of our tournament directors to be added to the waiting list. We hope to see you all there.