2025 USBC Queens set to kick off in Las Vegas
May 13, 2025
LAS VEGAS – For the second time in three years, the United States Bowling Congress Queens will be in Las Vegas as Suncoast Hotel and Casino plays host to the first major of the 2025 Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour season.
This will be Suncoast’s first time hosting a PWBA major championship since the tour relaunched in 2015, but the center is no stranger to major competition as the 2024 USBC Masters was held at Suncoast and saw DeeRonn Booker of Albuquerque, New Mexico, etch his name into bowling history.
Now, it’s the ladies’ turn at Suncoast to see who will add their name to the Queens’ storied history, just as Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, did at the 2024 edition of the event when she became the youngest winner (20 years old) in tournament history.
Martin returns this year hoping to become the first repeat Queens winner since Japan’s Katsuko Sugimoto accomplished the feat in 1981 and 1982.
A successful title defense will not be easy as there will be 197 other talented players looking to take the tiara once competition starts Thursday morning; nevertheless, Martin, the 2025 National Tenpin Coaches Association Player of the Year, will welcome the challenge.
“In comparison to last year, I would say my approach is different,” said Martin. “This is less so because of winning and more so because last year was the first time I could compete in this event. Now that I have the initial experience, I think my transition going into match play will be smoother.
“I am also trying to channel the same mindset as last year because I felt so free and had so much fun competing throughout the bracket.”
After a loss in her first match in the bracket last year, Martin fought all the way through the Elimination Bracket and qualified as the No. 3 seed on the TV show.
Martin will not be resting on her laurels this year, putting in as much work as she could prior to the event while balancing life as a student-athlete at the University of Nebraska.
“As a college student, it can honestly be difficult to balance everything,” said Martin. “I’ve been making the effort to get my game to where I want it to be by practicing as much as I can.”
Some new physical game changes have made her more efficient in her delivery while also continuing to work on versatility in hopes of repeating as the USBC Queens champion.
After Wednesday’s practice sessions, Liz Johnson of Niagara Falls, New York, and Marianne DiRupo of Matthews, North Carolina, will be inducted into the PWBA Hall of Fame in the Performance category.
Johnson will be competing at the Queens this week and will be seeking her third Queens tiara to go along with the USBC Senior Queens title she captured in April.
Tournament action will get underway Thursday morning when all 198 bowlers take to the lanes for their first of three five-game qualifying blocks.
A Squad will be up first on Thursday at noon Eastern with B Squad following at 4 p.m. Eastern. Both squads will be bowling two rounds on fresh oil and one round on the burn.
The top 63 qualifiers, plus Martin, will move on to the double-elimination match-play bracket starting Sunday, where each bout will be a three-game total-pinfall match.
The final two bowlers remaining in the Winner’s Bracket will bowl each other for the No.1 seed for the stepladder finals, while the final four in the Elimination Bracket will bowl for the last three spots on the show.
The stepladder finals will begin Tuesday at 7 p.m. Eastern live on CBS Sports Network, where the winner will receive the coveted tiara and top prize of $60,000. All competition leading up to the televised finals will be streamed live exclusively on BowlTV.
This will be Suncoast’s first time hosting a PWBA major championship since the tour relaunched in 2015, but the center is no stranger to major competition as the 2024 USBC Masters was held at Suncoast and saw DeeRonn Booker of Albuquerque, New Mexico, etch his name into bowling history.
Now, it’s the ladies’ turn at Suncoast to see who will add their name to the Queens’ storied history, just as Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, did at the 2024 edition of the event when she became the youngest winner (20 years old) in tournament history.
Martin returns this year hoping to become the first repeat Queens winner since Japan’s Katsuko Sugimoto accomplished the feat in 1981 and 1982.
A successful title defense will not be easy as there will be 197 other talented players looking to take the tiara once competition starts Thursday morning; nevertheless, Martin, the 2025 National Tenpin Coaches Association Player of the Year, will welcome the challenge.
“In comparison to last year, I would say my approach is different,” said Martin. “This is less so because of winning and more so because last year was the first time I could compete in this event. Now that I have the initial experience, I think my transition going into match play will be smoother.
“I am also trying to channel the same mindset as last year because I felt so free and had so much fun competing throughout the bracket.”
After a loss in her first match in the bracket last year, Martin fought all the way through the Elimination Bracket and qualified as the No. 3 seed on the TV show.
Martin will not be resting on her laurels this year, putting in as much work as she could prior to the event while balancing life as a student-athlete at the University of Nebraska.
“As a college student, it can honestly be difficult to balance everything,” said Martin. “I’ve been making the effort to get my game to where I want it to be by practicing as much as I can.”
Some new physical game changes have made her more efficient in her delivery while also continuing to work on versatility in hopes of repeating as the USBC Queens champion.
After Wednesday’s practice sessions, Liz Johnson of Niagara Falls, New York, and Marianne DiRupo of Matthews, North Carolina, will be inducted into the PWBA Hall of Fame in the Performance category.
Johnson will be competing at the Queens this week and will be seeking her third Queens tiara to go along with the USBC Senior Queens title she captured in April.
Tournament action will get underway Thursday morning when all 198 bowlers take to the lanes for their first of three five-game qualifying blocks.
A Squad will be up first on Thursday at noon Eastern with B Squad following at 4 p.m. Eastern. Both squads will be bowling two rounds on fresh oil and one round on the burn.
The top 63 qualifiers, plus Martin, will move on to the double-elimination match-play bracket starting Sunday, where each bout will be a three-game total-pinfall match.
The final two bowlers remaining in the Winner’s Bracket will bowl each other for the No.1 seed for the stepladder finals, while the final four in the Elimination Bracket will bowl for the last three spots on the show.
The stepladder finals will begin Tuesday at 7 p.m. Eastern live on CBS Sports Network, where the winner will receive the coveted tiara and top prize of $60,000. All competition leading up to the televised finals will be streamed live exclusively on BowlTV.