Super Senior Classic, USBC Senior Masters ready for Las Vegas in 2024
May 29, 2024
LAS VEGAS – Sam’s Town Bowling Center will welcome the top senior and super senior competitors for a pair of sold-out events with the 2024 editions of the Super Senior Classic and United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters.
The Super Senior Classic will be up first at the 56-lane center, starting Wednesday with the official practice session and running through June 2. The USBC Senior Masters will take over Sam’s Town from June 3-9.
Both events have been held at Sam’s Town since 2016, with the Super Senior Classic featuring the top competitors age 60 and older. The field at the Senior Masters will include bowlers age 50 and older.
BowlTV.com will livestream both events from start to finish in Las Vegas.
2023 Super Senior Classic champion John Marsala
The 208-player field at the 2024 Super Senior Classic will bowl two six-game rounds of qualifying over Thursday and Friday to determine the top 52 competitors after 12 games for Saturday’s cashers’ round.
Each squad will bowl six games on the fresh lane pattern and six games on the burn during qualifying.
The advancers to Saturday’s round will bowl another six-game block, with total pinfall for 18 games helping place the top 12 into one of two match-play groups.
Group 1 will feature the qualifiers who placed as an odd seed (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11), while Group 2 will consist of the even seeds (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12).
Each participant in match play will bowl six head-to-head games in their group, including a final position round. Each victory will be worth 30 bonus pins.
At the end of match play, the top finisher in each group – based on 24-game totals including bonus pins – will earn a spot in Sunday’s main stepladder finals. The player with the top pinfall total will be the No. 1 seed for the main stepladder, while the other group leader will be the No. 2 seed.
The second-, third- and fourth-place finisher in each group will have the opportunity to work their way into the main stepladder through a group stepladder Sunday morning at Sam’s Town.
The bowlers in the third and fourth position in each respective group will face each other in a single-game match, with the winner advancing to take on the competitor in the second position. The winners of the final match in the group stepladder advance to Sunday’s main stepladder and will face each other in the opening match, starting at 2 p.m. Eastern.
The winner of the 2024 Super Senior Classic will take home an $8,000 top prize, while the runner-up collects $6,550.
St. Louis’ John Marsala earned the victory at the 2023 Super Senior Classic and is one of five past champions in the field this week.
Professional Bowlers Association and USBC Hall of Famers Ron Mohr (2017 and 2022 champion) and Amleto Monacelli (2021), Mike Dias (2018) and Kerry Painter (2013) will be joining Marsala at the 2024 event.
Marsala won three matches in the stepladder to claim the title in 2023, averaging nearly 250 in the single-elimination games. He capped the victory with a 244-168 win over top seed Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, New York.
The win marked Marsala’s first PBA60 Tour title, to go along with a pair of wins on the PBA50 Tour.
2023 USBC Senior Masters champion John Janawicz
The Senior Masters will be the sixth event of the 2024 PBA50 Tour season and first major championship of the year.
Qualifying at the 2024 event will take place over three days (June 4-6), with 311 players looking to earn a spot and join last year’s champion – USBC Hall of Famer and 2023 PBA50 Rookie of the Year John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Florida – in the tournament’s double-elimination bracket.
The qualifying portion of the tournament will feature three five-game blocks for a 15-game total to determine the advancers to bracket play. Competitors will bowl on a different phase of the tournament’s oil pattern each day, with blocks being contested on the fresh, burn and double-burn.
At the end of 15 games, the top 63 bowlers will be seeded into the bracket with Janawicz to start the long journey toward the stepladder finals.
As the defending champion, Janawicz is guaranteed a spot in the bracket and can improve his seeding through qualifying. If he falls out of the top 63 at the end of qualifying, he’ll be seeded in the 64th position.
The bracket matches will be three-game contests with total pinfall determining the winner in each round. The players who remain undefeated and work their way to the finals of the bracket June 7-8 will be guaranteed a spot in the five-player stepladder finals June 9.
The final match in the winners bracket will determine the top seed for the stepladder and give that bowler the advantage of having to be bested twice in the championship round in the true double-elimination format. The bowler that falls in the finals of the winners bracket will be the No. 2 seed for the stepladder.
The final slots for the stepladder will come from the elimination bracket, which will culminate with the final four bowlers competing for three spots in a final three-game match.
The player with the top score for three games will earn the No. 3 seed, while the second- and third-highest totals will face off in the opening match as the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, respectively. The lowest score from the final round will be eliminated in sixth place.
The stepladder finals for the 2024 Senior Masters will kick off June 9 at 1 p.m. Eastern on BowlTV, and the winner will collect $20,000 for the victory. The runner-up will earn $12,000.
Including Janawicz, eight previous champions at the Senior Masters are scheduled to compete at the 2024 event.
PBA and USBC Hall of Famers Tom Baker (2006 and 2007), Monacelli (2015 and 2019), Pete Weber (2013 and 2016) and Walter Ray Williams Jr. (2014 and 2017) each will be searching for a record third title at the event.
PBA Hall of Famer Tom Hess (2021), Dino Castillo (2022), Chris Warren (2018) and Janawicz will each be looking for their second victory at the Senior Masters.
Janawicz went undefeated in bracket play during the 2023 event to earn the top seed for the stepladder finals, and he defeated PBA and USBC Hall of Famer Lennie Boresch Jr. of Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the first match, 204-200, to record his first PBA50 Tour title.
The talented right-hander now owns three PBA50 titles, including the last event on the schedule prior to the pair of events starting this week in Las Vegas. Janawicz defeated Warren, 268-246, to claim the victory at the PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Open in Clearwater, Florida, on May 22.
The Super Senior Classic will be up first at the 56-lane center, starting Wednesday with the official practice session and running through June 2. The USBC Senior Masters will take over Sam’s Town from June 3-9.
Both events have been held at Sam’s Town since 2016, with the Super Senior Classic featuring the top competitors age 60 and older. The field at the Senior Masters will include bowlers age 50 and older.
BowlTV.com will livestream both events from start to finish in Las Vegas.
2023 Super Senior Classic champion John Marsala
The 208-player field at the 2024 Super Senior Classic will bowl two six-game rounds of qualifying over Thursday and Friday to determine the top 52 competitors after 12 games for Saturday’s cashers’ round.
Each squad will bowl six games on the fresh lane pattern and six games on the burn during qualifying.
The advancers to Saturday’s round will bowl another six-game block, with total pinfall for 18 games helping place the top 12 into one of two match-play groups.
Group 1 will feature the qualifiers who placed as an odd seed (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11), while Group 2 will consist of the even seeds (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12).
Each participant in match play will bowl six head-to-head games in their group, including a final position round. Each victory will be worth 30 bonus pins.
At the end of match play, the top finisher in each group – based on 24-game totals including bonus pins – will earn a spot in Sunday’s main stepladder finals. The player with the top pinfall total will be the No. 1 seed for the main stepladder, while the other group leader will be the No. 2 seed.
The second-, third- and fourth-place finisher in each group will have the opportunity to work their way into the main stepladder through a group stepladder Sunday morning at Sam’s Town.
The bowlers in the third and fourth position in each respective group will face each other in a single-game match, with the winner advancing to take on the competitor in the second position. The winners of the final match in the group stepladder advance to Sunday’s main stepladder and will face each other in the opening match, starting at 2 p.m. Eastern.
The winner of the 2024 Super Senior Classic will take home an $8,000 top prize, while the runner-up collects $6,550.
St. Louis’ John Marsala earned the victory at the 2023 Super Senior Classic and is one of five past champions in the field this week.
Professional Bowlers Association and USBC Hall of Famers Ron Mohr (2017 and 2022 champion) and Amleto Monacelli (2021), Mike Dias (2018) and Kerry Painter (2013) will be joining Marsala at the 2024 event.
Marsala won three matches in the stepladder to claim the title in 2023, averaging nearly 250 in the single-elimination games. He capped the victory with a 244-168 win over top seed Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, New York.
The win marked Marsala’s first PBA60 Tour title, to go along with a pair of wins on the PBA50 Tour.
2023 USBC Senior Masters champion John Janawicz
The Senior Masters will be the sixth event of the 2024 PBA50 Tour season and first major championship of the year.
Qualifying at the 2024 event will take place over three days (June 4-6), with 311 players looking to earn a spot and join last year’s champion – USBC Hall of Famer and 2023 PBA50 Rookie of the Year John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Florida – in the tournament’s double-elimination bracket.
The qualifying portion of the tournament will feature three five-game blocks for a 15-game total to determine the advancers to bracket play. Competitors will bowl on a different phase of the tournament’s oil pattern each day, with blocks being contested on the fresh, burn and double-burn.
At the end of 15 games, the top 63 bowlers will be seeded into the bracket with Janawicz to start the long journey toward the stepladder finals.
As the defending champion, Janawicz is guaranteed a spot in the bracket and can improve his seeding through qualifying. If he falls out of the top 63 at the end of qualifying, he’ll be seeded in the 64th position.
The bracket matches will be three-game contests with total pinfall determining the winner in each round. The players who remain undefeated and work their way to the finals of the bracket June 7-8 will be guaranteed a spot in the five-player stepladder finals June 9.
The final match in the winners bracket will determine the top seed for the stepladder and give that bowler the advantage of having to be bested twice in the championship round in the true double-elimination format. The bowler that falls in the finals of the winners bracket will be the No. 2 seed for the stepladder.
The final slots for the stepladder will come from the elimination bracket, which will culminate with the final four bowlers competing for three spots in a final three-game match.
The player with the top score for three games will earn the No. 3 seed, while the second- and third-highest totals will face off in the opening match as the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, respectively. The lowest score from the final round will be eliminated in sixth place.
The stepladder finals for the 2024 Senior Masters will kick off June 9 at 1 p.m. Eastern on BowlTV, and the winner will collect $20,000 for the victory. The runner-up will earn $12,000.
Including Janawicz, eight previous champions at the Senior Masters are scheduled to compete at the 2024 event.
PBA and USBC Hall of Famers Tom Baker (2006 and 2007), Monacelli (2015 and 2019), Pete Weber (2013 and 2016) and Walter Ray Williams Jr. (2014 and 2017) each will be searching for a record third title at the event.
PBA Hall of Famer Tom Hess (2021), Dino Castillo (2022), Chris Warren (2018) and Janawicz will each be looking for their second victory at the Senior Masters.
Janawicz went undefeated in bracket play during the 2023 event to earn the top seed for the stepladder finals, and he defeated PBA and USBC Hall of Famer Lennie Boresch Jr. of Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the first match, 204-200, to record his first PBA50 Tour title.
The talented right-hander now owns three PBA50 titles, including the last event on the schedule prior to the pair of events starting this week in Las Vegas. Janawicz defeated Warren, 268-246, to claim the victory at the PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Open in Clearwater, Florida, on May 22.