Warren wins second USBC Senior Masters title
June 07, 2026
Chris Warren of Plano, Texas, smiles and holds up the trophy he won for capturing the title at the 2026 USBC Senior Masters. Warren defeated Dan Knowlton of Dade City, Florida, 256-247 at Sam's Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas on Sunday to become just the ninth athlete to win two Senior Masters titles - Warren's other win came during the 2018 event, which also was held at Sam's Town.
QUALIFYING
BRACKETS
FINAL RESULTS
LAS VEGAS – Chris Warren of Plano, Texas, defeated Dan Knowlton of Dade City, Florida, 256-247 at Sam’s Town Bowling Center on Sunday to win the 2026 United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters.
The victory made Warren the ninth two-time champion in Senior Masters history – the 62-year-old right-hander collected his first title at the 2018 event, which also was contested at Sam’s Town.
The championship match came down to the 10th frame and served as a fitting conclusion to one of the most entertaining stepladder finals in recent history.
Knowlton struck on seven of his first eight deliveries – he left a 10-pin in the third frame – to establish a 21-pin lead over Warren through six frames.
Warren, meanwhile, came out of the gate a bit slower, leaving 10-pins on each of his first three shots. He failed to spare the corner pin in the first frame, which allowed Knowlton to quickly grab the lead.
At that point, it appeared likely that the title match would be going to a second, winner-take-all game to determine this year’s champion – Since Warren entered the stepladder finals as the tournament’s lone remaining undefeated player, he would’ve needed to be defeated twice on Sunday in order to be denied the Senior Masters title in the tournament’s true double-elimination format.
But the savvy Texan had other ideas.
After multiple ball changes and subtle on-lane adjustments, Warren began matching Knowlton strike for strike from the fourth frame on.
At first, all that did was keep Warren within striking distance of his opponent by holding the deficit steady at 21 pins; however, when Knowlton’s light mixer in the ninth frame failed to topple the 7-pin, the tide began to turn.
Knowlton covered the spare and then stepped up for his 10th frame with one objective in mind: throw all three strikes to finish at 258, which would have forced Warren, who was riding a six-bagger, to strike out in the 10th as well to force a tie.
Knowlton’s first delivery in the final frame finished high-flush in the 1-3 pocket, but instead of taking down all 10 pins as that hit had so many times throughout the week at Sam’s Town, this time, it left the 9-pin standing.
The 56-year-old right-hander reeled in the spare and struck on his final delivery to finish with a score of 247. The strike on the fill-ball was important because it meant that Warren would have to double to win the match, or he could finish strike, nine-spare to tie.
With the door open and the path to victory clear, Warren stepped up for his 10th frame.
His first delivery was picture perfect, resulting in a no-doubt strike that sent all 10 pins into the pit. Warren’s second effort, however, hit considerably lighter in the 1-3 pocket, causing pins to topple into one another as they scrambled toward the left side of the pin deck.
At first, it appeared as if the 4-pin had come away unscathed and would remain standing, which would have forced Warren to cover the spare to secure a tie.
But looks were deceiving because before the spectators at Sam’s Town could let out the collective groan they’d been holding in, the 4-pin got clipped from behind and slowly fell forward to give Warren the double he needed.
With the hard work done, Warren fired his final shot straight at the head pin to secure pin count. That delivery knocked down eight pins, which was enough to give Warren a hard-fought nine-pin victory and his second Senior Masters title.
Warren walked away with $20,000 for finishing first while second place earned Knowlton $12,000.
After the match, Warren offered many possible explanations for why everything played out as it did.
“Lucky, fortunate, blessed, how else would you want to put it? Maybe it was fate or karma,” Warren said. “Things just happen, and there’s no rhyme or reason for it. Things could have gone so many different ways, but I guess it was just my time.”
Warren may have attempted to downplay the role his elite on-lane skill played in the victory, but he was at least willing to take some credit for some of the decision making that helped him complete the comeback against Knowlton.
“The right-handers before me were throwing dull balls like I knew they would, so the fronts were going away and oil was carrying down; the lanes were transitioning,” Warren said. “So, if you count the practice shots, I made three quick ball changes and tested out five bowling balls in around 18 frames.”
While some competitors would’ve been flustered by having to make instant adjustments and finding themselves in an early hole, for Warren, it was just business as usual.
“If you look at the matches I bowled during the bracket this week, I was almost always down after the first game,” Warren said. “There were only two times that I had the lead after the first game, so even though I would’ve liked to have thrown a 12-bagger to get out of this really quick, I figured I was going to be out on the lanes for two games today.”
And it was time well spent for Warren, especially due to the considerable number of family members and close friends he had cheering him on at Sam’s Town on Sunday.
“Everybody in the bowling industry is my family, and I want to thank them for their support,” Warren said. “My family has always done whatever it takes in order for me to go bowl, to do what I love. I want to thank all of them, the guys, the girls, the wives, the daughters and the sons.”
Now, Warren is holding out hope that Sunday’s victory might eventually earn him the opportunity to thank those special people on an even bigger stage.
“Hopefully, this win gets me into the USBC Hall of Fame,” Warren said. “It’s not even that I feel I should be in for me. I’m not a great bowler; I’m a good bowler. It’s for my family, the amount that we’ve given the sport. I’m hoping that my accomplishments and legacy are enough to earn the Warren name a place in the hall of fame.”
Speaking of hall of famers, USBC and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Fame inductee Amleto Monacelli of Venezuela also competed in Sunday’s Senior Masters stepladder finals at Sam’s Town, and he authored a performance that will be talked about for year to come.
The 64-year-old right-hander kicked the finals off with an impressive 268-223 victory over No. 4 seed Kevin Jenkins of Anthem, Arizona.
Jenkins was attempting to complete an improbable run by not only being the first No. 64 seed to reach the Senior Masters stepladder finals but also to emerge as champion.
It wasn’t meant to be, however, as Monacelli used an eight-bagger on shots three through10 to cruise to the Game 1 win.
To the delight of the assembled fans at Sam’s Town, Monacelli took his performance up a level during Match 2, throwing 12 strikes in a row to record a 300 game.
The Venezuelan legend needed every bit of it too as No. 3 seed Brian Hoffman of San Antonio struck on 10 of his 12 deliveries to come in with 268. Because of that effort, Hoffman actually forced Monacelli to mark in the 10th frame to win the match.
Monacelli’s magical run would end one game later, however, as he fell behind Knowlton early and eventually found himself on the losing end of a 256-204 decision.
For his memorable performance, Monacelli finished in third place and took home $9,000. Hoffman and Jenkins earned $7,500 and $6,000, respectively.
The 2026 Senior Masters started on Tuesday with 306 athletes completing three five-game qualifying blocks to determine the top 64 players in the double-elimination bracket. All bracket matches leading up to the stepladder featured a three-game total-pinfall format.
All rounds of competition at the 2026 Senior Masters were streamed live on BowlTV.
The PBA50 Tour is now headed to Shawnee, Oklahoma, for the PBA50 Firelake Classic. Competition begins June 18 and, like the Senior Masters, BowlTV will provide live coverage of the event from start to finish.
CLICK HERE for scores and information about the 2026 USBC Senior Masters.
QUALIFYING
BRACKETS
FINAL RESULTS
LAS VEGAS – Chris Warren of Plano, Texas, defeated Dan Knowlton of Dade City, Florida, 256-247 at Sam’s Town Bowling Center on Sunday to win the 2026 United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters.
The victory made Warren the ninth two-time champion in Senior Masters history – the 62-year-old right-hander collected his first title at the 2018 event, which also was contested at Sam’s Town.
The championship match came down to the 10th frame and served as a fitting conclusion to one of the most entertaining stepladder finals in recent history.
Knowlton struck on seven of his first eight deliveries – he left a 10-pin in the third frame – to establish a 21-pin lead over Warren through six frames.
Warren, meanwhile, came out of the gate a bit slower, leaving 10-pins on each of his first three shots. He failed to spare the corner pin in the first frame, which allowed Knowlton to quickly grab the lead.
At that point, it appeared likely that the title match would be going to a second, winner-take-all game to determine this year’s champion – Since Warren entered the stepladder finals as the tournament’s lone remaining undefeated player, he would’ve needed to be defeated twice on Sunday in order to be denied the Senior Masters title in the tournament’s true double-elimination format.
But the savvy Texan had other ideas.
After multiple ball changes and subtle on-lane adjustments, Warren began matching Knowlton strike for strike from the fourth frame on.
At first, all that did was keep Warren within striking distance of his opponent by holding the deficit steady at 21 pins; however, when Knowlton’s light mixer in the ninth frame failed to topple the 7-pin, the tide began to turn.
Knowlton covered the spare and then stepped up for his 10th frame with one objective in mind: throw all three strikes to finish at 258, which would have forced Warren, who was riding a six-bagger, to strike out in the 10th as well to force a tie.
Knowlton’s first delivery in the final frame finished high-flush in the 1-3 pocket, but instead of taking down all 10 pins as that hit had so many times throughout the week at Sam’s Town, this time, it left the 9-pin standing.
The 56-year-old right-hander reeled in the spare and struck on his final delivery to finish with a score of 247. The strike on the fill-ball was important because it meant that Warren would have to double to win the match, or he could finish strike, nine-spare to tie.
With the door open and the path to victory clear, Warren stepped up for his 10th frame.
His first delivery was picture perfect, resulting in a no-doubt strike that sent all 10 pins into the pit. Warren’s second effort, however, hit considerably lighter in the 1-3 pocket, causing pins to topple into one another as they scrambled toward the left side of the pin deck.
At first, it appeared as if the 4-pin had come away unscathed and would remain standing, which would have forced Warren to cover the spare to secure a tie.
But looks were deceiving because before the spectators at Sam’s Town could let out the collective groan they’d been holding in, the 4-pin got clipped from behind and slowly fell forward to give Warren the double he needed.
With the hard work done, Warren fired his final shot straight at the head pin to secure pin count. That delivery knocked down eight pins, which was enough to give Warren a hard-fought nine-pin victory and his second Senior Masters title.
Warren walked away with $20,000 for finishing first while second place earned Knowlton $12,000.
After the match, Warren offered many possible explanations for why everything played out as it did.
“Lucky, fortunate, blessed, how else would you want to put it? Maybe it was fate or karma,” Warren said. “Things just happen, and there’s no rhyme or reason for it. Things could have gone so many different ways, but I guess it was just my time.”
Warren may have attempted to downplay the role his elite on-lane skill played in the victory, but he was at least willing to take some credit for some of the decision making that helped him complete the comeback against Knowlton.
“The right-handers before me were throwing dull balls like I knew they would, so the fronts were going away and oil was carrying down; the lanes were transitioning,” Warren said. “So, if you count the practice shots, I made three quick ball changes and tested out five bowling balls in around 18 frames.”
While some competitors would’ve been flustered by having to make instant adjustments and finding themselves in an early hole, for Warren, it was just business as usual.
“If you look at the matches I bowled during the bracket this week, I was almost always down after the first game,” Warren said. “There were only two times that I had the lead after the first game, so even though I would’ve liked to have thrown a 12-bagger to get out of this really quick, I figured I was going to be out on the lanes for two games today.”
And it was time well spent for Warren, especially due to the considerable number of family members and close friends he had cheering him on at Sam’s Town on Sunday.
“Everybody in the bowling industry is my family, and I want to thank them for their support,” Warren said. “My family has always done whatever it takes in order for me to go bowl, to do what I love. I want to thank all of them, the guys, the girls, the wives, the daughters and the sons.”
Now, Warren is holding out hope that Sunday’s victory might eventually earn him the opportunity to thank those special people on an even bigger stage.
“Hopefully, this win gets me into the USBC Hall of Fame,” Warren said. “It’s not even that I feel I should be in for me. I’m not a great bowler; I’m a good bowler. It’s for my family, the amount that we’ve given the sport. I’m hoping that my accomplishments and legacy are enough to earn the Warren name a place in the hall of fame.”
Speaking of hall of famers, USBC and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Fame inductee Amleto Monacelli of Venezuela also competed in Sunday’s Senior Masters stepladder finals at Sam’s Town, and he authored a performance that will be talked about for year to come.
The 64-year-old right-hander kicked the finals off with an impressive 268-223 victory over No. 4 seed Kevin Jenkins of Anthem, Arizona.
Jenkins was attempting to complete an improbable run by not only being the first No. 64 seed to reach the Senior Masters stepladder finals but also to emerge as champion.
It wasn’t meant to be, however, as Monacelli used an eight-bagger on shots three through10 to cruise to the Game 1 win.
To the delight of the assembled fans at Sam’s Town, Monacelli took his performance up a level during Match 2, throwing 12 strikes in a row to record a 300 game.
The Venezuelan legend needed every bit of it too as No. 3 seed Brian Hoffman of San Antonio struck on 10 of his 12 deliveries to come in with 268. Because of that effort, Hoffman actually forced Monacelli to mark in the 10th frame to win the match.
Monacelli’s magical run would end one game later, however, as he fell behind Knowlton early and eventually found himself on the losing end of a 256-204 decision.
For his memorable performance, Monacelli finished in third place and took home $9,000. Hoffman and Jenkins earned $7,500 and $6,000, respectively.
The 2026 Senior Masters started on Tuesday with 306 athletes completing three five-game qualifying blocks to determine the top 64 players in the double-elimination bracket. All bracket matches leading up to the stepladder featured a three-game total-pinfall format.
All rounds of competition at the 2026 Senior Masters were streamed live on BowlTV.
The PBA50 Tour is now headed to Shawnee, Oklahoma, for the PBA50 Firelake Classic. Competition begins June 18 and, like the Senior Masters, BowlTV will provide live coverage of the event from start to finish.
CLICK HERE for scores and information about the 2026 USBC Senior Masters.