Original subtitles

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Johnny Johnston. Welcome to the show.

I know.

It's hard to believe.

And he really throws a speedball. Here he goes to the line. It looks good. He's

in it. He carries.

Even the first athlete with a million -dollar endorsement was a bowler.

The pros depend on the Ebonite Gyro. And many more followed.

Now is the time to get a set of heavy -duty Monroe Manic shot starters.

So, yes, all athletes have bowling to thank for TV endorsement deals.

You know, I'm always teaching bowlers how to put fingers in the shot.

But over generations, while other sports stars have signed countless deals with

companies like Nike and Rolex,

pro bowlers are lucky to get paid promoting hardwood floors, stretchy

flushable wipes. Two hands cleans up the back pretty well.

Though these deals might supplement their winnings, it's important to

that they don't bowl for fame or riches, but rather for a love of the game.

Fuck yourself, fucking cunt, bag of a fucking lane.

The Detroit area is famous for a lot of things.

Cars, Motown music, and Eminem.

But Detroit is also the unofficial bowling capital of the world.

With over 50 ,000 regular league bowlers and 80 bowling centers, one of which is

the host of the USBC Masters, Thunder Bowl Lanes.

The Masters is the one major where amateurs and professionals bowl side by

It follows a double elimination format.

So if you lose once, you're still in the game.

But you lose twice, you go home.

Hey, don't try to fuss with my mom right now, okay? I'm not, bro. You're right.

Nah, I already know what's about to happen, bro. You're about to strike the

and be like, it's for you, kid. And I'm going to be pissed. And then we're going

to have to box.

I love you, Mama Cruz. I love you. It's for Mama Cruz.

Nah, you know what my mom said last week? She was like, I think you can beat

everybody else except that Anthony Simons guy. He's so good.

I'll miss.

Fresh off the grueling marathon of the World Series of Bowling, Cam and Belmo

miss making the cut.

But Kyle makes 15th place.

EJ finishes in ninth, just short of the TV show.

Simo, however, heads to the show in second place, with a great shot of

his fourth Masters, which would tie Belmo's record for the most USBC Masters

titles.

Well, that man there in the background hoist that trophy in the foreground for

record -tying fourth time.

But to win that fourth Masters, now Simo has to beat this guy, Gary Haynes.

Gary isn't a household name in bowling circles because this is actually his

first show.

Gary works full -time at a power plant on Long Island, and he has dominated

week, remaining undefeated in the double elimination tournament.

And that means that even though the power plant worker is a huge underdog,

because Simo has one loss, he has to beat Gary two times in a row to win.

Correction. Simo has to beat him just one more time to win.

One game left for the USBC Masters Championship.

Well,

this thing is FFO.

Far from over.

Might be the shot of the match here.

And through the face a little bit for extra work.

The nerves are obviously pouring out at this point.

Take a look at his wife and his father.

They look nervous, too.

He's getting comfortable. Yeah, I think he's trying to talk himself into it. Oh,

100%. Uh -oh.

Oh, wow.

That is a big mess, guys.

You're panicking. Go to your wife.

Give her a kiss.

I don't care what you do.

You've got to change something in your head.

I think all the time favors Anthony Simonson here, given his experience.

But he needs to strike out the 10th frame and put all the pressure back on

Haynes.

Unbelievable. Four through the middle.

Come here.

Come here.

Let's go.

Can you make a 10 -pin?

Gary has never shot one for a major. And for $100 ,000. It is a long, long way

away right now.

Will the fist from Lauren make the difference?

He became the USBC Masters Champion for his first professional title!

With the season nearing its end, the standings are starting to lock in place.

The next major and chance at $100 ,000 for a winner is the Tournament of

Champions in Akron, Ohio.

Good morning, I'm Phil Ferguson, WNIR News, and we've got the bowlers in town

Riviera Lanes.

A couple of qualifying sessions today, 11 a .m. and 6 p .m. The Tournament of

Champions is by far Pro Bowling's most iconic tournament because it's where the

PBA began.

And you're only allowed to participate if you've won a PBA event before.

That means Cam doesn't qualify.

I don't need to be here.

I absolutely don't need to be here.

The Tournament of Champions, it's like the Super Bowl of bowling. It really is.

These bowlers don't get enough credit. They're very accessible. There's so many

of them trying to just make a living.

And if making a living wasn't hard enough already for the bowlers, the

tournament will also be the final major broadcast on Fox.

After a seven -year partnership that included airing the PBA show, Fox Sports

and the league were unable to reach terms on a new contract.

If there's no TV deal, there's no season.

And if there's no season, there is no prize money.

In 2026, there's still some uncertainty and hopefully not much financial change

of how much money is out there to be made for bowlers.

Who knows? Like, obviously, that's out of the players' control, but, you know,

all we can do is, when we do get the TV, entertain.

Uncertainties aside for what the future might look like for the PBA,

All of the bowlers have to narrow their focus to the tournament of champions.

I actually started off well, but, you know, after six games, we're in the same

position we've been every week, out of the cut.

Patience is very thin.

I bowl good at the beginning. I don't bowl well at the end.

When I make good shots, they split, so not sure what ball to throw.

It's just getting more and more frustrating every day, every week out

tour, so if we don't make the cut, the season will be over.

First cut.

Is he already drinking?

Is he already fucking drinking?

I asked you not to fucking drink while we're bowling, and you can't even wait

till noon?

I'm going to be fucking having to walk you out again. Shove your camera up your

ass. This is my fucking father I'm talking to right now, so I ain't got to

fucking babysit him again.

If you keep this up, he can just take your car back to North Carolina.

Fucking embarrassing.

It's 1130.

I don't give a shit if he wants to buy you a drink.

Ridiculous. I get frustrated with my dad when he's watching me just because most

of the time he'd rather just hang out in the bar.

I watched five games yesterday.

I wanted to see how he bowls, but I just get bored.

I was bored.

I have to wait until y 'all are done with this stuff.

I don't have to watch me fucking suck every fucking week.

You got to fucking watch EJ win another class.

So going into the Tournament Champion, I had an opportunity to do something I

believe no one's ever done before in a single season, and that's win the Triple

Crown. Yet, the Triple Crown is exactly like horse racing's Triple Crown, just

without the horses, or fancy hats, or about 95 % of the total prize money.

But the part about winning three different main events to get the crown,

the same.

With two majors this season under his belt, if EJ wins the Tournament of

Champions, he'll make history as the first bowler ever to win a triple crown

a single season.

Meanwhile, not qualifying means Cam's season is over, giving him time to

on coming up short.

Oh, really?

Interesting. I've never been the guy to really, like, cry out until I got out

here.

It was not the season I hoped it would be.

Disappointed in myself.

If I was bowling bad, there was no way to get myself out of it. The more and

more the weeks went by, I think I was losing a little bit of confidence, but I

got to go back to square one and realize why I'm here.

Very lonely out here on tour.

Usually it's you and your thoughts.

When you bowl bad, you're a little bitch about it. That's not true. 100 % you

are. No, I'm not. That's 100 % true. No, I'm not. What the fuck do I have to do

to win a game? Come on, Cameron.

This is why I don't win tournaments. Fucking damn it.

If you only rely on how good or bad you bowl, you will drown because this game

is fucking cutthroat.

It's so cutthroat, and it's easy to get into a bad spot mentally. Yeah.

It's like that for everybody, though. It's like that for everybody.

Akron, Ohio does offer Cam something different, a chance to go with Kevin to

LeBron James Museum and find a little inspiration.

Being the only African -American most of the time, especially out here on tour,

that was one of the reasons why I did want to become a professional.

for all these African -American boys that there's another route than just

basketball, baseball, football.

There's other routes, and you can start making scholarship money at the age of

five as a bowler.

I mean, I know we did a lot off the court, but just seeing all this in,

one spot just makes you realize the impact that it especially had on the

It's a bigger picture.

It's not just the bowling.

There's more to it.

Then the one part of the job, there's different aspects of the job. This is

bigger picture. Yeah. Keeps you around longer in your sport or your profession,

whatever it is, you know. You don't want to just do your time as an athlete and

then bounce out. You want to stick around to make changes when you're done

competing. Yeah.

I know.

I like coaching.

I give back to the children a lot.

What do you tell yourself when you're getting down on yourself when you might

not be bowling as well as you like?

What I tell myself is, most people are like, ah, they get really angry.

Hold on, hold on, let's drop it a little bit.

All right, there we go.

The children, but you are a children.

How do you get back to, those are just your friends.

Those are just your friends.

I know, you got to go to the retirement home to yours.

Let's go.

Cam isn't the only bowler lamenting a lost season.

Last year's U .S. Open champ hasn't made the show in a single tournament.

As we're going through qualifying, I definitely feel everything just kind of

closing in on me a little bit.

The pressure of making the cut to save the season.

Time to step up for once this year.

If you'd have had 280 the last game, we'd have started Stripes Fair Turkey.

Then you never got it going again.

Season's over.

It was close every week.

Close, close.

I don't fucking do me any good.

Lots of disappointment.

Long, negative season.

Tried to fake it till I make it, but guess what?

Didn't make it, and now the season's over.

I gotta live with that.

See if we're going to bounce back or just going to keep doing it.

I don't think I can take too many more years of this.

I'm going to probably go back in and sign a few autographs. I just

needed a minute out here before I started talking to people.

Man bun year.

Yep.

Thanks so much. Good job. Can I play you in rock, paper, scissors?

Yeah.

Okay. Rock, paper, scissors.

Oh.

I told him all he needs is one night in here with me.

After that, he won't care anything. He'll come back, and I guarantee he'll

the TV show.

Thank you. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.

The final day of the Tournament of Champions is here.

Velmo makes it to the top 25, but ultimately finishes 23rd. God damn it.

God damn it. And Simo finishes in 13th place, just not quite good enough to

the show. Get the fuck out of here.

EJ, though, is still on track to win the Triple Crown and make history.

Then there's also another storyline playing out alongside the Lanes, with

Fox broadcast team facing the reality that this may be the last big tournament

they take part in.

It's another end of an era.

This is the last major that will be on Fox, and it's sad to see it go.

I think I started with this production team about 2004.

I've been on the show for almost 22 years.

I'm pretty certain that this is my 15th season.

And that kind of shocks me.

I am genuinely sad.

It's like a big family on the road.

And I will miss working with them.

Today's going to be tough.

I told myself I wouldn't cry.

Heading to the TSC show, we all had to have security badges and everything. I'm

like, damn, is the president coming today?

Next best thing, I guess, is Ben Stiller.

Big -time sports draw big -time sports fans.

So it should be no surprise to see Ben Stiller leave his courtside Knicks seats

at Madison Square Garden to come laneside in Akron and see if EJ can make

history.

After today.

There might not be another chance to win the Triple Crown again.

Am I the one in your dreams?

He's on me.

He's on me.

He's on me.

Nice bounce back shot.

EJ.

This is not the Tackett we've grown accustomed to seeing this season. This

struggle.

Needs five.

Butcher moves on. What an adventure.

Wow. It happens quickly.

Just like that, EJ loses his chance at the Triple Crown, ultimately finishing

fourth.

And with the future of the PBA in doubt, this might be one dream that stays out

of reach.

The opportunity to do something that's never been done before.

Opportunities like that typically don't come around very often or at all.

Yeah, it sucks.

It sucks for sure.

Did you

see

him make the show?

That made the week much better for me. And, you know, if I can't win, that's

next person I want to win.

Messenger, get in your home.

Benson in the ninth.

One more for the win.

Hey, the Iceman is back.

Tour title number 13, major number two, pumps it out.

Congratulations, Jesper. It's been a long road.

Raise that trophy, brother.

Happy tears this time. Let's go.

Bowling's brought me so many great things, great memories, great friends.

I would have never known him if I didn't bowl. I don't know where my life would

be without bowling, but I wouldn't have any of these amazing people in it,

that's for sure.

The end of the Tournament of Champions feels a little different this year.

Uncertain.

Though if you're looking for a silver lining, you might find it in the notion

that bowlers are a particularly resilient breed of athlete.

They aren't prone to giving up, despite how bad the odds or the pay might be.

I was kind of born into bowling. I'm 41 and I started when I was 18 months

bowling by myself.

I think I just like the idea of throwing something down the lane and watching it

and then having it come back to you and just doing that over and over and I fell

in love with it and I can't imagine my life now without it.

So bowling is not going to be easy. You actually have to work for everything

that you're going to get trying to achieve that perfect week, which we know

never happen.

This one's for the title. He got it!

This

year,

I wasn't even about the money. I love winning.

I just want to... feel that thrill that all that hard work paid off.

I hate losing.

So I probably picked the wrong sport.

But...

Everybody's

parents want their kid to be successful in whatever walk of life it is. You

know, even if we were struggling financially.

My parents always did whatever they needed to do so I could at least bowl.

So it's easy.

to take a look back where you are frustrated and really appreciate what I

because of the sport of bowling.

Love bowling.

Love it down to the core.

I remember when I went from kind of doing bowling for fun to, you know, I

to become a professional at this.

It's very exciting. We get to travel to all these different cities.

We're bowling in all the different bowling alleys, going to places that

been to in previous years, getting to see all the fans and friends that I made

at those stops. And that experience and that journey has kind of built me into

the bowler I am today.

So these are just trading cards I make.

I give one to a player and then have them sign one.

And then there's a poem on the back of all of them. That's the same on all of

them. Bowling is a sport enjoyed by many, but being the best is a rare

So let us celebrate the bowlers who dare to aim for the top with precision and

care. Their dedication and skill are marveled to behold.

Being the best in the world is a very niche thing, a story to be told.

Get that trophy, Kyle.

Kyle,

Cam, Belmont.

EJ and Simo are just five of the hundred -plus professional bowlers dedicating

their lives to this sport.

And whether they win hundreds of thousands of dollars or just enough to

the travel and lodging, they're all in it together, playing a sport they grew

loving, not merely for the pins, but for the people.

Good start, everybody. We're off to a flyer.

The journey down the lanes of life for a pro bowler might

be about making a living.

But it's also just about living.

Celebrating the wins and pushing through the setbacks.

Knowing tomorrow is just another re -rack.

Another chance to strike.

And show the world you've got the balls for success.

And that every minute someone we dislike, we aim right at the knucklehead

come up with a lucky strike.