Chris Via

Last updated
Chris Via
Personal information
Born (1992-03-09) March 9, 1992 (age 31)
Bowling Information
Affiliation PBA
Rookie year2017
Dominant handRight (two-hand delivery)
Wins1 PBA Tour (1 major)
2 PBA Regional Tour
Sponsors Storm Products, Turbo Grips

Chris Via (born March 9, 1992) is an American professional ten-pin bowler from Springfield, Ohio known for winning the 2021 U.S. Open. [1] [2] Chris uses the two-handed shovel-style delivery with a dominant right hand. He competes in events on the PBA Tour and has also bowled internationally as a multi-year and current member of Team USA. [3]

Contents

Via rolled the PBA Tour's 30th-ever televised perfect 300 game, accomplished February 7, 2021 at the East Region Finals of the 2021 PBA Players Championship. [4] At the PBA Tour Finals on June 27, 2021, in Allen Park, Michigan, Via rolled the PBA's 32nd televised 300 game. He joined Sean Rash and François Lavoie as the only players in history to score 300 in two televised PBA Tour title events. Jason Belmonte would roll his second televised 300 game in 2022 to also join this group. Chris is the only one of the four to roll both of his 300 games in the same season. [5]

Via is a pro staff member for Storm bowling balls and Turbo Grips inserts. [6]

Early life

Via claims to have been bowling since age 1. He bowled in a Saturday morning league with an older sister until age 12, took a break to play on a traveling basketball team for a few years, then returned to bowling at age 15. [6] He attended Kenton Ridge High School in Springfield, Ohio. [7] His high school teams won the Ohio state bowling championships in 2009 and 2010. [8]

Amateur career

Via bowled collegiately at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio. While earning his degree in accounting, his bowling prowess won him National Collegiate All-American honors in three straight seasons (2011–12, 2012–13 and 2013–14). [1] He was a member of Junior Team USA in 2011 and 2012, and won a Team Gold Medal at the 2012 World Youth Bowling Championships. While in college, he won a 2013 PBA Regional Tour event as a non-member. Chris went on to win the 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship, securing the title with a final match victory over Kamron Doyle. [7] This earned Via a spot on Team USA for 2016, and he would remain a Team USA member through 2018. Following his breakout 2021 PBA season, Via was again a member of Team USA for 2022, 2023 and 2024. [6] [3]

Via represented the US in the 2021 Weber Cup, an annual USA vs. Europe competition. In the USA's 17–18 loss to Team Europe, Via participated in 11 of 35 matches, going 3–1 in singles, 2–2 in doubles, and 0–3 in team. [9]

Professional career

Via joined the Professional Bowlers Association in 2017. In his first full season, he cashed in 12 of 20 events, made match play 7 times, made one championship round appearance, and won his first Regional Tour title as a PBA member. He made only one more championship round appearance over the next two seasons, while winning another Regional title in 2019.

After appearing in the televised finals of four PBA majors between 2020 and 2021 without winning, Via won his first national PBA Tour title and first major at the 2021 U.S. Open. [10] Having qualified as the #1 seed for the April 11 finals, Via won his lone TV match over second-seeded Jakob Butturff by a single pin, 214–213. Via finished third in the 2021 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year voting, behind Kyle Troup and François Lavoie, [11] while also finishing second in Tour points (behind Troup), and sixth in earnings ($125,210). [12]

On September 28, 2023 (broadcast October 22 on Fox), Via won the non-title PBA Strike Derby in Portland, Maine. [13]

Personal life

In addition to earning a living on the lanes, Via co-owns TV Bowling Supply in Columbus, Ohio with fellow PBA member Michael Tang. [6] Chris now resides in Blacklick, Ohio. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Ray Williams Jr.</span> American professional ten-pin bowler

Walter Ray Williams Jr. is an American professional bowler and competitive horseshoes pitcher. He currently holds the record for all-time standard PBA Tour career titles (47), and total PBA earnings. He is a seven-time PBA Player of the Year, and won at least one PBA Tour title in a record 17 consecutive seasons. He starred in the ten-pin bowling sports documentary A League of Ordinary Gentlemen. As of June 26, 2022, Williams is also the all-time title leader on the PBA50 Tour, with 16. He is a three-time PBA50 Player of the Year, and has won three majors on that Tour. He has rolled 110 career perfect 300 games in PBA competition through 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominic Barrett</span>

Dominic Simon Barrett is one of England's leading ten-pin bowlers. He competes in world events and on the PBA Tour, where he has won ten titles. This total includes three PBA major titles: the PBA World Championship (2013), the U.S. Open (2018) and the Tournament of Champions (2022), which makes him one of nine triple crown winners in PBA history and the first European player to accomplish the feat. He has been the ranking winner on the European Bowling Tour (EBT) in three seasons and is also the only player to have been named as ‘World Bowling Writers’ bowler of the year three consecutive times. He is nicknamed "The Dominator".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Barnes (bowler)</span> American professional bowler (born 1970)

Chris Barnes is an American professional bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), who currently competes on both the PBA Tour and PBA50 Tour. He has also competed internationally as a member of Team USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Belmonte</span> Australian professional ten-pin bowler

Jason Belmonte is an Australian professional ten-pin bowler. He plays on the PBA Tour in the United States and in world events. He is known for being one of the first bowlers to gain media attention for using the two-handed approach style to deliver his shot. He has won 31 PBA titles, including a record 15 major championships; he is only one of eight bowlers in PBA tour history to achieve 30 wins, making him the only 30-time winner in PBA Tour history who is not currently a member of the PBA Hall of Fame. He is one of two bowlers in PBA history to have won the Super Slam, winning all five PBA major titles. He is the all-time leader in both USBC Masters and PBA Tournament of Champions titles, winning each event four times. He is also the only three-time winner of the PBA Players Championship.

<i>A League of Ordinary Gentlemen</i> 2006 film

A League of Ordinary Gentlemen is a documentary film about ten-pin bowling that was released on DVD on March 21, 2006. It was written and directed by Christopher Browne and stars PBA Tour players Pete Weber, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Chris Barnes, and Wayne Webb.

The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, over 3,000 members worldwide make up the PBA. While most of the PBA members are Regional professionals, a small percentage of the bowling membership competes at the national and international level, forming the PBA Tour. Founded in 1958, the PBA Tour has been in continuous operation since the inaugural 1959 season.

Tommy Jones is an American professional bowler currently competing on the PBA Tour. He is a member of the PBA Hall of Fame and the USBC Hall of Fame. He is also an 11-time member of Team USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Rash</span> American ten-pin bowler (born 1982)

Sean Rash is an American ten-pin bowler who is considered one of the top players on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. He currently owns 17 PBA Tour titles, including two major championships, and was the 2011–12 PBA Player of the Year. Rash has rolled two of his 30 career PBA perfect 300 games on television, making him the first player in history with multiple perfect games in the TV finals of a PBA Tour event. Canadian François Lavoie and American Chris Via, and Australian Jason Belmonte have since joined Rash in this exclusive club. Sean also owns ten PBA Regional Tour titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Troup</span> American professional bowler (born 1991)

Kyle Troup is an American professional ten-pin bowler from Taylorsville, North Carolina, now residing in Mt. Washington, Kentucky. He uses the two-handed shovel-style delivery with a dominant right hand. Troup says he needed two hands when learning to throw the ball as a young child, calling himself self-taught in that regard.

Tom Daugherty is a right-handed American professional ten-pin bowler residing in Riverview, Florida. He is a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), having joined in 2001. He is one of the few PBA bowlers to successfully use the one-handed no-thumb delivery. Although Daugherty has won four PBA Tour titles and 22 PBA Regional titles, he is perhaps best known for rolling a nationally-televised 100 game at the 2011 PBA Tournament of Champions, the lowest score ever bowled in a televised PBA event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Simonsen</span> American ten-pin bowler

Anthony Walter Simonsen is an American professional ten-pin bowler. He has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2014. Simonsen became known in bowling fan circles early in the 2016 season, when he earned the distinction as the youngest player in history to win a PBA major championship. He is now the youngest player in history to own five major PBA Tour titles. He uses the two-handed shovel-style delivery with a dominant right hand. At age 25, Simonsen eclipsed $1 million in career PBA earnings during the 2022 season.

François Lavoie is a right-handed Canadian ten-pin bowler from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, now making his home in Wichita, Kansas. He is a member of the Professional Bowlers Association, and has been a member of Team Canada. Lavoie has won five PBA Tour titles, including three major championships. He is one of only three players in history to roll a perfect 300 game in two televised PBA Tour title events, and the only player to bowl a 300 game in a U.S. Open telecast.

Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan is a right-handed American professional ten-pin bowler known for winning the 2018 USBC Masters. He competes in events on the PBA Tour and in global events as a member of Team USA. In his second full season on the PBA Tour (2018), Anderson won the Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year Award.

The PBA Players Championship is one of five major tournaments on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It is one of three PBA Tour major events that are open only to PBA members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakob Butturff</span> American ten-pin bowler

Jakob Butturff is a left-handed American ten-pin bowler from Chandler, Arizona and a member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He competes in events on the PBA Tour and in global events as a member of Team USA. He has won eight national PBA Tour titles and 27 PBA Regional Tour titles. Jakob also rolled the 28th of the PBA Tour's 35 televised 300 games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristopher Prather</span> American ten-pin bowler (b. 1992)

Kristopher "Kris" Prather of Plainfield, Illinois is an American professional ten-pin bowler who competes on the PBA Tour. He is known for winning the inaugural PBA Tour Playoffs on June 2, 2019 and the PBA Tournament of Champions on February 9, 2020. To date, Prather has won five PBA Tour titles, including two major championships. Prather is also a multi-year and current member of Team USA.

The 2021 PBA Tour season, the 62nd season of play for the U.S. Professional Bowlers Association's ten-pin bowling tour, began on January 14 with the Regional Portions of the PBA Players Championship. The season included 14 singles title events and two doubles title events.

Thomas Larsen is a Danish professional ten-pin bowler competing on the PBA Tour, World Bowling Tour and European Bowling Tour. He has won three titles on the PBA Tour and five titles on the EBT, having been the EBT rankings winner in 2014. He represented Europe at the 2020 and 2021 Weber Cup events.

Adam "A. J." Johnson is an American professional bowler from Oswego, Illinois. He has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2015. He won his first PBA Tour title in 2023. He has also been a multi-year member of Team USA, and is on the 2024 team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Allen (bowler)</span> Right-handed American ten-pin bowler (born 1978)

Richard “Dick” Allen is a right-handed American professional ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). He competes in events on the PBA Tour and has competed internationally on the World Bowling Tour (WBT). Allen has seven PBA Tour titles and 19 PBA Regional Tour titles. He was known as Ritchie Allen on the PBA Tour until the 2010–11 season.

References

  1. 1 2 "Chris Via Team USA Profile". bowl.com. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  2. ↑ Juniewicz, Debbie (April 11, 2021). "Springfield bowler notches first career professional win at U.S. Open". springfieldnewssun.com. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "TEAM USA - TEAM MEMBERS". bowl.com. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  4. ↑ Goodger, Jef (February 7, 2021). "KYLE TROUP ADVANCES TO PBA PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS, CHRIS VIA BOWLS 300" . Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  5. ↑ Goodger, Jef (June 27, 2021). "ANTHONY SIMONSEN WINS PBA TOUR FINALS FOR EIGHTH CAREER PBA TOUR TITLE". pba.com. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Chris Via – Storm Bowling bio". stormbowling.com. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Kenton Ridge grad Via wins U.S. Amateur bowling title". Dayton Daily News. January 9, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Kenton Ridge goes for 3rd state championship today". springfield-news-sun. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  9. ↑ "WEBER CUP - 2021". webercup.com. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  10. ↑ Cannizzaro, Matt (April 11, 2021). "Chris Via Wins 2021 U.S. Open". Bowl.com. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  11. ↑ Goodger, Jef (December 17, 2021). "KYLE TROUP WINS 2021 CHRIS SCHENKEL PBA PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD". PBA.com. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  12. ↑ Goodger, Jef (December 21, 2021). "2021 GUARANTEED RATE PBA TOUR SEASON IN REVIEW". pba.com. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  13. ↑ Hughes, Nolan (October 22, 2023). "CHRIS VIA OVERPOWERS BELMONTE, TROUP, TACKETT TO WIN 2023 PBA STRIKE DERBY". pba.com. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  14. ↑ "USBC Masters Qualifying Standing Sheet After 5 Games" (PDF). pba.com. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.