Stuart Williams (born 28 June 1981 in Ellesmere Port) is an English professional ten-pin bowler who has won titles in nine countries. [1] He is one of the most active touring players in the sport. He is known to his followers by the nickname "Beef Stu". While in England, Williams, along with store owner and father Dave, ran MCS Bowling, a pro shop at Chester Megabowl. [2] Williams now resides in Pflugerville, Texas, USA. [3] He is a member of the Roto Grip pro staff. [1]
Williams won England's Crown Green Bowls national junior championship at age 14. He has been a member of six Weber Cup championships with Team Europe. [1]
Williams has 6 EBT titles to his name, including the City of Barcelona title in 2003 (his first ever European ranking event), the Brunswick Aalborg International in 2004, and the Ebonite Luxembourg Open in 2006.
Williams triumphed in the 2007 World Ranking Masters, [4] defeating Peter Ljung from Sweden 2-1 (233-236, 235–224, 269–240) in the best of three final. Williams had qualified in third position, and also eliminated David O'Sullivan (U.S.) in the quarterfinals, and Thomas Gross (Austria) in the semifinals. He won the EBT Masters championship in 2016, defeating Sweden's Jesper Svensson in the final match.
On May 31, 2009, Williams earned an exemption for the U.S. PBA Tour by finishing 6th at the PBA Tour Trials in Allen Park, MI (USA). This made him the first bowler from the United Kingdom to compete full-time on the PBA Tour. [5]
On November 18, 2011, Williams won his first PBA title in the Bayer Viper Open, part of that season's World Series of Bowling. In doing so, he became the first player from England to win a title on the standard PBA Tour in North America. [6] After a drought of nearly seven years, he won the PBA Tulsa Open on October 20, 2018, for his second PBA Tour title. [7]
Williams also has three PBA Regional Tour titles and has rolled ten 300 games in PBA events. [1]
Williams is married to Tina Stickney, who was a collegiate bowler at Texas A&M University. The couple has one child, son Brady (b. 2016). Stuart states his favorite sport is cricket, while his favorite U.S. sport is American football (favorite team: New England Patriots). [1]
Norm Duke is an American professional bowler who previously competed on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour and now competes on the PBA50 Tour. He has won 40 titles on the PBA Tour, including seven major championships, and another six titles on the PBA50 Tour. A member of both the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame, Duke is one of only three players in history to reach 40 career PBA Tour titles. He has bowled 73 perfect 300 games in PBA competition, including the 16th televised 300 game in PBA Tour history on January 5, 2003. Duke is a member of the Storm pro staff.
Peter David Weber is an American semi-retired bowler in the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) and a member of the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame. Weber was one of the sport's most active players and became known for his maverick, chirpy and rebellious personality. He is also known for being incredibly versatile, with his high backswing and the side rotation he puts on the bowling ball helping him control numerous oil conditions. Weber is featured in the ten-pin bowling sports documentary A League of Ordinary Gentlemen. He has won 37 titles on the PBA Tour, including ten major championships, and another 13 titles on the PBA50 Tour. He is one of only three bowlers in history to have amassed at least 50 combined titles between the PBA Tour and PBA50 Tour. Weber and Williams Jr. are the only two bowlers to have amassed at least 100 total PBA titles, with PBA Regional events added.
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 17 consecutive seasons ; both of these feats are also PBA records. 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 titles 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.
Paul Moor, of Kingston-upon-Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England is one of the world's leading ten-pin bowlers. He bowls on the European Bowling Tour (EBT) and has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) for several years.
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".
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.
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 has been named PBA Player of the Year seven times, tying the record previously set by Walter Ray Williams Jr. Belmonte accumulated $1 million (USD) in career PBA earnings faster than any player in history, surpassed the $1.5 million mark PBA earnings during the 2019 season, and eclipsed $2 million in PBA earnings during the 2022 season. Belmonte has 25 career 300 games in PBA Tour events through 2020, including the PBA's 21st nationally televised 300 in 2012, as well as the 34th nationally televised 300 over ten years later in 2022. His accolades have him ranked on several lists as one of the greatest bowlers of all time, if not the greatest.
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.
Carolyn Dorin-Ballard is one of the top female ten-pin bowlers in the world. She is a member of the Professional Women's Bowling Association and has bowled in PBA Tournaments as well. She was an exempt competitor in the 2008–09 and 2009-10 PBA Women's Series seasons, which were sponsored by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). Between the PWBA and the PBA Women's Series, she has won 22 professional titles. Carolyn was a 2007 inductee into the USBC Hall of Fame.
Osku Palermaa is a Finnish Ten-pin bowler now living in Partille, Sweden. He is a competitor on the European Bowling Tour, World Bowling Tour, and PBA Tour.
Mike Aulby is a left-handed bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). He is one of only five PBA bowlers to win both a Rookie and Player of the Year award. He is also the one of two players in history to complete a career "Super Slam", in which a bowler wins all five PBA Tour major tournaments at least once. Aulby owns 29 career PBA Tour titles, currently 9th place all-time. He is a member of both the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame.
Amleto Monacelli is a Venezuelan professional bowler and a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). He has amassed 20 titles on the PBA Tour, making him one of only 17 players in history to accumulate at least 20 victories. He was the first international player to earn PBA Player of the Year honors, and the first to be inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the USBC Hall of Fame. In addition to his PBA Tour titles, he has won ten titles on the PBA50 Tour, including five majors.
Wesley Clint "Big Nasty" Malott is an American professional ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). Originally from Pflugerville, Texas, he now resides in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He has won ten PBA Tour titles, and was the 2008–09 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year. He won his lone major championship at the 2012–13 U.S. Open, and has finished runner-up in five other PBA major tournaments. Malott also won the 2006–07 Showplace Lanes Megabucks Shootout, which was not a PBA Tour event. He won the non-title PBA King of Bowling event in 2009, and defended his King position eight consecutive times through 2018.
Mike Scroggins is a left-handed professional ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), having joined in 1989. He resides in Amarillo, TX. He has won eight PBA Tour titles in his career, including two majors. He won the USBC Masters in 2005 and the Lumber Liquidators 66th U.S. Open in 2009. He has 39 career PBA 300 games, and stands at over $1.45 million in career PBA earnings following the 2017 PBA50 season. He also has three PBA50 Tour titles. Scroggins was elected to the PBA Hall of Fame in 2016, and was officially inducted with the 2017 class.
Michael Todd Fagan is an American former professional bowler on the PBA Tour. He has also participated in World Bowling Tour (WBT) and European Bowling Tour (EBT) events, and as a member of Team USA in international competitions. Known for his high backswing, he was given the nickname "King of Swing". He has a high RPM rate, but also has a smooth release, so his style can be classified as either a cranker or a power stroker.
This is a recap of the 2011–12 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It is the tour's 53rd season, and the third straight season in which all of the first half events were condensed into the PBA World Series of Bowling (WSOB). The season consisted of 15 title events. This is also the final season in which the PBA is using an "exempt" player list. The "exempt" status for touring players will not be carried into the 2012–13 season.
Jesper Svensson is a Swedish professional bowler. He has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2014, and also competes on the European Bowling Tour (EBT). He has won eleven PBA Tour titles overall, including a major title at the 2016 PBA Tournament of Champions. He also owns six EBT titles and one PBA Regional title. He is known for using the two-handed shovel style delivery with a dominant left hand. He uses non-reactive urethane bowling balls almost exclusively. Svensson is a member of the Storm and Vise Grips pro staffs.
Anthony Walter Simonsen is an American professional ten-pin bowler from Little Elm, Texas, currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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.
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.
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.