VICTOR BOWL

champs Richard Paul III & James McGough

         James McGough swept the weekend, while Richard Paul swept through a tough scratch field, in exciting JBT So Cal and Mojave action at our first visit to Victor Bowl.

         Paul, a 15 year-old visiting from Nor Cal, qualified as the #11 seed for matchplay on a medium-high scoring pattern, then blazed through three opponents, including #10 Kyle Reed (who earlier fired the event's high game, a 299) in a 203-185 semifinal decision to advance to the title match.  His opponent would be Harley Sweigart, who began May right where he left off in April, dominating the field en route to the top seed, then not falling victim to the many pitfalls that matchplay presents, getting past #12 Paul Colyer 221-184 in the semifinals to reach another title match.

        The finale was contested on the low end of the center, which hooked much more than the rest of the building, forcing Harley and Richard to make big adjustments to score.  They both were brilliant, with Sweigart opting for max ball speed and bullets to the pocket, while Richard lofted half the lane on the left lane.  Harley's early string was bested by Paul, who blasted ten strikes in an impressive 268-227 win, good for the first title of his JBT career.

          "Poor" Harley (who still earned over $300 on the weekend) was one-upped for a third time on the weekend in PowerBowl, as he drew the ace of spades to play for PowerBowl.  He got past the first shot but faltered on the second.  But then, in stepped Austin Gilbert, who left the 1-2-4-7-9 on his third shot to win PowerBowl and a $300 jackpot, the third PowerBowl win barely over a month, its hottest streak!

        Zack Velosa took advantage of the home cooking much like Katie Kipler the day before, getting way ahead of a large field to grab the #1 seed for matchplay.    He stayed tough in matchplay, before falling in a 235-233 heartbreaker to #4 Marc Villalobos in one semifinal.  On the other side of the bracket, #11 James McGough was back at it again, as he upset #2 Alberto Bernal 203-185 to advance to face Villalobos in an attempt to sweep the weekend.

        Just like the day before, McGough took the lane out of play with darts down the middle, and just like yesterday it worked perfectly, as he beat Villalobos 259-179 for the title, pulling off a rare handicap division sweep for the fourth title of his JBT career.

        Kaylee Am-Khong has had some heartbreaking losses despite a wonderful season, but this was not to be one of them.  She was the top seed in the girls division, then got past Lexi Cassman 192-151 for her fourth girls title of the season.

        Big thanks to the team at Victor for a great job hosting our Tour for the first time.  Want in on all this fun and excitement for all ages and averages?  Just check out our schedule and come on down, that's all there is to it!