THE ORLEANS

champions Jordan Ferrer (left) and Steven Black (right)

Black is back.  Look out, JBT SW.

Steven Black finally won another JBT SW title, while Jordan Ferrer claimed win #2, in JBT SW action at The Orleans.

Our popular PBA style format was used for this event, in which the field is cut to 16 after qualifying, followed by do or die, best 2-of-3 matchplay.  In the scratch division, excitement was everywhere, with Jeremy Medina winning a tiebreaker to get to matchplay, Kris George winning a three-shot rolloff to advance to round two, and Kris coming up big again in a game two tiebreaker against Bobby Majdanski.   However, Majdanski got his revenge in game three, winning the decider and sending Kris home in 8th place.

In semifinal matches, Brandon Allred ousted Majdanski 247-225, while Black got by Jerod Florez 248-227, to advance to the title match.

The finale was all Steven.  Despite a fine 215 effort from Allred, Black powered to an impressive 265 game and an easy win.  Incredibly, despite many top-5 performances, it was Black's first win since April, and the 36th of his amazing JBT SW career.

In the handicap division, top seeds Ricky Overton, Ray Grifftith, and Zach Hattori all escaped round one with victories.  Hattori bowed out in the round of 8 to finish fifth.

In the semifinal, Overton eliminated Alesha Pannier (who eliminated him at Gold Coast) 243-178, while Ferrer defeated Griffith 210-184, to advance to the title match.

In the final, Ferrer, the 2005 Mojave Invitational champ, showed veteran poise in defeating Overton 212-175, capturing the second title of his JBT SW career.

Everyone who finished in the top 5 qualifies for the 2006 JBT SW Mojave Invitational Tournament, the regular season's year end event, featuring a guaranteed minimum $1,000 first place scholarship in each division.  Top season-long point scorers also qualify for the 2006 JBT SW Touring Players' Championship, featuring a guaranteed minimum $2,000 first place scholarship per division! 

Thanks to everyone at The orleans, the site of the 2006 Las Vegas National Open, for hosting this great event. 70 entrants shared in over $2,000 in scholarships awarded.  Please continue to help spread the word about the terrific benefits of bowling JBT SW events!