Event News, General News
Tenpin Premier League Championships trophy up for grabs as top three TPL athletes bow out on first day of Melbourne Decider
The Tenpin Premier League (TPL) Melbourne Decider trophy and the TPL championship are both officially up for grabs as the top three bowlers in the TPL standings have all bowed out during the round robin. Jarrod Langford (QLD), the TPL Championships leader, Grace Fahy (VIC) and Alicia Melton (QLD) will not be joining their fellow bowlers in tomorrow’s top 16 semi finals, leaving the field open for up to ten other competitors who could claim the overall TPL trophy depending on tomorrow’s results.
Langford, who was leading second-placed Fahy by 60 points in the TPL standings, lost four of the seven round-robin games, also losing the chance to join two of his World Cup teammates, Jason Belmonte and Sam Cooley, in the semi-finals.
“My mental game played a big part in my performance today. I didn’t throw the ball as well as I did in the last two TPL events and it showed. Historically I have never bowled well at Keon, but I had an open mind coming in. Unfortunately I didn’t throw as well as I could and that cost me,” said Langford.
Previous top contenders for the title Fahy and Melton were both unable to find enough momentum to make it into the semi finals.
“I really struggled with carry today, I had some good shots so I am happy with that, but at the end of the day it’s all about strikes. Unfortunately I didn’t get many, so I was a bit unlucky,” said Fahy.
Melton, who is placed in third place only 70 points behind Langford, stayed true to herself saying “it just wasn’t meant to be.”
“I don’t believe anything went wrong today, it was just bad carries. I had all the right balls today and did everything right. It’s just the carry didn’t happen today for me,” said Melton.
Among the unexpected twists and turns of the TPL Decider, a few bowlers achieved positive results. World number one Belmonte felt more at ease in his second TPL round and was able to secure a spot in the top 16.
“I feel like the way that this house plays it is a little more conducive to a different ball shape and motion, if I am honest I probably put a little more time into my game this time round. The last TPL was a bit rushed for me as I had some things at home going down,” said Belmonte.
“This TPL round I had a bit more time between the stops to get back into the swing of things. I feel really great, it’s still early days in the tournament so time to get a good night’s sleep, come back tomorrow, see who I am competing against and try to get those W’s.”
Sunday’s semi-finals will begin at 8am with the top 16 bowlers from Day 1.
The top eight will advance to the Super-8 Final at 2pm where they will play the fast-five format, with scores from 4 full frames plus a standard 10th frame, with a maximum score of 150.
Watch the Super-8 final LIVE on the @tenpinpl Facebook Page and TPL YouTube account.
The 16-bowler semi-final will include:
Bernie Gresuo Jnr
Sam Cooley
Warren Stewart
Blayne Fletcher
Jason Belmonte
Lachlan Merchant
Blake Walsh
David Porto
Nixon Chan
Cameron Stein
Jamie Robinson
Jayden Panella
Bek Martin
Rebecca Whiting
Jaime Maglieri
Emily Hart