Denny's World Championship

The Denny's World Championship is one of the four major PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) bowling events. Prior to 2002, the tournament was called the PBA National Championship. The PBA National Championship was first contested in 1960, called the First Annual National Championship. PBA Hall of Famer Don Carter won the first National Championship title.

The National Championship and World Championship have been contested over the years using a variety of formats. Currently, the PBA World Championship's format is different from normal PBA Tour events. Unlike most events, it is open to the entire PBA membership. There are 18 games of qualifying, and a 9 game block for the top 25% of the field. The top 8 after 27 games of qualifying move into the round of Super-Sixteen, which essentially gives them a bye through the first two rounds of best-of-seven play. Bowlers who qualify 9th through 40th are seeded accordingly in a 32-bowler bracket and compete in the first two rounds of best-of-seven play. After two rounds, the remaining 8 bowlers play the 8 bowlers who received byes into the Super-Sixteen round. Bracket play continues as normal until 4 bowlers remain for the televised finals.
Norm Duke won the most recent Denny's World Championship on February 24, 2008 at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was Duke's second career World Championship win and third major title overall. Entering the tournament, Duke stood 51st on the PBA points list, 12 behind the "cut line" to earn a Tour exemption for 2008-09. The World Championship victory guaranteed him a spot in the PBA's exempt field for the next two seasons.

Previous PBA National (1960-2001)/Denny's PBA World (2002-Present) Champions

External links

* [http://www.pba.com/pbatour/tournament.asp?ID=1531 PBA.com site]