Columbia's Chad Murphy (left) presents the title to Jason Belmonte
(Photo courtesy Mini-Eliminator)
Jason, who is only 24 years old and resides in Orange, Australia, needed a little luck in the finals to capture the title. His road to the finals started typically as Jason rolled a 751 series on Thursday to lead the day and earn one bye. Jason breezed through the early rounds in the finals with games of 245, 237, and 238.
In Round 5, Belmonte rolled a 216 game and needed an open in the 10th frame from one of his competitors to advance. Jason’s fortunes in Round 6 were even greater as he needed a double in the 10th to advance. His first shot went extremely high and briefly left the 4-10 split standing. Amazingly both pins fell and he threw a perfect 2nd strike to advance to the Shootout Round.
The Mini-Eliminator at Texas Station also crowned two other champions earlier in the week. Matt McNeil of Chanhassen, MN won the Columbia 300 Shootout on Friday and the $4,000 top prize. Matt used a Momentum to earn the top prize. Tournament week began with Tom Smallwood of Flushing, MI winning the only sweeper and its $5,000 top prize.
Broadway Sports Center
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