Original subtitles

I'm sure he's still forcing people to mark in the tent frame here if he can

a way.

Oh my goodness!

Oil. It's slippery.

But also essential in bowling.

Consider that every bowling shot starts with the approach.

Steps and slide to the line are crucial to getting the ball and or your body to

go where you want.

And whether you're an amateur or a professional, navigating that step and

can be tricky.

All my bowling shoes are always required.

In the old days, pros would put ash on their shoes to help them slide more or

spit on them to make them stick better.

And while bowling alleys now look pretty different than they did in the days of

smoking and spitting, bowling shoes pretty much still look the same.

Though Jason Belmonte, or Belmo as the kids call him, wants to change that.

Over the last few years, I've kind of fallen down the well of sneakers.

Research.

because I wanted to bring sneaker culture into bowling.

Belmo capitalized on his superstar status and produced his own shoe,

unmistakably reminiscent of a legend, which might make you wonder if footwear

could be tied to on -lane success, as very famously postulated by the esteemed

Mark Blackman.

Money's gotta be the shoe, shoe, shoe, shoe!

Now,

if you couldn't tell from his accent, Belmo is from Australia, where they call

bowling ten -pin bowling.

And here he is showing off the bowling alley his parents bought when he was

a baby.

Yep, just like E .J. Tackett.

Now, because of Belmo's endorsement deal and the fact that he's won more majors

than any other bowler in history by a lot, it means he can afford something

other bowlers can't.

Beyond a nice house and 200 pairs of Nikes, he can take time off.

Which is why he didn't think twice to skip this year's Pete Webber Classic and

return home to New South Wales, Australia, where he's been a bit of a

dating back to when he was a kid.

Meet Jason Belmonti. His highest score is 259 and his results are consistent,

and all from such humble beginnings.

Dad said when he was just born, like 18 months, I started bowling my first ball.

When my parents built a bowling centre, neither of them were bowlers. It was

purely this crazy idea for a business.

Bowling in my hometown was new. No one knew how to do it.

And I'm this 18 -month -old kid and I want to bowl.

And so I would just do my best to carry it and kind of throw it down the lane

with two hands.

But it was really soon thereafter.

that I was able to do something that no one else in town was doing, and that was

create this hook.

Everybody that bowled traditionally would bowl really, really straight.

I was just curving the whole lane as like a four-, five-, six -year -old, and

that made me different, but it was cool.

Jason Belmonti is a rarity in ten -pin bowling, as is his bowling style.

It's been one of the wildest things to see how many people are bowling two

-handed. A double -hander. When I was a rookie, almost no one does it to today

where half the people on tour are bowling this way.

And I remember having conversations, you know, in my early 20s or late teens

when I'd have this success and then people would start to be like, hey, I

think you can do this.

No story has gained as much national traction as Jason Belmonte.

His two -handed style has caught the attention of everyone.

There was this underlining feeling of he's cheating.

Two hands is a lot easier to do. I don't agree with it. I don't think that it's

a part of the game that should be in play.

He's revving the ball so much and he strikes so much and we can't do this.

so we got to ban that style altogether.

You know, everybody just wants a fair shake. You could make rules that...

prohibit the two -handed style and I would be for that.

Thankfully those that write the rule book said it's totally okay and if

that just gives you more confidence like you walk in going everyone here that

has said something about my style is threatened by me.

I really don't think about my own bowling when I'm here I'm really engaged

what the family's doing.

I'm gone for six, seven months of the year, and so the months that I have here

at home, I want to be really present.

So my life when Jase is gone, I guess it

can become a little bit lonely at times, but I definitely think it's harder for

him. The best way that I can describe leaving is...

Absolutely hate it.

But before leaving, I'm very excited about going and competing.

Of the last 10 player of the year, I've won seven. And the three that I hadn't

won, I was filthy with myself.

People say, like, you've won so much, like, you just enjoy what you have. And

that's just, again, not acceptable.

Strike for the win.

That's right, he does it.

Legendary.

Jason can do anything with a bowling ball.

And that's his third major win over EJ Tack.

EJ and I have been battling for the best part of this decade, and I'm not ready

to give up my crown.

I want to be the greatest that's ever laced up a pair of shoes and rolled a

down a lane.

And in order to do that, what I want to achieve is, in a single word,

Dominate again.

Cut to it.

Dominate.

Belmo's next chance to dominate a major will come back on the other side of the

world, in the Paris of Western Nevada.

You could call the World Series of Bowling the Mecca of bowling events.

It's a month -long challenge set this year in the heart of Reno, Nevada.

where 200 -plus bowlers from over 18 countries will fight until there's only

man left standing on the lanes.

Now, if those lanes look familiar, they should, if you've seen the movie

Kingpin. Welcome to my church.

Which, by the way, some say is the greatest bowling movie ever.

Anyway, the World Series of Bowling isn't just a single big event that gets

name from baseball.

It's actually five tournaments, including the BBA World Championship,

into one.

Now, the series' first four events each use a distinctly challenging oil pattern

to affect the speed and spin of the ball, each inspired by a different

Why animal patterns?

Well, in the words of Sir David Attenborough... It's a mystery.

Nobody knows.

See if we can fit a couple guys in here.

Reno's a little different because in that little downtown area, there's

not a whole lot to do.

At least the mountains are nice.

We're all just stuck in the same place doing the same thing.

We stayed at the Silver Legacy, a fine establishment.

Next question.

My roommate, my best friend, Jesper Svensson.

We're going to spend almost a month in Reno.

He's tall, sweet, with a bunch of tattoos.

He's very quiet.

But he's a killer on the lane. He's the Iceman.

He's been there with me through the last several years.

Once I got engaged to Brianna, I knew my best man was going to be Jesper.

I'm a long way from home, so to have people here that treat you like family,

that's pretty special.

Our kitchen is in the bathroom, and our microwave and griddle and stuff stay in

the closet. I think anywhere for 20 days is going to

wear us down a little bit.

There's not really a lot to do around here, just both.

The four animal pattern tournaments always separate

the predator from the prey.

Not everyone survives.

Simo has a terrible joke.

And then packs it in.

Meanwhile,

EJ reaches the final round of every animal pattern, but loses over and over

over again.

That was as well -navigated a show as I've ever seen, buddy.

And... I know.

I... It's

important to remember that the greatest bowlers in the world don't get there on

their own.

Their skills only take them so far.

Watch his ball.

No, he's got me. I just want him to watch.

Their ball reps do the rest.

Bowlers will tell you they're like caddies, but really a bull rep's more

cut man.

Keeping their guy fighting, or a psychologist without a license.

Ultimately, more than anything, a bull rep's a friend who's there for you.

No matter how poorly you treat them.

Someone who's looking out for your future.

Don't think I'd be broken on an empty stomach ever.

To guide you.

Don't you think? Yeah. You want to know? Yeah.

Sweet talking.

A bunch of wet dry. He just did the creep, creep, flat tan and missed the

And be the friend who will always take care of your balls.

Oh, it's so nice to be with you.

I love all the things, things.

Category for Final Jeopardy is Games People Play.

Here's the clue.

Unable to lift the ball as a toddler, Jason Belmonte devised a two -handed

throw. Oh, someone better get it.

In this sport, what is basketball?

No. That's not it.

Shot put.

Shot put?

What sport did you think of, Roy?

Bowling. Roy gets it right.

I mean, I think that's good. One out of the three knew I was. So I'm famous

enough to be a question on Jeopardy, but not famous enough that all the people

know. I think that's a perfect blend of fame.

I hate to ask this question, but people think because you are not winning as

much as you were, that you are not at the caliber.

How do you deal with that?

In terms of rivalry, EJ's been my biggest rival even before I was washed

Kimberly calls it. I didn't. No, no, no, no. No, no.

Oh, you didn't do the quote.

No, I said people said, I did not say that.

I did not say that.

When it comes to my career, it is very much what have you done for me lately,

from fans, from myself.

Oh, my.

No one else seems to be scrutinized the same way.

You know, if EJ has a bad week or if Anthony has a bad season, no one really

cares about it.

You know, I have a bad week or two or three.

It's time to retire.

What's wrong with this guy?

He's past his prime, you know, and EJ's proven to be quite the adversary.

You know, you can only sit atop the mountain for so long before father time

knocks you off.

In 2023 World Series World Championship, I

remember bowling up against EJ in the title.

Yeah,

it was a pretty amazing moment.

Now he was able to...

beat me which at that point i had a really strong record against him in

championship so i think a little more special for him than it was for me but i

still appreciated it now that i'm not number one

i uh i kind of want it back but with the opportunity to win the world

championship it's a make or break for me

We've got a heavyweight fight between two of the greatest in the game right

Jesper and Kyle are not only their best friends, but their roommates.

When they get out in the lane, it's going to be a battle royale, man.

Jesper, it's my brother.

But then when we compete against each other, they don't matter to me.

At the end of the day, it's about rolling a ball down the lane and

10 pins.

Second fucking time.

These fucking things I'm about to tell Donna don't ever send me another one.

It's fucking three in one year.

I'm trying to figure out how to hold the ball with the gash in it again.

Fuck, man.

Fuck you, motherfucker.

He's going to fucking bolt 770 and I'm going to fuck home.

He ain't going to miss, don't make.

Next time, just ball change instead of fucking thinking about it. God damn it.

Fucking pussy.

You know, I was definitely pretty hard on myself.

Feeling really low at that moment.

My emotions were just not in check again.

And that ultimately cost me.

So, yes, Brandon, obviously that's a tough match. You never want to bowl Kyle

unless it's on TV.

Walk us through how you got it done.

I mean, it's a crazy match. You know, we got the five games. It's piling up. The

continued losing.

Like, it's definitely a struggle mentally.

Welcome to Bull TV's continuing coverage of World Series of Bowling. We talked

about somebody that we both kind of like, and that's going to be Cam Crowe,

seems to have the right attitude.

Cam's always got the right attitude. He's Mr. Positive all the time, no

what. It's refreshing. It's great to see that.

Practice is done. They're getting ready to start.

So I can't remember who told me. He said, hey, you talked to Cam?

So I called him.

My alarms are usually set all the time.

This is the one day we shut the blinds. Completely, so it was just all dark.

I called up again.

What's going on?

Where are you at?

I looked at my phone. I said, oh, my God, it's 855.

Bro, they're getting ready to start.

Oh, shit.

Oh, no.

I hung up the phone, put my clothes on. We'll be back.

Good morning.

I grabbed my backpack.

I'm running. I'm like, oh, my God. I have to be there by 9 o 'clock. That's

the first frame starts.

Thank you. Thank God I used to row track.

How you doing?

I get there in frame two, and I was like, oh, my God. I only missed two

I could have got a lot worse.

You got here in two frames. This is pretty fast.

Very mad at myself.

F, F, F, F, F, F, F. What the?

Cameron Crowe showed up late and got zeros for his first two frames.

Obviously, he just pissed off at myself, very frustrated.

Smack me.

Kick me. Do something.

Because what the fuck is going on?

Yes, thank you. Let's go.

This is a big, big warning for Cam Crow right now. He wants to make TV.

Crow really needs a strike here to keep the pressure on.

Oh, no.

He needed to make a shot. He made a shot, and he just didn't cooperate.

You can just feel it.

He just feels sick right now.

Every fucking time I need a fucking hit.

That can't happen right there. That can't happen.

That can't happen.

Fucking damn it.

That was mine.

That was mine.

Hats off to Jason Belmonti. Looks like he is definitely going to be the number

one speed.

EJ Tackett. Looks like he's going to be second.

It's time to pack up and check out because today is the finals here in

I travel with a fridge and a microwave because I can't eat casino food for a

month, right?

My concern when I'm leaving a hotel or a casino with my fridge is that

somebody's going to think I'm making off with their, you know, their appliance.

It's like you could use some help, buddy.

Yeah, man.

How about we clip it this way?

My man.

And we'll carry it this way.

Lifesaver.

The things we do for one another. That's it.

Oh, shit.

I forgot the truck was here.

We survived.

Welcome to Reno's National Bowling Stadium for the PBA World Championship.

As two of the greatest bowlers of this generation, Jason Belmonte and EJ

Tackett, are your one and two seeds as we wrap up the World Series of Bowling.

I put myself into the best possible position I could to win the

Number one seed.

But when you're the number one guy for the TV show, you have a lot to lose.

Now it's championship time.

Have a good one.

It's the ninth time these two have met in a title match, and Belmo holds the

advantage 5 -3.

In the third frame, I left a 10 -pin on a shot that I thought was pretty much

perfect. So your mind is racing. Do you slow down? Do you speed up? Do you

change ball? Do you change your target? There's so many different possibilities.

But whatever you do, you get one crack at it. And in a 10 -frame game, that's

% of your game. You make two wrong decisions, that's a fifth of your title

that is bad.

Oh, Jason.

Almost got away with it. I started off with four consecutive strikes, and in

fifth, I threw one not so great. This basically

ties our match back up.

Chance for Belmo to take the lead.

And gives Jason the opportunity to throw some punches.

I looked at all my equipment.

I looked at all my possible answers, and I was thinking,

Do you make that change and really, really risk it?

95 % of my career, I have had 100 % confidence.

And in the last couple of years, doubt creeps in.

You're holding the ball in your hand and you're thinking, is this the right

ball?

As the ball was going down, I think this is going to be a pretty good shot.

Oh, boy, he had the opportunity right there, and he lost it. How did that

strike?

He throws his own split, and he opened the door for me, and I was able to throw

some punches back.

Man, did he get that defensive.

Has to have this one.

How?

How does that strike?

If there is a God and he is a bowling fan and he likes me, he'll

let EJ miss and give me the moment.

Couldn't ask for more. Coming down to the 10th frame.

Need two.

I had to throw a double in the 10th frame.

But throwing two strikes, when it's strike or you lose, it's very, very

difficult.

in high pressure situations, I have a tendency to get kind of quick.

So reminding myself to stay slow and I try to hyper focus on this one thing. It

seems simple, but it's extremely difficult.

One more.

I guess God is not a bowling fan.

Holy shit.

There is no God, or there

is, and he doesn't like me very much. He just made EJ bowl two of the greatest

shots EJ has ever thrown.

What a match. Jason is... He's not old by any means, but he's still

unbelievable.

And he showed it again this week how great he is.

This match was awesome.

That

was

a tough one.

Couldn't you do it? I get to get on a plane now, go to Detroit.

After bowling 80 games and spending a month in the same hotel room, the change

in scenery might improve Belmo's mood as much as a new pair of high tops.

As for EJ, fresh off his second major win in a row, he's about to drive 30

straight hours to the Motor City, Detroit, hoping a third straight victory

awaits. He'll bring the $100 ,000 check with him, which could buy a lot of Dr.

Peppers for the road.

Nice.