Silver Strike Bowling :: Picture Perfect Ending

> Find A Game > Forums > About Us > E-Newsletter

Picture Perfect Ending

Cedar Rapids Bowler Dan Bailey Grabs His First Title Thanks to an Unforgettable 300

Cedar Rapids native Dan Bailey has been regarded as one of the premier SSBers since Silver Strike launched. His skills are unquestioned, and he is one of only two virtual bowlers to ever roll an unthinkable 900 series. He's also been a major factor in the biggest SSB events throughout the past few years. Still, a tournament title has been just out of his reach. That was until Club Lucky's Tournament of Champions 2 on Saturday, October 24th.

TOC Thirty-nine of Silver Strike's premier players traveled to the Grand Geneva Resort and Spa in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for the TOC, all of whom had championship aspirations. With more than $25,000 up for grabs, the atmosphere was tense and the play was unlike anything we've ever seen.

Bailey was of course in attendance, as was his Iowa buddy and 2008 SSB National Champion Mike Cornwell. Indianapolis bowler, and last year's TOC champion Telly Rogers was in the building looking for a repeat, and Bowlapalooza all-star "Deadeye" Del Flecker, also out of Indiana, was looking to finally secure his first major tournament win after a couple of close calls over the last few events.

The tournament kicked off Saturday morning with each player rolling three, 3-game series for bracket seeding. Bailey fired a 718, followed by a 749 and a 658 to secure the top seed! From that point on, he never looked back.

"Biddy" rolled through the bracket undefeated, all the while putting up some huge scores. Meanwhile, Cornwell, Rogers, and Del put forth some quality efforts to put themselves in position for a shot at the title. As the day moved on, the large field became smaller and smaller with the favorites still bowling their way through the bracket. In the double-elimination format, it was Bailey rolling into the finals as the king-of-the-hill and unscathed. Meanwhile, it was Mike Cornwell and Del Flecker who played in the semis with a shot at the unbeaten Bailey.

TOC Both Cornwell and Flecker brought their "A" game in this crucial three-game series, but someone had to win it. With the games tied up 1-1, Mike fired a very timely 276 to beat Flecker's very respectable 256 and move into the finals. Del took home third place and $2,000.

It seemed only fitting for the two best buddies to battle it out in the TOC finals. They've played countless games against one another at Cornwell's family owned bar, the Double Inn, each crediting the other's presence as the main reasons their games have reached such great heights.

While they embraced the joyous occasion, each wanted the title badly and had to temper their companionship for the time being. In order for Cornwell to win he was going to have to beat Bailey in two straight 3-game series.

In the first game of the first series Bailey fired a 276 to take an important game one. Unwilling to go quietly, Cornwell fired back with a 279 in game two to avoid elimination and push an even bigger game three.

"Anytime I play against Mike I know I have to roll my absolute best game," Bailey said. "Going into the third game in the first series, I knew that I wanted to avoid a second series for all the marbles and that the upcoming game was huge. I needed a big score to close it out."

And did he ever.

300 Game

Bailey Although Cornwell fired a 300 earlier on that day, it was Bailey taking his turn at perfection in the biggest match of his life. As the game went on, Bailey separated himself from his hometown friend with each perfect strike. It became clear late through game three that the title was his, but the room's focus grew as the game became more out of reach.

The title was wrapped up but Bailey didn't stop there. With his friend and competitor cheering him on, Bailey capped off an unbelievable run with a storybook ending. A 300-game.

As the last pin fell, Bailey jumped into Cornwell's arms and the two shared a moment like nothing many have ever seen. Although they had been playing each other for serious money, these two friends embraced Bailey's perfect game with a hug, a beer, and all smiles. For Bailey's efforts he took home the $5,000 top prize. Cornwell took home $3,000 for second.

"It feels good to finally have a title under my belt," Bailey said after finishing 2nd at the TOC last year. "I've come close in the past, but I felt like I was able to put everything together here, especially once the matches began. Playing against Mike is something special, and we enjoyed the fact that we both made it to where we did. I'm just glad I could finally pull it off. The 300-game was just an added bonus."

A perfect way to end a perfect day for Dan Bailey. Congratulations to him on his unbelievable run along with every one that came out and competed in the Tournament of Champions. Thanks also go out to everyone at Club Lucky for running such an unbelievable event!