Kristopher Prather

Kristopher Prather (born January 1, 1992)[1] of Plainfield, Illinois is an American professional ten-pin bowler who competes on the PBA Tour. He is known for winning the inaugural PBA Tour Playoffs on June 2, 2019[2][3] and the PBA Tournament of Champions on February 9, 2020.[4]

Kristopher Prather
Prather in 2019
Born (1992-01-01) 1 January 1992
Years active2015-present
Bowling Information
AffiliationPBA
Rookie year2015
Dominant handRight (tweener delivery)
Wins3 PBA Tour (1 major)
2 PBA Regional Tour
300-games2
SponsorsRoto Grip bowling balls, Vise Grips
Websitehttps://www.pba.com/bowlers/bowler/36649

Kris is a member of the Roto Grip and Vise Grips pro staffs.[2]

Amateur career

Prather bowled collegiately at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas.[2] As an amateur, he won the 2012 Paragon Open in Grand Rapids, Michigan and finished second at the 2012 New Mexico Open.[1]

As of January 2020, Prather is a member of Team USA.[5]

Professional career

After qualifying for the championship finals four times in 2018 and twice more in early 2019 without winning, Prather broke through with his first PBA title in the PBA Scorpion Championship, held at the 2019 World Series of Bowling in Allen Park, Michigan.[6] Based on points earned during the first 13 events of the 2019 season, he qualified as the #9 seed for the inaugural PBA Tour Playoffs. He was the only player to make the final four who did not earn a first-round bye. He defeated #4 seed Anthony Simonsen in the semifinal round on June 1, then topped #7 seed Bill O'Neill on June 2 to take the championship and $100,000 first place prize.[3] Originally, the PBA Tour Playoffs was considered a non-title event. However, on December 6, 2019, the PBA announced that Prather would retroactively be awarded a PBA title for his win, giving him his second career Tour title.[7][8]

Kris was a member of the Portland Lumberjacks team, winners of the 2019 PBA League competition.[9]

On February 9, 2020, Prather won the PBA Tournament of Champions held in Fairlawn, Ohio. As the #4 seed for the stepladder finals, he won all four matches, defeating four major titleists (Sean Rash, Jason Belmonte, Anthony Simonsen and Bill O'Neill) to capture his third PBA Tour title, first major, and second career $100,000 prize check.[4]

On June 6, 2020, Prather won the PBA Strike Derby, a non-title made-for-TV event where competitors attempt to bowl as many strikes as possible in two minutes. Seeded #4 after rolling 10 strikes in the first round, Prather went on to defeat Anthony Simonsen in the championship (fourth) round, 7–6, to claim the win and the $25,000 top prize.[10] On July 22, Prather was crowned the PBA's "King of the Lanes" in a three-day, non-title event. He won the fifth challenge match (of six) in the event over PWBA player Gazmine Mason, and dethroned the reigning King, Sean Rash in the next match. He then defended his crown against the sixth and final challenger, PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber.[11] Despite the 2020 season being shortened by COVID-19, Prather posted a new career high in earnings with $223,285.[12]

In addition to his three national PBA Tour titles, Prather has earned two PBA Regional Tour titles.[2] He has rolled 25 certified perfect 300 games, including two in PBA Tour competition, and has 11 certified 800 series.[1]

Career statistics

Statistics are through the last full PBA Tour season.

SeasonEventsCashesMatch PlayCRA+PBA Tour TitlesPBA Regional TitlesAverageEarnings ($)
20151552000214.557,400
201619116100216.6324,615
201718107002219.3420,985
201820139400220.3359,135
2019261712520216.50179,348

+CRA = Championship Round Appearances

References
  1. "Team Roto Grip – Kris Prather". rotogrip.com. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  2. "Kristopher Prather PBA Profile". pba.com. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  3. Wallace, Eric J. (2 June 2019). "Milton's Kris Prather wins inaugural PBA Playoffs, $100,000 prize". pnj.com. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  4. Schneider, Jerry (9 February 2020). "Kris Prather Takes All Four Stepladder Matches to Win 55th PBA Tournament of Champions for First Major Title". pba.com. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  5. Cannizzaro, Matt (8 January 2020). "CHAMPIONS DETERMINED AT 2020 USBC TEAM USA TRIALS, U.S. AMATEUR". bowl.com. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  6. Schneider, Jerry (20 March 2019). "Kris Prather Wins PBA Scorpion Championship for First Career PBA Tour Title". pba.com. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  7. Vint, Bill (6 December 2019). "PBA Spare Shots: 2019 PBA Player and Rookie of the Year, Award Winners to be Announced on December 11". pba.com. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  8. Vint, Bill (6 December 2019). "Kris Prather Retroactively Awarded PBA Title for 2019 PBA Playoffs Win". BowlersJournal.com. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  9. Vint, Bill (18 July 2019). "Portland Lumberjacks Dominate L.A. X to Win First PBA League Elias Cup; Wes Malott Named Mark Roth MVP". pba.com. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  10. Warner, K. (8 June 2020). "Kris Prather Wins the Inaugural PBA Strike Derby on FOX". pba.com. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  11. Warner, K. (22 July 2020). "Kris Prather Reigns Supreme as the New PBA King of the Lanes on the Final Night of the Six-Part Series". pba.com. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  12. Wiseman, Lucas (20 November 2020). "Jason Belmonte Tops 2020 PBA Tour Earnings With Nearly $300k". flobowling.com. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
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