
In December, the sport saw series two of Rollin Thunder move to Fox Sports and showcase the best that Australian bowling has to offer in a new three person baker format.
Following the success of series 1, bowling fans were in for a treat and series 2 didn’t disappoint with the Vic All Stars, made up of Dena Buxton, Adam Hayes and Terry Wenban winning the Australian Bowling Cup.
Broadcast across eight one hour shows on Fox Sports and it’s new online streaming service Kayo Sports, the action packed series reached over 170,000 viewers in metropolitan and regional TV markets and over 400,000 on YouTube.
Following the airing of series 2, TBA CEO Cara Honeychurch said it was great to see the series develop and showcase the sport to a new audience.
“With the first series being such a success, it was great to see series 2 bigger and better with plenty of excitement.”
“With a number of matches going down to the wire it was great viewing and showcased our sport to the thousands of people watching.”
“I thought this series really showed how diverse our sport is and how it can be played by women and men of all ages. Seeing TBA Hall of Famer Terry Wenban compete against the rising stars of the sport was a real positive for bowling as we look to attract new participants now and into the future.”
Honeychurch also went onto add that “A big thanks must go to IBCA and their members for their commitment to delivering the series as well as Gary O’Neill who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make it a great production.”
With all eight shows airing in December, series two winners – The Vic All Stars got their tournament underway on show 2 when they came up against defending champions George Frilingos and Jarrod Langford from QLD Rollin Thunder, who added Alexia Hicks to their team for the second series.
But after going down 233-175 to QLD Rollin Thunder the Vic All Stars were 0 and 1.
On show 3, the trio came up against NSW Strike which included rising star Jordan Dinham, Australian Masters winner Glenn Loader and former Korean representative Minhee Kim. In a nail biter the Vic All Stars were 0 and 2 after losing the match 247-231.
On show 4, the Vic All Stars needed a win to stay in finals contention and with other results the Victorians were still in it.
Coming up against the NSW Hot Shots which boasted World number one Jason Belmonte, the Vic All Stars found their line and kept their nerve to win 235-192.
Needing a win against the NT Cylone who were 2 and 0, the Vic All Stars produced one of the best games of the series to defeat the NT Cyclone 256-177 and finish the qualifying rounds in second place behind QLD Rollin Thunder.
In the qualifying final on show 7, the Vic All Stars once again went down to QLD Rollin Thunder 269-232. Having another bite of the cherry they moved into the preliminary final against NSW Strike which saw the team in green sneak home with a narrow victory 206-204 and progress to the final against arch rival – QLD Rollin Thunder.
In the final it was third time lucky for the Vic All Stars, when Adam Hayes lead the team to victory making a double in 10th frame to win the Australian Bowling Cup 203-185.
To catch all of series 2 visit YouTube and search “Rollin Thunder 2018”.