Illinois Takes Over BAiO as PBA Champs Crown Two Winners
50 new Illinois bowling alleys hit BAiO this week while PBA World Series kicks off with Cam Crowe and Jason Belmonte leading early.
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Illinois bowlers, this one's for you. We just added 50 new alleys to BAiO this week, and almost all of them are in the Land of Lincoln. Meanwhile, the PBA World Series of Bowling XVII is underway in Minneapolis with some familiar names leading the charge.
🎳 On the Lanes
Cam Crowe leads the PBA Cheetah Championship after qualifying with a stellar 246.5 average over 10 games. The two-handed lefty is making his PBA TV debut in singles competition and couldn't be more pumped about it. "As a kid, as a bowler, you work your whole life for this," Crowe said after leading the 120-player field.
Not to be outdone, Jason Belmonte leads the PBA Chameleon Championship qualifying despite admitting he doesn't typically like the pattern. Belmo's going for his fourth Chameleon title, which would be unprecedented. Both events air May 9-10 on CBS Sports Network.
📣 Industry News
The USBC Open Championships continue making history in Reno. Josie Barnes leads all-events with 2,256, putting her in position to become the first female competitor to win the prestigious title. She also rolled the 15th perfect game by a woman in tournament history.
Meanwhile, Will Mateffy became just the fourth bowler to roll two 300s in a single USBC Open Championships appearance. He nearly added a third later that day at the Bowlers Journal Championships, missing by just one pin.
📍 New on BAiO
Illinois absolutely dominated our new alley additions this week. We added 50 spots total, including Elgin Lanes in Elgin, Liberty Lanes in Carpentersville, Logan Lanes in Lincoln, The Loft Frankfort, and Highland Park Bowl in Moline.
Bowlers looking for league night just got way more options — we added 35 new league-friendly alleys this week. Standouts include Fox Bowl in Wheaton, Circle Bowling Lanes in Forest Park, and Diversey River Bowl in Chicago. Check out our full bowling leagues directory to find your perfect match.
📊 Stat of the Week
Raymond's Bowl & Entertainment Center in Johnsburg, IL topped our new additions this week with a rock-solid 4.7/5 Google rating backed by 786 reviews. Its Bayesian weighted score of 4.677 puts it well above our platform average of 4.31. When you've got nearly 800 people taking time to leave reviews and they're still averaging 4.7 stars, that's not just hype — that's a center that consistently delivers.