Chris Via (born March 9, 1992) is an American professional ten-pin bowler from

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northe ...

known for winning the 2021 U.S. Open. Chris uses the two-handed shovel-style delivery with a dominant right hand. He competes in events on the PBA Tour and has also bowled internationally as a member of Team USA. Via rolled the PBA Tour's 30th-ever televised perfect 300 game, accomplished February 7, 2021 at the East Region Finals of the 2021 PBA Players Championship. At the PBA Tour Finals on June 27, 2021, in

Allen Park, Michigan Allen Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 28,638. Ford Motor Company is an integral part of the community. Many of the company's offices and facilities lie within the city limit ...

, Via rolled the PBA's 32nd televised 300 game. He joined Sean Rash and

François Lavoie François Lavoie (born February 27, 1993) is a right-handed Canadian ten-pin bowler from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, now making his home in Wichita, Kansas. He is a member of the Professional Bowlers Association, and has been a member of Team C ...

as the only players in history to score 300 in two televised PBA Tour title events. Jason Belmonte would roll his second televised 300 game in 2022 to also join this group. Chris is the only one of the four to roll both of his 300 games in the same season. Via is a pro staff member for

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...

bowling balls and Turbo Grips inserts.

Early life

Via claims to have been bowling since age 1. He bowled in a Saturday morning league with an older sister until age 12, took a break to play on a traveling basketball team for a few years, then returned to bowling at age 15. He attended

Kenton Ridge High School Kenton Ridge High School is a public high school near Springfield, Ohio, United States. It is one of two high schools in the Northeastern Local School District, the other school being Northeastern High School. State championships Kenton Ridge Hi ...

in Springfield, Ohio. His high school teams won the Ohio state bowling championships in 2009 and 2010.

Amateur career

Via bowled collegiately at Notre Dame College in

South Euclid, Ohio South Euclid is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is an inner-ring suburb of Cleveland located on the city's east side. As of the 2010 census the population was 22,295. Geography Acting approximately as a central point for the e ...

. While earning his degree in accounting, his bowling prowess won him National Collegiate All-American honors in three straight seasons (2011–12, 2012–13 and 2013–14). He was a member of Junior Team USA in 2011 and 2012, and won a Team Gold Medal at the 2012 World Youth Bowling Championships. While in college, he won a 2014 PBA Regional Tour event as a non-member. Chris went on to win the 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship, securing the title with a final match victory over

Kamron Doyle Kamron Doyle (born January 13, 1998) is an American ten-pin bowler from Brentwood, Tennessee. Amateur accomplishments Doyle was at one time the youngest person in USBC history to record a sanctioned 800 series — a three-game set with scores ad ...

. This earned Via a spot on Team USA for 2016, and he would remain a Team USA member through 2018. Via represented the US in the 2021 Weber Cup, an annual USA vs. Europe competition. In the USA's 17–18 loss to Team Europe, Via participated in 11 of 35 matches, going 3–1 in singles, 2–2 in doubles, and 0–3 in team.

Professional career

Via joined the

Professional Bowlers Association The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the PBA membership consists of over 3,000 members worldwide. Membe ...

in 2017. In his first full season, he cashed in 12 of 20 events, made match play 7 times, made one championship round appearance, and won his first Regional Tour title as a PBA member. He made only one more championship round appearance over the next two seasons, while winning another Regional title in 2019. After appearing in the televised finals of four PBA majors between 2020 and 2021 without winning, Via won his first national PBA Tour title and first major at the 2021 U.S. Open. Having qualified as the #1 seed for the April 11 finals, Via won his lone TV match over second-seeded

Jakob Butturff Jakob Butturff (born April 28, 1994) is a left-handed American ten-pin bowler from Chandler, Arizona and a member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He competes in events on the PBA Tour and in global events as a member of Team ...

by a single pin, 214–213. Via finished third in the 2021 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year voting, behind Kyle Troup and

, while also finishing second in Tour points (behind Troup), and sixth in earnings ($125,210).

Personal

In addition to earning a living on the lanes, Via co-owns TV Bowling Supply in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

with fellow PBA member Michael Tang. Chris now resides in

Blacklick, Ohio Blacklick is a small unincorporated community in southern Jefferson Township, Franklin County, Ohio, United States. Blacklick is also included in the Columbus Metropolitan area. The community was established by William A. Smith in 1852. It was ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Via, Chris American ten-pin bowling players 1992 births Living people