How Simonsen sabatoged his opponent to win!

[@apooh3051]

Bowling is all about adjustment. He who adjust the best will always win.

[@colonelcallaway]

Not true at all haha.

[@scopedin2990]

​@@colonelcallaway fym not true? Thats literally the enitre damn game

[@crosspointholsters1636]

@@colonelcallawaythat’s the entire point

[@4rtEnjoyer]

@@colonelcallaway it is very much true, if the condition of the lanes change drastically, either adjust or ball change.

[@xXThatGuyXx2324]

@@colonelcallawayyour dumb

[@jerryalexander8803]

Closest thing to defense in bowling, I don’t necessarily agree with the strategy but it’s smart, gotta make the adjustments

[@Rundvelt]

It's cheating. It's manipulating the field without the benefit of informing the other person.

[@jerryalexander8803]

@ it’s not cheating, it’s your job as a bowler to adjust to the changing lane condition..

[@Rundvelt]

@@jerryalexander8803 Yes, natural change. Not unnatural change which is what this is. So, in this case you have someone who has MORE KNOWLEDGE of the play area then the other to start the match. That's bullshit and shouldn't be allowed. If he wants to do this during a game, FINE. But before the game, unknown? It's cheating.

[@jerryalexander8803]

@@Rundveltdude what do you think practice is?? 😂😂, of course he had more knowledge because he was allowed to practice on the pair, same as EVERY OTHER TIME, this isn’t anything out of the ordinary, it happens all of the time.. maybe wrong morally but it is nothing illegal or malicious about what he did

[@Rundvelt]

@@jerryalexander8803 I love how you don't acknowledge the argument. Let me help you out because you clearly can't admit that you're wrong. If you're taking something, hoping your opponent doesn't notice so you have an advantage in the game and that action is taken before the game, it's cheating. Not maybe, not if, not sorta. I mean, is the sport supposed to determine who the better bowler is? Or is it supposed to determine who can do more shady stuff to gain an advantage in winning? You know what this is like? The same old moronic arguments for soccer where they go "Duh, diving is part of the game" or "Pretending to be injured is part of the game." No, it's cheating, you're trying to draw a bad call from the ref. Like holy fuck, this isn't difficult my man.

[@scrubbyducky1325]

Koeltzo is a friend of mine, and our whole town was so proud to see his performance on TV. Super nice guy and knows how to be a badass bowling alley mechanic

[@kridicalxsi1177]

Belmo is notorious on tour for doing this lol

[@colonelcallaway]

The worst part is, he would do this, and then turn around and throw 3 shots through the face and all of them will carry. Boom there’s your major champ right there.

[@michaelb.5845]

@@colonelcallaway Stop it.

[@williamcullenjnr26]

​@@colonelcallawayI mean atleast he's winning yo

[@RyanJamesTrowbridge]

More notorious for using two thumb holes and getting the rules ultimately changed 😂

[@chrisconformed]

So many ppl dont know about this​@@RyanJamesTrowbridge

[@ryman66r5]

Anyone that calls this cheating is totally stupid. He was forcing his opponent to adjust and he didn't do a good job at moving. Smart strategy

[@Hurtz-xm8eu]

Thats exactly right. While bowling you have to constantly adjust and simonsons oppenent didnt do a good job of that

[@dezaultering]

While this is correct, the guy went out of his way to sand a ball just to pick up oil off the lane, it was still done maliciously.

[@ryman66r5]

@@dezaultering More like it was a strategic move. His opponent should've paid attention to know the lanes were going to be different after the fact. It wasn't a secret or surprise.

[@mikeyvance3230]

@@dezaulteringIf you are good enough to make tv. Then you are good enough to make adjustments

[@dezaultering]

@@mikeyvance3230 that i agree with, but like i said ruining a ball just to pick up oil off the lane is malicious and un sportsman like

[@JoeFulk56]

I had an entire collegiate team throw sandpaper balls on my line because i was dominating one day. I just used it as a shim point moving more left each shot. Best preformance of my mediocre bowling career

[@rebeccaburgess5333]

How childish of them. Why did they get away with that?

[@trewqqwerty3857]

both of them are still throwing on the same lane tho,id say its about who can adjust better

[@MikeDCWeld]

They are using the same pair, but they're not necessarily using the same part of the lane.

[@trewqqwerty3857]

@ it’s up to them to use what part of the lane,if your truly the best you wld be able to throw it pretty much anywhere

[@Rundvelt]

That's silly. Who will adjust better? The person who knows what has happened to the lane or the person who doesn't?

[@trewqqwerty3857]

@ they both have eyes?

[@Jeff_PNW]

Perfectly legal. Many bowlers do this to open up their own shot and create more miss room for themselves, not necessarily to sabotage their opponent. In my center we actually have a sanded yellow Tank given to us by EJ Tackett. He said he only ever used it during warmups to blend patterns to his liking.

[@jaredrogers7863]

just becuase it works for him doesnt mean it works for you;. I can assure you nobody at your alley throws like Tackett.

[@avlopz]

Where are you getting that he said they throw it like Tackett? All he said was that ej gave them a ball

[@jaredrogers7863]

@@avlopz in order to rough up a lane you kind of need to throw it like tackett, this is the point im trying to make, high rev, with pinpoint accuracy = he can chop the lane up however he wants. joe schmoe over here has a low rev rate and doesnt know where its going, hes not going to be able to accomplish anything similar.

[@jaredrogers7863]

let alone be able to use the chopped up lane after hes done, mortal bowlers should not attempt to do things great bowlers do, it hands them no advantage, all it does it make them brag about how they "do what tacket does" nope, no they dont. they look like fools attempting this.

[@Rundvelt]

Was this done during the game or before it?

[@tonysanta3497]

I learned about people on tour doing this 20 years ago. You have to be prepared to adapt and overcome. That is defense in bowling!!!!!!

[@Rundvelt]

Except that it's cheating. The guy is manipulating the field and unbalancing the game. Who's going to adapt better? The bowler who knows what was done to the lane or the bowler who doesn't?

[@YUNO-_-DIE]

@@Rundvelt not cheating its strategy... so many guys will switch to urethanes and copy your line just to botch you

[@RocketboiC4]

If he didn’t know than that’ll be his fault?? It’s not being hidden, it’s well known that bowling balls will either pick up oil or push it down. That is literally how they work. Sanding and polishing a ball is extremely common to get a desired outcome of the ball. At most this can be considered unsportsmanlike. No one had exclusive knowledge to the lane as nothing was being hidden.

[@lordsatan1473]

Once your bowling pro tournaments sportsmanship is a luxury.

[@Steve_Edberg]

Simo's a genius!! Gotta hand it to him, this is something I would never think of. 👏👏👏

[@williamkrause9968]

Lol I met norm Duke once and the even I was at he spoke and he said that back in the day he did something similar but to get the surface on the ball he rolled his ball around in the parking lot 😅... that was illegal.

[@StephRenee812]

😂😂

[@844spyder]

Norm Duke is the nicest guy ever except when you're on the lanes against him. He uses all kind of tricks to win people would consider "unsportsmanlike". He'll sand balls to 180 grit he'll speed up a match if his opponent is off or slow the match down to a crawl when they're hot, he's even "slipped" in a title match when the opponent could beat him in the tenth. He's not doing anything at all illegal just using his brain to outsmart his opponent

[@RandomUserName2319]

That strategy has been around at least 30 years.

[@noahkang579]

It seems fair, because the whole point of bowling is adjusting to your circumstances. If his original look is bad you have to move regardless of what the other player is doing

[@soaplesstv]

I might just have to adopt this strat. Thanks Simmo!

[@garybryant19]

Simo is The beautiful mind in bowling

[@steveschu]

This is why you watch and move constantly in bowling and pay attention to your opponents shot on the lane every shot.

[@jah9253]

I'm sure it's a strategy but I would think not too many people could successfully pull it off. It's one thing to play defense, but you also need to combine that with scoring well yourself. I mean in effect you are also drying up the lanes for your own shot as well. Like others said at this level it's all about who can make the most effective adjustments on the lane. All of these bowlers at this level are world class at their sport. But there is a reason the top tend to dominate week after week (Simonson, Tackett, Belmonte, et all)

[@stompingpeak2043]

I have a neutral reactive ball drilling on one of my balls. It tracks very small and creates a ton of carry down. I sabotage all the time. So I'm striking and hitting pocket while others will be washing out lol

[@webmoss]

Boy is 200 IQ for this

[@Rubik1908]

Honestly a smart play. You see this sort of pre-game tactics to change the conditions in other sports all the time. Fair play to him i say

[@lastuberman]

We used to have a king of the hill tournament and the center put the local sharpie as the first king and he was tough to defeat. He'd roll a sanded urethane ball up the track in practice and create himself all the miss area that he needed before switching to reactive in the game.

[@RussellMiller-b9k]

Smart bowling technique

[@JRob-mp7zi]

Ya, John Janowicz on the PBA 50 tour does similar stuff on a regular basis.

[@rishi11514]

Just wondering, wouldn’t this affect Simenson too, because what if his path crosses the dry patch of oil?

[@theaceco]

Sanded Urethane works even better. It's the same as throwing a sanded ball up the OB in warmups to create more miss-room. Smart strategy.

[@tunde2432]

When warming up I watch where everyone throws there ball to see what parts of the lane are breaking down first

[@TrafishAquatics]

Technicly thats called transition and thats part of the game and he used it to his advantage

[@FilipinoBunny]

This was a smart strategy. Clearly Strategy.

[@ivimarty]

smart strategy because either way the lanes are gonna break down as oil pushes down or gets taken off the lane by balls

[@caseyhoyt9911]

Honestly, this was smart on Simo's part. He used a strategy to force Kris to adjust, and he didn't.

[@galechris743]

Simple adjustment, move like an inch forward and to the left. Then play the edge of the oil.

[@angelod4510]

2005 world championship Brian Voss vs Chris loschetter the same thing happened

[@darrenstewart9851]

Well the fact that you have to do this to win speaks for his character, legal or not. Smells like Fear!!!

[@raoulduke2820]

I always destroy my opponents lines with a urethane ball then finish the 3rd game straight up 5 to avoid the havoc.

[@DtKnize]

Simonsen did what he needed to do to win, he is a very smart bowler and a great lane mechanic. Many Pro bowlers would through plastic balls during practice to push oil down the lane to give them an advantage.

[@colemanmech]

plastic with 360 grit hahaha

[@chasebryant1643]

In no way would I consider this bad sportsmanship. This is pure strategy

[@shinym1ss1ngn0]

I throw a urethane on house shot. When i throw a performance ball my line gets ruined. I was sabotaged badly on Thursday night with the new ball and I went to the urethane and started striking out finishing with a 258 that game. Bowling is bowling!

[@johngomillion4872]

Not illegal, guys do similar all the time. Urethane balls are great for messing up a pattern lol.

[@alexthekid1538]

May the best bowler win

[@dee_awesome1]

Transition takes place. You have to make adjustments and never get comfortable on the on the lanes.

[@terrenceturner6254]

Smart judging. It's called DEFENSE

[@Thomas-xk5lj]

I think it's fair based on the fact that both bowlers bowl on the same lanes. If this shouldn't be a factor, they should give each bowlers their own lanes.

[@stanjones5341]

Now if he uses the sanded ball during the match it’s one thing… but nah , that’s like going on a football field kicking up holes before a game.

[@kalithechamp1412]

That’d still be foul in my book. Play a fair and even game. If the cheating is allowed then the other person should be told when the cheating happens and give them time to figure it out. Going into the game expecting one thing and then having it sabotaged is never ok in competitive sports 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️

[@denmanfite3156]

Except it's perfectly allowed and both players can do it. All Simo did was remove "miss room" for him so take up a new line or get beat.

[@stanjones5341]

@@denmanfite3156 removed “miss room” by altering surface ? That’s a no for me, dog.

[@No_Lucks_Given]

Your analogy only proves that it's not cheating even more. They both have to bowl on the same lanes. Just like both teams have to play in the same field. So "ruining" it for one ruins it for both. If it were cheating it would be against the rules.

[@procrastinator6902]

​@@No_Lucks_GivenA better analogy would be kicking up holes and covering them with grass afterwards. They're there and not glaringly obvious, but you know where they are and to avoid them while your opponent doesn't. Yes they may play the same lane but the player who threw the sanded ball knows an area to avoid and made that area specifically where his opponent was throwing. It may not be illegal but it's definitely the bowling version of playing "n!993r pool"

[@StevenBlackwinmobilehomes]

It’s not sabotaging! We do this to break down the lane so it opens up the lane more. Anthony was just farther left then him which made him not have to adjust as quick. We do this in practice at the beginning of every fresh block.

[@cutehumor]

don't hate the playa, hate the game!

[@kevinjoe3578]

That’s strategy, pro bowlers should also have the skill to adjust to lane conditions, it shows how good they are to really deserve that win 😊 as long you are not making noises distracting during the approach or doing something illegal, then it’s all goos 😊 IMHO, bowling also has mind training, the more stable your mental state is, the better you’ll perform as well usually 😊

[@solonely5719]

Jason Belmonte did the same thing to Chris Barnes in the 2013 WSOB on Shark. Barnes shot 300 and then in the title match could barely manage a 200.

[@HoldupHen]

Probably was focused on his adjustment, not realizing if he was hurting his opponent. Some leagues don’t want you resurfacing your bowl once the games start.

[@NobodyGotTimeForThat]

Not sure about PBA matches, but It's against USBC rules that you can't change the surface of your ball once the 1st game starts, which includes using any cleaner (however there are exceptions)..

[@danielcervantez-no5mf]

Your wrong! Simo was setting up his own shot. Kris was right of his break point.

[@davidfishbeck7555]

I've seen simo do this to a lefty

[@panthers1517]

Very smart. That's not illegal at all. He needs to adjust faster.

[@Tejay-Kiama]

What's to say he didn't tighten up in the title game as well? No1 put him under any pressure until he faced Simo.

[@MarcusLanceConcina]

Wasn't there a pro bowler who rolled his ball around on the parking lot asphalt to basically "sand it down" lmao

[@antsux24]

did this in hs against a kid who said i’d “never beat him” chucked urethane at his break point all day. was it my best line? no but did it piss him off and give me the win? yupp

[@thomasleonard9685]

More mental than actual lane change

[@bigdonjr37]

I did that once in practice because the house was flooding the lanes and I shot a 300 that night

[@xClayofTheOmega]

Seems like a rule oversight. Imagine being able to lower or raise the rim between quarters. Steph poppin off? No problem get the wrench and make it 11’ 😵‍💫

[@mrclean1127]

The science of bowling....and not anything shady imo...Kelso could watch him do it and should know what to do and that it's coming....

[@ChanceOfOne344254]

I mean Simo also had to make the shots where he made his line, that's what matters.

[@David-666gforbid]

Sabotaging would be if someone was a Right hander and had to bowl a left handed Bowler, and either one would physically tamper with the opponents side of the Lanes!!!

[@k1ngsizepapa]

He was on the pair and struck. He saw the same transition that Simo did and didn’t adjust. The fact is he didn’t throw the three shots that went high the same. The first one was slower. Did Simo want the lane to transition sooner? Yes. It could have been because he wanted more friction in that spot to improve his own reaction, it could have been because he felt his reaction would be better than his opponents when they had to move in. Probably both. But they are on the same playing field. He would have had to move anyway, no one gets to play the same line for an entire game anymore, especially under the tv lights

[@jeremytruitt6997]

I think he was making a wall for his shot since he was throwing urethane. Also Kris watched him do it during warmup so he should have known and his ball rep could have told him what to do.

[@Great_America]

He should have switched up which ball he used. This strategy was absolutely fair and legal.

[@k1ngsizepapa]

Shim-wrecking happens all the time at the professional level. Doesn’t always get filmed. I watched Mike Fagan do it to Stu Williams at the World Championship.

[@fishgutz4272]

Smart strategy.

[@Mike-n6u9t]

Jason belmonte alks about bowling EJ at the Masters where he could have done that but he said there'd be no point because EJ's so good that it won't matter so he just has to out bowll him

[@DtKnize]

I'm not sure but is that where the term Shim Wrecker came from?

[@ericw6043]

It’s strategy until it’s done against Simo. THEN Simo will call it cheating

[@jamesscruggs4557]

You can attribute it to a couple of balls being thrown.The oil line is gonna to move after every shot

[@truemaggot7472]

100% solid strategy. Bowling is about adapting to lane conditions. If you cant handle it, then you lose. Simple. If i decide i want to throw Urathane and ruin your lines to give me a better shot at winning, i will All day

[@undeadpizza0730]

Feels like cheating but is truly smart strategy

[@PeGaZuZ-21]

We do this on purpose on a pot games night, just to teach adjustments. People who rely on muscle memory will not do well.

[@sandywyckoff5782]

Smart!!!!

[@8fer27]

No. It's called defensive bowling ;)

[@unggulsujati5626]

Smart strategy ofcourse...every pro bowler knows how to avoid the same tracks that wiped by opponent...by moving 1 board each, to seek ideal oil pattern

[@TheCAPTturbo]

There's defense in bowling, adjust or lose

[@craternose348]

I do this all the time, it’s smart.

[@christianwachel7247]

Simo goated

[@TerryBollea1]

As Voss once said....BAN SANDED BALLS!!

[@tyleraubart]

Cube master, this you?

[@WilliamMacauley]

Arnie Goldman used to do the same thing!!

[@MeestahJones]

If he was truly a pro he would have adjusted his line

[@badbowlers]

Fair, but oil patterns are the reason why it’ll never be an Olympic sport. We’re not even talking about the difference between right and left sides of the lane. These were both righties. Now if Simo did this, then proceeded to beat him with a back up ball I’m sure most would cry foul 100%

[@Gavin-f9z]

Simo made a smart move because none of his opponents did that but simo used his brain and forced him to move.

[@andrewfoglestad3641]

this isn't sabotage its strategy, this is like saying you can't use urethane on a house shot due to carry down ( though you shouldn't) the idea of the game is to benefit you and / or your team to win. sabotage is like without someone noticing you scratch up someones interchangeable thumb so it forces them to bowl like shit or change thumbs

[@aquaafd2500]

so simo complains about belmo messing up the lanes with 5 minutes of practice before their game but did the same thing to his opponent 🤦‍♂️

[@DZG_MONEY]

Smart strat even though it might be a cheap win.

[@A_Roub_]

Sabotage is the wrong word to be used. Gamesmanship is what comes to mind and Simo is a student of the game! And a fuckin competitor.

[@brandonsmith6460]

Happens in league allllllllllll the time

[@johnb7794]

Pretty weak move. But hey that’s why everyone was rooting for Marshall in the last tournament.

[@1USACitizen192]

Does not surprise me at all with Simo.

[@Koalaz1]

you know this has been going on for a lot longer than hes even been pro right

[@synysterxp470]

many bowlers do that honestly

[@jimboyer4323]

I was on a team once where we would have me do something very similar to one of the opponents we faced it not illegal to to do this at all

[@THEXL14VE]

honestly ive done it in turnaments and even top players dont watch out for this .. and some times you just have some lanes that are way more used than others and are tougher to strike on , so if throwing at a spot could be cheating idk about letting two contenders of the same category play on two completely different lanes and oil patterns (ive played on a lane that wasnt ever cleaned from oil while my contestants were playing on freshly oiled lanes )

[@edwardranno7119]

Great idea if it works....I never even thought about it

[@lucasslee6770]

Purple hammer...👀

[@Jbmccain86]

Using a ball in your arsenal to ruin an opponent’s line during practice is strategy. However, I feel the line is crossed when you modify or use a ball for the sole purpose to mess up an opponent’s line.

[@soaplesstv]

We have cameras that can see bullets slowed down to a fraction of a second. Either they need new equipment or new replay techs cuz clearly not using it right. Also, them not explaining what they see to confirm/overturn a play is trash. Explain to me what the replay team saw that we didn't. They do it on other sports, why not here?

[@ianahles8099]

As long as the level of sanding was legal, no problem.

[@avlopz]

What do you mean by level of sanding?

[@wyattkliendl1291]

I'll just say both

[@JasonWilbanks-n1i]

2 handed bowlers can screw up your line very fast