Winning one of bowling’s major titles a ‘dream come true’ for Springfield’s Via

Two strikes later, it looked like the Springfield bowler was right, but Butturff’s final ball was a little off and the 2 pin remained. The U.S. Open title belonged to Via by the narrowest of margins, 214-213.

“It was a shock and then I had a holy crap moment when I realized what it meant,” Via said.

Moments later – wearing the coveted green jacket and holding the massive eagle trophy – the win became a reality at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada. The 29-year-old right-hander had claimed his first title in the final major event of the PBA season

“To do it at this event, and at the stadium, the Mecca of bowling, is a dream come true,” Via said. “I got a bunch of bucket list items marked off in one tournament.”

Via – the top seed heading into Sunday’s championship round – has had a solid run following his top-five effort at last year’s U.S. Open. He finished fifth at the 2020 PBA World Championship, rolled a televised 300 game during the East Region Finals of the 2021 PBA Players Championship and finished fourth at the 2021 PBA World Championship.

“I’ve bowled well when I’ve been on TV and I thought, eventually, one of these times, I’d win,” Via said.

The finalists were separated by one pin after seven frames, both working on spares in the eighth frame. A 3-7-9 split by Butturff opened the door for Via but the Springfield bowler rolled an eight, spare, strike in the 10th, giving his opponent a chance to tie. The loss by the Arizona bowler meant the third runner-up finish for Butturff at the U.S. Open, the first two coming in 2017 and 2018.

The celebration will be short-lived as Via will now travel to the PBA Super Slam in Virginia to compete against the other major winners from this season. He will be joined by Kyle Troup (PBA Players Championship), Francois Lavoie (PBA Tournament of Champions) and Tom Daugherty (Guaranteed Rate PBA World Championship) and Thomas Larsen (Masters).

“I’ll pretty much take my clothes out of my bag, wash them and pack them,” Via said, smiling.

The U.S. Open champion wouldn’t want it any other way.

2021 U.S. Open At National Bowling Stadium, Reno Final Standings 1, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 214 (one game), $30,000. 2, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 470 (two games), $15,000. 3, Anthony Neuer, Lewisburg, Pa., 439 (two games), $12,000. 4, Cristian Azcona, Clermont, Fla., 458 (two games), $10,000. 5, Jason Sterner, Rochester, N.Y., 256 (one game), $8,000.

Stepladder Results Match No. 1 - Azcona def. Sterner, 258-256. Match No. 2 - Neuer def. Azcona, 236-200. Semifinal - Butturff def. Neuer, 257-203. Championship - Via def. Butturff, 214-213.