MoRich Enjoys Success at the 2005 Mini Eliminator

The following Mini Eliminator Today flyer reproductions and pictures are courtesy of Jim and CJ Goodwin.

Tournament Recap

Staikoff Seals $30,000 Victory In 12th Annual Mini

The Orleans Bowling Center, Las Vegas: Ted Staikoff, Black Hawk, SD became the third consecutive senior bowler to win the Mini Eliminator top prize, and the fifth in the past 12 years.

Staikoff averaged 214 for 22 games in the event and rolled a 214 game in the championship match to claim the $30,000 top prize. He was the only player in the top four to roll a clean game in the title match, which was a very close contest between the four division winners.

Super-Senior Randolph Salmon Sr., bowling in the 205 and under division, finished second for $15,000 with a nice 200 game. Erik Vermilyea was the youngest player in the final game. A student at the University of Nebraska, he tossed a 194 to take home $12,500. He also won a $2400 sweeper during the week.

The fourth place finisher was Lasse Lintila, Lohja, Finland who fell just short of completing a grand slam of megabuck titles. He has three titles in 2004 and 2005 including the 2004 Super Mini, but today, he had to settle for a 4th place check of $10,000.

"I just took it a frame at a time and focused on staying in the moment and didn’t worry about the other guys," said Staikoff, who won the title with his new MoRich ball, made by Brunswick, drilled at this event. "I was also helped by an article I read recently by Chris Barnes and Fred Borden about the ‘15 second rule’. You have 15 seconds to get over a bad shot and 15 seconds to stick out your chest for a good shot. That really helped me."

The 2005 Mini Eliminator was another very successful event that met and exceeded all advertised guarantees. Besides Staikoff, John Cocchi of Las Vegas won the Brunswick Shootout for $10,000, and Chad Nelson, Owatonna, MN won the MoRich Matchplay Championship for $20,000. All main event finalists cashed for a minimum of $500, and the top 64 took home checks for $2000 or more.

The next Mini Eliminator will be Super Bowl week 2006. For more news and information visit the Mini Eliminator website www.minieliminator.com.