Stefanie Johnson defeated Liz Johnson to claim the throne as Empress of the Lanes following the fifth and final telecast of the PBA King of the Lanes: Empress Edition presented by Pabst Blue Ribbon held at Bayside Bowl. Stefanie Johnson, a three-time PWBA Tour champion, rolled 216 to Liz Johnson’s 189 to earn the crown.

“Liz Johnson is an icon,” said Stefanie Johnson. “Just to be in her presence alone is incredible, and to beat the best of the best is just awesome.”

To get a chance at Liz Johnson in the Empress match, Stefanie Johnson first had to win her contenders match against Verity Crawley. Stefanie Johnson began with the front nine, but a 10 pin on her first shot in the 10th ended her run at perfection.

“I got close,” said Stefanie Johnson, “but the task at hand is always to win the match and that was my goal.”

Stefanie Johnson finished with 278 to get past Crawley, who rolled six consecutive strikes late in the game to finish with 222.

“This crowd is absolutely electrifying,” said Stefanie Johnson. “It’s enlightening. I fed off of it. Obviously I can hear them, but I have to stay laser-focused on what I’m doing. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I work really hard and to have the fruits of my labor pay off is amazing.”

Liz Johnson became the Empress in the first of two telecasts on the evening by winning two matches by large margins. First, she defeated Ashly Galante in the contenders match, 248-187, then dethroned Empress Missy Parkin with a 232-181 victory. Parkin earned the title of Empress on the first night of competition by defeating Daria Pajak, who reigned for two telecasts after defeating inaugural Empress Kelly Kulick.

The PBA King of the Lanes presented by Pabst Blue Ribbon resumes Saturday, June 19, with Chris Barnes facing AJ Johnson in the contenders match and reigning King Kris Prather awaiting in the king match.