Darren Tang won his first Guaranteed Rate PBA Tour title by defeating Kyle Troup, 254-174, in the championship match of the PBA Bowlerstore.com Classic presented by Moxy’s Xtra Pair at Pla-Mor Lanes in Coldwater, Ohio. The win also moved Tang into the lead in the PBA Summer Tour points race with one event left to play.

Tang led the Bowlerstore.com Classic after every round of competition, averaging 217.53 over 17 games in the notoriously difficult bowling center, to earn the top seed for the stepladder finals.

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Troup qualified second and eliminated Anthony Simonsen in the semifinal match to reach the championship. Had Troup been able to win, he would’ve become the first player in PBA Tour history to break the half-million-dollar mark in single-season earnings. Instead, Troup now sits $3,100 short with one event left on the PBA Summer Tour.

Tang’s best previous finish was second, a feat he accomplished three times. His most recent runner-up finish came as the top seed in the 2020 PBA Hall of Fame Classic, losing to Tommy Jones, who rolled a perfect game.

With the win in Coldwater, Tang moved from 11th to first in the PBA Summer Tour points race, now holding a 65-point advantage over Simonsen, who remains second. Shawn Maldonado, who finished fourth in Coldwater, is still third. EJ Tackett, the Summer Tour points leader entering the event, finished 27th to drop to fourth. The 10 best players on the PBA Summer Tour will receive a portion of the $40,000 bonus prize fund, with the top performer earning $20,000.

The final event of the PBA Summer Tour begins Saturday with qualifying for the PBA Chesapeake Open in Chesapeake, Va.