The first event of the FloBowling era kicks off this Saturday, June 30, at the PBA Parkside Lanes Open in Aurora, Illinois! 

Click here to watch the 2018 PBA Parkside Lanes Open LIVE on FloBowling!

Some of bowling's top names, including Sean Rash and Andrew Anderson, will be in attendance at this marquee event, so there will be plenty of action to keep you occupied—here are some of top things to look for.

Unique format means every game matters 

The Parkside Lanes Open features a unique format in which every game on every pair matters – even during qualifying.

All of the players in the field will bowl together on one squad in two rounds of qualifying on Saturday and Sunday. The top 25 percent of the field will advance to the semifinals on Monday for another eight games.

That all sounds pretty typical, right? But, there’s a catch. For this tournament, 10 bonus pins will be awarded for each bowler a player beats on their pair every game in each of the three rounds.

Assuming four bowlers on each pair, the highest player each game will receive 30 bonus pins for beating the other three players. The second highest scorer would get 20 bonus pins, the third highest 10 bonus pins and the lowest scorer would get no bonus pins.

Chameleon, Don Carter and Bear patterns to challenge players

With three different lane conditions being used, this week’s event will very much put an emphasis on shot making even though all three patterns are exactly the same length: 39 feet.

The first round of qualifying will take place on the PBA Chameleon pattern with a 2.19 to 1 ratio. The last time this pattern was used to determine a national title was at the 2017 World Series of Bowling when Liz Johnson won the PBA Chameleon Championship presented by Reno Tahoe.

The PBA Don Carter pattern will be used for the second round of qualifying. With a ratio of 2.66 to 1, this is the same pattern that was used in the 2018 PBA Tour Finals that recently aired on CBS Sports Network. Jason Belmonte defeated EJ Tackett for the title in that event.

In the semifinals, the top quarter of the field will face off against the PBA Bear pattern, the flattest of the three patterns at a 2.10 to 1 ratio. Back in April, Dick Allen mastered this pattern to win the PBA Xtra Frame Port Property Management Maine Shootout.

So, with three patterns being used, what happens in the stepladder finals? That’s where being the higher seed is an advantage. The higher-seeded player in each stepladder match gets to pick which of the three patterns they want the match to be contested on – a big advantage.

Keep an eye on Ciminelli, Rash and Anderson 

The first and only other time the Parkside Lanes Open was held in 2016, lefty Ryan Ciminelli defeated J.R. Raymond, 232-221, to win the title. And as you would expect, Ciminelli is back to defend his title against a field with a maximum size of 108 bowlers.

Successfully defending his title won’t be easy, however, as the event features a lot of big names. Among them is tournament host Sean Rash, who finished in 13th place at the 2016 event. Rash bowls league at the center, will have plenty of fan support and will have the comforts of home all weekend long.

PBA Tour points leader Andrew Anderson is also among those scheduled to compete. With two titles this season, including a major at the United States Bowling Congress Masters, Anderson is in the hunt for PBA Player of the Year.

Plenty of other big names are also in the field. To see the entire roster, click here.

What the schedule looks like

The Parkside Lanes Open is spread out over three days, beginning Saturday and concluding Monday. Here’s the schedule of events (all times Central):

Saturday, June 30

10 a.m. – First round of qualifying (eight games, all bowlers)

Sunday, July 1

10 a.m. – Second round of qualifying (eight games, all bowlers)

Monday, July 2

10 a.m. – Semifinals (eight games, top 25 percent of bowlers after qualifying)

3 p.m. – Stepladder finals (top five players after semifinals)