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After months of being sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic, the PBA announced Wednesday when competition will return this summer.

The first event up will be the PBA Strike Derby, which will air live on FOX on June 6 in prime time from 7-9 p.m. Eastern. It will be streamed live for international viewers on FloBowling.

The derby will feature Tommy Jones, Kyle Troup, Sean Rash, EJ Tackett, Kris Prather, Shawn Maldonado, Anthony Simonsen and Bill O'Neill. It will mark the PBA’s first telecast since the 2020 PBA World Championship show on March 15.

The eight spots were awarded to champions of the eight completed events in 2020 so far. Australia’s Jason Belmonte and Sweden’s Jesper Svensson declined invitations presumably due to travel issues. That allowed Maldonado (runner-up at the PBA Indianapolis Open to Svensson) and Tackett (third at the PBA World Championship behind Belmonte and Simonsen) to get in.

The eight PBA players will join PWBA stars Shannon O’Keefe and Danielle McEwan for the PBA Summer Clash, which will air on FOX (United States) and FloBowling (international) on June 13 from 6-8 p.m. Eastern.

The PBA also announced the PBA King of the Lanes will take place in July on FS1 with players and dates to be announced.

None of the events are expected to award PBA Tour titles.

“We are so excited to be one of the first properties bringing live sports back to broadcast television,” PBA CEO Colie Edison said in a news release. “This dynamic series of events will showcase the immense talent of our elite bowlers to a wide audience and we look forward to welcoming new fans to the Professional Bowlers Association.”

The PBA said in the release that all of the competition will be held at Bowlero Jupiter in Florida without fans in attendance and an abundance of caution toward the safety of the players, officials and TV production crew.

As for formats, the PBA Strike Derby will feature the eight players competing in a timed competition with each player getting two minutes to record as many strikes as they can. They will then be placed into an elimination bracket until there’s a champion.

The PBA Summer Clash will utilize the same format as past PBA Clash events with a one-ball elimination format. Each round a player is eliminated until the final player left standing is the champion.

The PBA King of the Lanes will be a four-night live event. According to the release, the format will begin by deciding the “king” of the lanes, who will then defend the crown against a different challenger in a one-game match. The winner will be the king and returns the next night to face new challengers, with that process continuing each night.

Regularly scheduled PBA Tour events on FOX Sports that were postponed due to COVID-19, such as PBA World Series of Bowling animal pattern championships, the USBC Masters, PBA Playoffs and PBA League team competition, are being rescheduled for the fall and winter, the PBA said in the release.

PBA Strike Derby

Where: Bowlero Jupiter, Florida
When: Saturday, June 6, 7-9 pm ET
TV: FOX (U.S.), FloBowling (international)

Competing, and how they qualified, by 2020 Go Bowling PBA Tour event:

1. Tommy Jones, PBA Hall of Fame Classic champion
2. Sean Rash, PBA Oklahoma Open champion
3. Kyle Troup, PBA Jonesboro Open champion
4. Kris Prather, PBA Tournament of Champions champion
5. Bill O'Neill, PBA Players Championship champion
6. Anthony Simonsen, US Open runner-up (champion Jason Belmonte of Australia unable to attend).
7. Shawn Maldonado, PBA Indianapolis Open runner-up (champion Jesper Svensson of Sweden unable to attend).
8. E.J. Tackett, PBA World Championship third place (champion Belmonte, second place was Simonsen already in).

PBA Summer Clash

Where: Bowlero Jupiter, FL
When: Saturday, June 13, 6-8 pm ET
TV: FOX (U.S.), FloBowling (international)

Competing:
 Same eight PBA players from Strike Derby (Tommy Jones, Sean Rash, Kyle Troup, Kris Prather, Bill O'Neill, Anthony Simonsen, Shawn Maldonado, E.J. Tackett); Joined by top two in 2019 PWBA competition points:

1. Shannon O'Keefe
2. Danielle McEwan

PBA King of the Lanes

Where: Bowlero Jupiter, FL
When: July, dates and times TBA
TV: FS1 (U.S.), FloBowling (international)

Competing: Players to be named