Top 20 PBA Bowlers 2023: #6 - Dom Barrett

Dom Barrett celebrating his Triple Crown win at the Tournament of Champions. Photo Credit: PBA Tour

If there is one thing that we learned from Dom Barrett’s 2022 season, it is that he is one of the most underrated bowlers of all time.

Everybody knows that the “Dominator” is an excellent competitor and is likely going to the Hall of Fame. However even with his sterling reputation, few expected him to be a contender for Player of the Year late into the season.

In terms of careers, Dom Barrett has had a very unique one. Being a foreign-born bowler and a member of the European Tour, he has excelled in events outside of the United States. Half of his 10 titles were won across the waters, with two in Qatar, and one in Germany, Kuwait and Japan apiece. 

The highlight of Dom Barrett’s 2022 season is obvious. Going into the Tournament of Champions stepladder, there was plenty of buzz surrounding his attempt at securing the triple crown, a feat that had only been done by seven other bowlers. Barrett won the 2013 World Championship early in his career, and five years later secured the US Open. All that was left was  the Tournament of Champions, an event he qualified second for.

Barrett’s Tournament of Champions bid opened with a matchup against Shawn Maldonado, who had just knocked off Hall of Fame member Tommy Jones, and future honoree Sean Rash. Barrett shot lights out in this head to head, finishing the game with a whopping 279. The title match against Kris Prather was much more difficult for Barrett, rolling a much lower score. However, that did not really matter in the end, as he secured the trophy and the Triple Crown honours.

Dom Barrett won his second title of the 2022 season at the Colorado Springs Open. This was a Storm Cup event, meaning that its cumulative points went towards winning a total prize fund. Barrett defeated eventual Rookie of the Year winner Santtu Tahvanainen in the final match, securing him first place and second in the total Storm Cup prize funds.

The Colorado Springs Open was not the only stepladder Dom Barrett held the first seed in. He actually began his season as the top seed in the Southwest region of the Players’ Championship. The title match to win the region however is likely one he wants to forget, as he had one of his worst performances on the lanes of the year against Arturo Quintero.

The successful two title campaign of Dom Barrett allowed him to qualify for the PBA Tour Finals, which ultimately ended up being one of the most entertaining events of the season. Barrett won his side of the stepladder, which qualified him for the best of three series against the other stepladder winner. Unfortunately for Barrett, he was matched up with possibly the hardest opponent imaginable: Jason Belmonte. Belmo was motivated to complete his season-long journey with a fifth title, and he did just that by rolling a perfect game en route to winning the Tour Finals. Despite the loss, Barrett could hold his head high however, as no bowler in PBA history was beating Belmonte that day.

2022 felt sort of like a coming out party for Dom Barrett. He had always been one of the more successful bowlers on tour, but this was arguably the first time he truly was in the running for that “best bowler on the tour” title. Barrett solidified a Hall of Fame case this past season, breaking the 10 title barrier as well as becoming part of that elite triple crown circle. It seems that this underrated bowler will now have the eyes of all PBA fans on him. The question is, will he repeat the greatness of his 2022?

2022 Stats:

Titles: 2 (10 career)

Highest Finish: 1st (Tournament of Champions, Colorado Springs Open)

Tour Points: 22,790

Earnings: $201,595

Average: 222.85