Introduction
Kristopher (Kris) Prather (born January 1, 1992) of Plainfield, Illinois is an American professional ten-pin bowler who competes on the PBA Tour. He is known for winning the inaugural PBA Tour Playoffs on June 2, 2019 and the PBA Tournament of Champions on February 9, 2020.
Kris is a member of the Roto Grip and Vise Grips pro staffs.
Amateur career
Prather bowled collegiately at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. As an amateur, he won the 2012 Paragon Open in Grand Rapids, Michigan and finished second at the 2012 New Mexico Open.
As of January 2020, Prather is a member of Team USA.
Professional career
After qualifying for the championship finals four times in 2018 and twice more in early 2019 without winning, Prather broke through with his first PBA title in the PBA Scorpion Championship, held at the 2019 World Series of Bowling in Allen Park, Michigan. Based on points earned during the first 13 events of the 2019 season, he qualified as the #9 seed for the inaugural PBA Tour Playoffs. He was the only player to make the final four who did not earn a first-round bye. He defeated #4 seed Anthony Simonsen in the semifinal round on June 1, then topped #7 seed Bill O'Neill on June 2 to take the championship and $100,000 first place prize. Originally, the PBA Tour Playoffs was considered a non-title event. However, on December 6, 2019, the PBA announced that Prather would retroactively be awarded a PBA title for his win, giving him his second career Tour title.
Kris was a member of the Portland Lumberjacks team, winners of the 2019 PBA League competition.
On February 9, 2020, Prather won the PBA Tournament of Champions held in Fairlawn, Ohio. As the #4 seed for the stepladder finals, he won all four matches, defeating Sean Rash, Jason Belmonte, Anthony Simonsen, and Bill O'Neill to capture his third PBA Tour title, first major, and second career $100,000 prize check.
In addition to his two national PBA Tour titles, Prather has earned two PBA Regional Tour titles. He has rolled 25 certified perfect 300 games, including two in PBA Tour competition, and has 11 certified 800 series.
Career statistics
Statistics are through the last full PBA Tour season.
| Season | Events | Cashes | Match Play | CRA+ | PBA Tour Titles | PBA Regional Titles | Average | Earnings ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 214.55 | 7,400 |
| 2016 | 19 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 216.63 | 24,615 |
| 2017 | 18 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 219.34 | 20,985 |
| 2018 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 220.33 | 59,135 |
| 2019 | 26 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 216.50 | 179,348 |