By David Sisson
On Monday, April 15th, 2024, Deo Benard earned his first PBA championship title. To win the title and prize of $20,000, he had to beat Alec Keplinger, Mikey Schlabach, and more importantly, Marshall Kent, one of the more distinguished and seasoned PBA bowlers in the finals of the Cheetah event lineup.
Benard played a beautiful 3 matches to claim the title. In his 1st match, against Alec Keplinger, he scored 257-226. In his second match, against Mikey Schlabach, he scored a whopping 234-165. Finally, in his last match against Marshall Kent, he scored 222-204, outscoring Kent by a surprising 18 points and striking out in the 10th frame to secure his victory.
Deo Benard is the 20th player to win their first career title in the PBA’s WSOB.
Deo Benard is the son of former pro bowler, Rick Benard, a four time regional PBA tour champion. To follow somewhat in his father's footsteps, he decided he wanted to bowl competitively, winning his first regional title in 2020 at the age of 16 and 4 more titles in 2023 along with a heavily deserved Southwest Player of the Year award/honor.
His prowess in the prior season led him to his first television appearance a month prior to the Cheetah Championship in the PBA Legacy Cup: Legends and Rising Stars team tournament in which he played with Tom Daugherty and Parker Bohn III. Though his team ended up losing, he struck on each of his 3 turns, providing significant help where it was needed during his short lived first tv appearance.
From what I’ve gathered personally, Deo Benard is a shining and promising young prospect, who will most likely go on to win multiple titles later on in his career and end up being one of the better known or great players on the tour. This title win has opened up new doors and has shown Benard what he is capable of in terms of bowling.
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