An elite few bowlers worldwide are given the chance to compete as an exempt professional on the PBA tour. Even fewer can lay claim to being a PBA major title winner. Local star Michael Haugen Jr. has achieved more in bowling than even he could have hoped for, but his success has often come at a price.
Michael Haugen Jr. rose from relative obscurity to the pinnacle of the bowling world in 2008 when he not only won the Tournament of Champions, but did so in dramatic comeback fashion over one of the most celebrated players on tour. Down by over fifty pins at one point, Michael kept fighting, only to stage one of the greatest comebacks in PBA television history, defeating the inimitable Chris Barnes by a single pin.
Despite positioning himself as a favorite in the PBA Player of the Year race, Michael never lost sight of where he came from. Just a week after the biggest win of his career, he agreed to attend an event to help local children bowl. At the event,however, Michael sustained a finger injury that would end his most promising season to date.
The injuries did not stop there. The next year, he tore his ACL. Though he took a long layoff to recuperate, he elected not to have surgery on his knee. Despite lingering effects, he continues to compete at the highest levels of the sport, managing to turn this past season into more of a victory lap than a comeback trail.
A local web series, The Pain Channel, recently followed Michael Haugen Jr. on his quest to return to the top of the sport. The Pain Channel wanted to find out more about the life of a professional bowler – how the sport affects their health, how they deal with injuries and stay in the right shape to compete, and how they prepare mentally and physically for their craft- and so their camera crews followed Michael to Las Vegas to document the 2011 PBA Tournament of Championships. With an unprecedented one million dollars in prizes, the event offered the most lucrative payouts in PBA history.
Check out
www.painchannel.tv to learn more about Michael Haugen Jr.’s journey - from his stunning victory over eventual Tournament of Champions winner Mika Koivuniemi in the PBA World Championships through the gut-wrenching realization of a missed cut - and discover the heart and determination it really takes to reach the highest levels of the PBA.
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