Belmonte finished 21st in yesterday’s Chameleon Championship in Las Vegas, after surviving the initial cut to the top 24.

The two-handed bowler battled through the next seven games but slipped back to 21st, 177 pins behind the top four who qualified for the championship final.

“Ugh. Not a good night on the lanes,” Belmonte posted on Facebook.

“Off to get some sleep then at it again tomorrow. Scores can be found on PBA.com (look near the bottom to see my name) - congrats to those who made the show. Lanes were tricky tonight.”

It means Belmonte has missed qualifying for a final in the first three WSOB animal patterns after finishing 13th in the Cheetah and fifth in the Viper.

Belmonte was 17th after the initial seven qualifying games for the Chameleon Championship with his 1565, while Texan D.J Archer led the field with 1696.

During the top 24’s next seven games Belmonte found the going tough bowling 169, 219, 216, 196, 178, 203 and 223 for a 1404 total.

His 14-game 2969 total for the event was well behind the 3146 bowled by fourth qualifier J.R Raymond and top seed Archer (3202).

It’s not all bad news for Belmonte as he is still on track to qualify for the top 24 for the PBA World Championship, which is determined by the qualifying rounds for the four animal patterns.

After the first three events, Belmonte is sixth on the ladder with a 21-game total of 4807.

American Ronnie Russell leads the standings on 4904.

Once the top 24 are decided, they will bowl 24 games of round robin match play, after which the top four seeds move into the televised final.

Belmonte’s first focus is the Scorpion Championship being bowled today.

The first seven qualifying games will be finished by 12pm (AEDT) and the top 24 will roll their second seven games from 1.30-4pm.

After this the top four advance to the final.