Belmonte’s surge up the qualifying ladder capped a four-event qualifying series with his third chance to win his first 2016 title.

Belmonte, who failed to qualify among the top 12 in the Bear Open, had a solid six-game round on the flat 41-foot Bear pattern to take the lead and he maintained his pace throughout the Badger qualifying round to lock up his 10th television appearance in the four-year history of the PBA Fall/Summer Swing.

The 33-year-old two-handed star qualified earlier in the week for the PBA Wolf and Badger Open finals.

Belmonte finished the 36-game Detroit Open qualifying phase, bowled in three 12-game blocks on the PBA’s Wolf, Bear and Badger oiling patterns, with a 229.9 average for an 8,277 pinfall total.

Sean Rash qualified second with 8,100 pins followed by Wes Malott at 8,078; E.J. Tackett at 7,953 and Tom Daugherty with 7,927 pins.

“It’s always fun when more pins fall for you than anyone else,” Belmonte said.

“I always set a very high standard for myself and the beginning of this year was good, but I’m here to win.

“That’s the goal I set, and when you’re not at your best, that’s the frustrating part.

“So for the past few months, I’ve worked very hard to lose a few kilos, become extremely focused on my spare game and it’s paying off.

“I don’t want to be second, ever, so I’m going to work harder than anyone else to get to the top again.”

With his high-revolution game, Belmonte has historically struggled on the shorter lane oiling patterns, including the 32-foot Wolf pattern, the shortest application of oil in PBA Tour competition.

So when he qualified for the CBS Sports Network finals in the Wolf Open, he had a good feeling.

“I was happy with my short oil game,” he said.

“I wanted to make good shots on it, and that’s exactly what I did.

The 12-time PBA Tour title winner said his plan was to attack from the outset – a blue print that propelled him back to his best on the lanes.

“I decided to be very aggressive and if I threw the ball in the gutter, it fell in, and it didn’t bother me. That helped my confidence,” he added.

“I always feel if I have enough games, I can make it to the TV show.

“The more games I have, the better the chance I have to catch the leaders. Or, in this case, to stay in front.”

Daugherty, who entered the day in 14th place, completed his charge to the stepladder finals with a 268 final game to win a battle with Brad Angelo.