Belmonte, who was in second place through 24 games of qualifying, won eight of his 12 matches on Friday AEST in taking over the lead.

Belmonte, one of three players (along with Mike Durbin and Jason Couch) to have won the Tournament of Champions three times, is looking to become the first player ever to win the event a fourth time.

Anthony Simonsen worked his way into second place and Tom Smallwood, who had been the leader after all four rounds of qualifying and the first round of match play, dropped to third after match play round two.

Sean Rash and Tom Daugherty sit in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Bill O'Neill, who started the day in 17th place, used a field-best 10-2 record to help him move up to eighth.

Match play resumes tomorrow on FloBowling with round three at noon ET and round four.

At the conclusion of the final round of match play, the top five players will advance to the stepladder finals airing Sunday, Feb. 28 at 1 p.m. ET on FOX Broadcast Channel.

Kia PBA Tournament of Champions Standings Through 36 Games

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