Mark Roth led from the very first game when he fired a 280 and won his second title of the 1978 Winter Tour, the $100,000 Quaker State Open.
Roth, seeded first in the nationally televised finals, held a slim lead over Marshall Holman going into the 10th frame of the championship game and could have shut Holman out with a nine-count on his final delivery, but an eight-count left the door open for his doubles partner.
Holman needed three strikes to tie the match and force a two-frame rolloff. He got the first two, but he threw the final ball through the nose and left the 6-7-10, ending his title quest, 216-213.
TELEVISED FINALS
| Pos. |  |
Name, City/State | Total | Amount | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
| 1 | |
Mark Roth, Staten Island, N.Y . | 216 (1 game) | $15,000 | |||||||||||
| 2 | |
Marshall Holman, Medford, Ore. | 468 (2 games) | 8,000 | |||||||||||
| 3 | |
Mike Berlin, Muscatine, Iowa | 647 (3 games) | 6,000 | |||||||||||
| 4 | |
John Wilcox, Shavertown, Pa. | 190 (1 game) | 5,000 | |||||||||||
| 5 | |
Pete Couture, Windsor Locks, Conn. | 226 (1 game) | 4,000 | |||||||||||
|
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PLAYOFF RESULTS - Berlin defeated Couture, 236-226;
Berlin defeated Wilcox, 208-190; Holman defeated Berlin, 255-203, and in
the championship game, Roth defeated Holman, 216-213.