The Perfect Urethane Counter

After another major championship win on the PBA tour by EJ Tackett, the Venom Shock continues to show that it is still as dominant as ever. But why is the Venom Shock so crucial to success on tour? A huge factor is that the Venom Shock is the perfect counter to urethane going down the lane. 

When urethane goes down the lane, it can drastically alter the lane pattern. Urethane balls push the oil from the front of the lane and disperse it down the lane creating early friction that you need to stay away from with resin balls. This forces you to open your angles to shape around the urethane carry-down. During the PBA World Championship telecast, urethane was used by all non-MOTIV competitors.

To combat the urethane being thrown, EJ Tackett used the Venom Shock. The Venom Shock features the unique combination of the strong Turmoil MFS solid coverstock paired with the fast-revving, low RG, low differential Gear core. This allowed EJ to have confidence that his ball was going to rev up in the oil and not slip past the breakpoint. He also did not need to worry that the Venom Shock would be too aggressive and over-hook off the friction. 

EJ was able to use the track that was being developed on the lane as free hook. He knew that he had plenty of friction where a track was made that he could play off.  If he missed left of his intended target, he was able to capitalize on the urethane carry-down, using it to create hold.  

"I like to use what the urethane balls create on the lane." said EJ Tackett. "Urethane typically creates a good wall of hook in the front/middle parts of the lane, while also creating hold to my left down lane. By using the Venom Shock, I was able to generate maximum miss room and get the ball through the pins in the best way possible."

With a power player like EJ, knowing your ball is going to slow down in the right part of the lane and make a predictable shape off the end of the pattern is key. The Venom Shock gives him as much forgiveness as possible, both left and right. He can use the oil to the left of him as hold and the friction to the right to get the ball back when missing into the friction. The Venom Shock was able to not only counterbalance but capitalize on urethane being thrown.