Orange tenpin bowling champion Jason Belmonte has been named the number one player of the past 25 years by the major sanctioning body for the sport in the United States, the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA).

To celebrate the conclusion of the 25th season since the year 2000, the PBA has been conducting a countdown of the 25 top players of the last 25 years.

The rankings have been determined by a point system, with 1 to 15 points allocated for various accolades achieved in competition during the 2000 to 2025 seasons.

Belmonte, or ‘Belmo’ as he is familiarly known, not only came out on top in the rankings but did so by a significant margin, more than 100 points clear of the number 2 player EJ Tackett.

Since launching his PBA career in 2008, Belmo has claimed an astounding 17 standard titles and 15 major titles, along with 72 standard top-five finishes and 38 major top-five finishes. He has also been named ‘Player of the Year’ seven times, which is tied for the most ever by any player.

“With all due respect to the greats who competed on the PBA Tour over the last 25 seasons, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out the best player of the 21st century thus far,” wrote the PBA’s Nolan Hughes, announcing the results on the association’s website.

“Belmonte’s 15 major victories are more than double any other player of this era, and five more than any player won in their entire career. In majors, only seven players finished top five as many times as Belmonte won the title.

“If you removed all of those major titles from his point total, Belmonte would still rank No. 1.”

Belmo, who makes no secret of his goal to be known as the sport's ‘Greatest Of All Time’, said the recognition was truly an honour.

“It felt pretty good to be honest,” he said. “Bowling is a love and a passion of mine for sure, but along with those things comes a lot of sacrifice and time and energy and dedication and travel and you often think about things that you've missed.

“So, occasionally it is really great to be able to also see what you've accomplished.”

and when this particular award was given, it spelled out my career in a snapshot and to see the numbers and how far in front of second I was, it was like a massive splash of water in your face to remind you that it is real.”

Belmo, who flew out to Japan for a promotional tour shortly after speaking with Orange City Life on Monday, said the journey would not have been possible without the support of his family, friends, sponsors, and fans along the way.

But Belmo is far from done just yet. His goal, he said, is to win five more majors, which would be an incredible total of 20 for his career.

“I still want to reach that magic number,” he said, “and I am tied for most 'Player of the Year' awards of all time, so achieving that one more time would separate me from the game's greatest.

“Those things, along with a second US Open win if possible,” Belmo added, saying he would like his record to leave no doubt in anyone's mind - particularly his own, it seems - who the greatest of all time is.

“I'm not quite there yet from my perspective. So those three things in particular… I think I may then have that internal feeling that I've reached the top of the mountain.”