I picked the Crossroad up in a trade because I have been going almost exclusively Storm/Roto for a while now. I tried the Crossroad at several different surfaces to see what it could really do. I started at 2000 matte to see if I could give it a benchmark style reaction similar to what I once had with the Hyroad. It was quickly obvious that that wasn't going to happen for me with the layout I had on it. The ball was simply too long and too strong for benchmark. Even with the flatter surface, the ball cleared the heads easily and still really turned the corner hard. The reaction was rounded, not jumpy, but it was still very angular. As such, I decided to go back to box finish, and then the ball really got fun to throw. With the shine back on it, the ball is even cleaner through the front and even more angular off the spot down lane. Compared to my Frantic, which is one of my favorite all-around balls of the last five years, the Crossroad is probably 3-4 feet longer and clearly sharper off of the spot. It's a really nice ball for getting inside. The nice thing is that the hybrid cover blends things out and makes it less squirty than most pearls. Overall, I still favor my Frantic and IQ Tour Pearl as a 1-2 when I need to get deep. Still, if you like balls that are long and strong, especially if you're bowling on open patterns, you'll love the Crossroad!