Think I was more shocked at the fact so many guys were playing between 15-20 and looping the ball.  Maybe they felt like they broke down the outside enough to go ahead and move in.  Not sure without talking to them.

It definitely looks demanding. To me, it seems like you want to keep your angles tight and get the ball to 6-7-8 or so down the lane in the early going. It also seems like most guys were going fairly strong with the equipment. I definitely saw a few Hyper Cells and other balls of that type. Obviously, I have no idea what type of surface grit they were going with, but I can't imagine they went overly gritty or else they would've blown the heads apart. As the set moved along, some guys balled down and tried to stay put while a few others went to stuff that was a bit cleaner up front and a little stronger in back. Still, nobody got terribly deep, which has to be expected with a pattern that short.

Honestly, even though I know it's going to play harder than it has in recent years, I still think it's a lot of same old, same old to anyone who bowls on Sport-compliant patterns. Straighter is going to be greater, you aren't going to have much miss room in either direction, things will work best for teams that break them in together, and you'd better have your spare game ready until the lanes work in and things open up (if you allow them to open up).

The teams/players who do that will end up on top just as they always do. Now, the numbers beside their name may end up being a bit lower than what we've seen in a while. Still, I think most of us over-think the whole thing. Bring some balls that give you different looks. Practice on the pattern beforehand if at all possible, and do the best you can.

I practiced on it over the weekend.  I felt it was very tough, as everyone has stated.  We even had a local tournament with that shot, and none of the 30 or so bowlers were positive for 6 games.

The very outside (5 and out) played kind of squirty on my practice pair, although nothing in the pattern would make me think that.  Definitely could be that only one pair was oiled (while burning a pair).  Using the track friction at our house was the best play, because our lane beds are older, but I know that won't be the case in El Paso, unless going in June helps.

I tried everything in my bag and not much gave me a consistent look.  I don't know what to drill up, but am considering a 900 Global Break Down with a very smooth back end layout.

Break down 2/3/4 with surface

From what I have seen, and I haven't had a chance to fully watch both streams yet, just snipets, this seems to be a good plan of attack. Start with something medium playing outside, ball up when the carrydown starts, then start to chase the pattern in as it drys up, balling back down if needed. Some may use something shined to start, I was thinking more along the lines of a Venom Shock, OOB with lane shine. It will be smoother off the end of the pattern to help control the back-ends and then ball up to maybe a Darkness if needed.

if you have 1 guy who doesn't want to cooperate, the pattern goes fubar in a hurry
im told they are super, super clean up front down there and the back ends fly
typical NATS pattern
Actually, tonight, we used shiny in practice, stayed out with it for most of game 1
created some carry down and a little hold, had to ball up game 2
game 3 the finally turned decent

no matter what, where - you still have to throw it well, every shot

With the pattern being that flat, it will be hard to carve the backend. I've only bowled on the pattern once and it is tough on the fresh. Your launch angles have to be really straight through the front. I'm wonder if trying to push the oil down lane in the middle would work. It's hard to say.

From practicing on the pattern and also bowling a 8 game sweeper on the pattern in a different house, I can say that if you are playing the straighter line you better be able to split boards.  At both houses I have had a better look going from like 15-10 around that with a medium ball pin down with 2000 grit and up to 4000 grit.  This has worked with my 900 Global All Day and Breakdowns.    I did not shoot anything great at the 8 game sweeper, but ended -39 for the tournament.  On practice at my normal house the straighter I go the less forgiving this pattern is.  If you look at how the Masters pattern is played most of the pro's are not playing it straight, same idea as it is a shorter flat pattern....