The 18th World Candlepin Team Championship gets under way Monday and for the first time in the tournament’s history, the host Maine Heat team will be the defending champions.

Maine Heat, made up of Maine bowlers led by 23-time Maine state individual candlepin champion Charles Milan III, won its first team title last year in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Milan said the team’s chances to repeat are good.

“They’re the same as last year and we won. Oh, it would be great to win it here. It would mean that we won in our home area,” Milan said.

“I’ve won everything and anything there is in the candlepin game in the last 60 years you can win, except that. That was something,” the 66-year-old Milan added.

One reason for Milan’s belief is the return to the team of Westbrook’s Nate Nealey. Nealey chose not to compete in last year’s tournament and is one of the state’s top bowlers. Last week he won the pro tour event held in Brewer.

Nealey joins his father, candlepin Hall of Famer Russ Nealey of Otis, Shawn Morrison of Bangor, Jerry Scott of Brewer, Tim Matero of Rockport and team captain James Milan of Brewer to make up Maine Heat.

The tournament was started 18 years ago when a group of Canadian bowlers led by Kansas Snow invited bowlers from the United States to Nova Scotia for the first championship.

“They flew 20 of us up to Sydney to bowl in the tournament. We only had five on a team and we bowled four matches a day. Had no subs. We didn’t know what we were getting into,” Charles Milan III said.

The tournament has grown into a 24-team event, with 12 teams from both the U.S. and Canada. The host site alternates between Milan’s Bangor-Brewer Lanes and Halifax.

The knockout, or individual portion of the tournament, begins Monday at noon and pays the winner approximately $3,000. There is $27,000 in team prizes with $10,000 going to the winning team. The team tournament gets underway Tuesday at 9 a.m.