This time around, the champions will attempt to defend their title on their home turf.

Pelham Electric/Halifax Fairlanes virtually came out of nowhere last year when it won the Candlepin Bowling World Team Championship in Brewer. This year, the team is front and center among the 24 teams that will battle for the 23rd Worlds title at Halifax Fairlanes and Bowling Center in Halifax, Nova Scotia, next week.

“They had [Matt] McPhee, who averaged 133, and Nate LeBlanc with a 128, another guy at 124, and two others at 121,” said Charlie Milan, U.S.A. East team member.

The action starts at 11 a.m. Monday with the $3,000 singles knockout tournament, shifts to team competition Tuesday and continues through Saturday’s finals.

After ending a four-year title run by MacLaughlin Truck & Trailer of Nova Scotia last year, Pelham has joined the “favorites” club along with MacLaughlin, U.S.A. East of Brewer, Maria’s Sub of Scituate, Mass., the N.H. All-Stars and the newly-formed Park Place team from Massachusetts.

This year, 13 of the 24 teams will come from New England states with the other 11 being Canadian.

Other than travel, there isn’t much of a difference – positive or negative – to competing in Canada, according to Milan, U.S.A. East team member and owner of U.S. host facility Bangor-Brewer Bowling Lanes in Brewer.

“To me, it’s the same. I don’t think there’s much difference between there and my place,” Milan said. “Team chemistry is the real key. You have to have at least three guys who can average 125 or better to win it because once you get to a tournament of this caliber, all these guys can bowl.”

Milan likens the five-day team tournament to a marathon or even a battle of attrition.

“You end up bowling nine strings in three matches a day on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning,” he said. “You’re worn out by the time you get to the end of the week.”

Action begins at 9 a.m. each day with the second (playoff) round starting at 3 p.m. Friday. Twelve teams in each of two divisions will battle to finish the first round in the top four spots and earn a spot in the quarterfinals. The top teams in each division will earn quarterfinal byes, which although coveted, are no title guarantees.

“It’s a big advantage not to have to bowl, but the year we won it, we didn’t have a bye and the Halifax team won it without a bye last year, so I guess you’re better off bowling,” Milan said with a chuckle.

Top individual bowlers in the tournament include defending champ Mike Hall of St. John, New Brunswick; U.S.A. East’s Shawn Morrison of Brewer; Bob Whitcomb of Scituate, Mass.; Chris Sargent of Park Place Lanes of Windham, N.H., and Jeff Surette, formerly of New Hampshire-based Stateside Lanes and now with Park Place.

Surette has won two of the first three pro tour tournaments this year and was runner-up in the third.