PBA Tour Playoffs

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The PBA Tour Playoffs is an annual invitational event on the PBA Tour in North America that debuted in the 2019 season. After two years as a 24-player tournament, the event has been set up in a 16-player bracket-style format since 2021. [1]

Contents

Tournament Structure

PBA Tour Playoffs participants are chosen and seeded based on points earned in qualifying to-date tournaments of the current season. (For 2019, this included 13 events, from the PBA Hall of Fame Classic through the USBC Masters; for 2020, this included 12 events due to the cancellation of the USBC Masters.) PBA Tour points are awarded on a tier system, as follows:

For 2019 and 2020, the top eight players in points received byes into the second round (round of 16). The #9 through #24 seeds competed in single-elimination matches (one standard ten-frame game each) to determine who advanced to the second round. [2]

For 2019, Round 2 and all subsequent rounds featured double-elimination matches, also known as the "race to two points". Any player winning both games in a match earns two points and advances to the next round. If the match is split one game each, the players bowl a 9th/10th frame roll-off to determine who wins the second point and the right to advance. If the 9th/10th frame roll-off results in a tie, a one-ball, sudden death roll-off is used until a winner is determined. For 2020, only the championship finals used the race to two points format. All other rounds were single-elimination matches.

The PBA Players Committee originally voted to make the playoffs a non-title event, citing the low number of games bowled as the primary reason. [3] However, on December 6, 2019, the PBA announced that the winner of the 2019 PBA Playoffs would retroactively be awarded a PBA Tour title, and that the winner of the 2020 PBA Playoffs and subsequent events will be credited with a PBA title. [4] As of 2020, winners also receive a WWE championship belt, as part of a cross-promotion with WWE wrestling, which is also broadcast on Fox Sports (current home of the PBA). [5]

Since 2021, the PBA Playoffs feature a 16-player field rather than a 24-player field. All PBA Playoffs matches are double-elimination ("race to two points") except for the final match, which uses a "race to three points" format. Players bowl a maximum of four games, with the first player to win three games earning the championship. If the match is split two games each, the players bowl a 9th/10th frame roll-off for the third point and the title. [6]

In 2024, the PBA Playoffs had a 16-player starting field, with the 12 through 16 seeds competing in a separate stepladder event to qualify for the #12 seed. The 5 through 11 seeds were then joined by the #12 seed in a bracketed round of eight. The top four seeds automatically gained entry into the quarterfinal round of eight, facing the four survivors of the 5 through 12 brackets. Elimination brackets then continued until a champion was crowned. [7]

Tournament history

Past winners

SeasonStarting FieldFinals AirdateFinals LocationFinals Format(Seed) WinnerFinals Score(Seed) Runner-up
201924June 2, 2019 Portland, ME Race to 2 pts.(9) Kris Prather [8] 2–0(7) Bill O'Neill
202024November 8, 2020 Centreville, VA Race to 2 pts.(2) Bill O'Neill [9] 2–0(4) Anthony Simonsen
202116May 16, 2021 Milford, CT Race to 3 pts.(1) Kyle Troup [6] 3–1(11) Sam Cooley
202216May 15, 2022 Jupiter, FL Race to 3 pts.(9) Kyle Troup3–1(6) Tommy Jones
2023not held
202416May 19, 2024 Kissimmee, FL Race to 2 pts.(9) David Krol 1–1 (48–40)*(10) Jesper Svensson


2024 event

16-player field based on 2024 PBA Tour points through April 28. $301,000 prize fund. All matches until the final round are single-game elimination.

Play-in round

Held May 4 in Arlington, Washington. [10]

Stepladder match 1:#15 Andrew Anderson defeats #16 A. J. Johnson, 217–193 (Johnson earns $5,000)
Stepladder match 2:#15 Andrew Anderson defeats #14 Graham Fach, 257–227 (Fach earns $6,000)
Stepladder match 3:#15 Andrew Anderson defeats #13 Packy Hanrahan, 191–185 (Hanrahan earns $7,000)
Stepladder match 4:#12 Tom Smallwood defeats #15 Andrew Anderson, 298–247 (Anderson earns $8,000)

Round of 12

Held May 5 in Arlington, Washington. Includes the #5 through #12 seeds. Winners (bold text) join the top four seeds in the quarterfinals. Losers earn $10,000. [11]

Match 1: #8 Zachary Wilkins (233) vs. #9 David Krol (246)
Match 2:#5 Jason Belmonte (218) vs. #12 Tom Smallwood (207)
Match 3: #7 Matt Russo (246) vs. #10 Jesper Svensson (249)
Match 4:#6 Kyle Troup (236) vs. #11 Chris Via (194)

Quarterfinals

Held May 5 in Arlington, Washington (air date: May 12). Top four seeds are automatically placed into this round. Winners (bold text) advance to the Semifinals. Losers earn $15,000. [12]

Match 1: #1 E. J. Tackett (213) vs. #9 David Krol (257)
Match 2:#4 Bill O'Neill (238) vs. #5 Jason Belmonte (206)
Match 3: #2 Marshall Kent (224) vs. #10 Jesper Svensson (289)
Match 4: #3 Anthony Simonsen (225) vs. #6 Kyle Troup (234)

Semifinals

Held May 19 in Kissimmee, Florida. Winners (bold text) advance to the finals. Losers earn $25,000. [13]

Match 1:#9 David Krol (243) vs. #4 Bill O'Neill (202)
Match 2:#10 Jesper Svensson (224) vs. #6 Kyle Troup (211)

Finals

Held May 19 in Kissimmee, Florida. Two semifinal winners face each other in a "race to two points" final round. [13]

Match 1:Jesper Svensson def. David Krol (220–213)
Match 2:David Krol def. Jesper Svensson (204–194)
Roll-off:David Krol def. Jesper Svensson (48–40)

David Krol earns $75,000.
Jesper Svensson earns $50,000.

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References

  1. ↑ Lowe, Mike (7 April 2019). "Pros return to Bayside Bowl in Portland for new PBA playoffs". pressherald.com. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  2. ↑ "PBA Playoffs Bracket" (PDF). pba.com. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  3. ↑ Wiseman, Lucas (May 31, 2019). "PBA Players Committee Recommended Playoffs Not Count As A Title". FloBowling.com. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  4. ↑ Vint, Bill (6 December 2019). "Kris Prather Retroactively Awarded PBA Title for 2019 PBA Playoffs Win". BowlersJournal.com. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  5. ↑ Warner, K. (11 October 2020). "JAKOB BUTTURFF, FRANCOIS LAVOIE, DICK ALLEN, MARSHALL KENT ADVANCE TO PBA PLAYOFFS ROUND OF 16". pba.com. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  6. 1 2 "KYLE TROUP WINS KIA PBA PLAYOFFS FOR EIGHTH CAREER TITLE". pba.com. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  7. ↑ "2024 PBA PLAYOFFS". pba.com. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  8. ↑ Wallace, Eric J. (2 June 2019). "Milton's Kris Prather wins inaugural PBA Playoffs, $100,000 prize". pnj.com. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  9. ↑ "BILL O'NEILL WINS PBA PLAYOFFS FOR 13TH TITLE". pba.com. 8 November 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  10. ↑ Hughes, Nolan (4 May 2024). "TOM SMALLWOOD WINS PLAY-IN ROUND OF PBA PLAYOFFS". pba.com. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  11. ↑ Hughes, Nolan (5 May 2024). "TROUP, BELMONTE, KROL, SVENSSON ADVANCE TO QUARTERFINALS OF PBA PLAYOFFS". pba.com. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  12. ↑ Hughes, Nolan (12 May 2024). "TWO-TIME DEFENDING CHAMPION TROUP HEADLINES FINAL FOUR OF PBA PLAYOFFS". pba.com. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  13. 1 2 Hughes, Nolan (19 May 2024). "DAVID "BOOG" KROL WINS PBA PLAYOFFS". pba.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
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