Eight of the 2024 season’s top performers are finally set to take the lanes at Angel of the Winds Casino Resort in Arlington, Wash.
EJ Tackett, David Krol, Bill O’Neill, Jason Belmonte, Marshall Kent, Jesper Svensson, Anthony Simonsen and Kyle Troup each qualified for the PBA Playoffs by ranking top 16 in competition points this season.
Tackett, Kent, Simonsen and O’Neill, the top four qualifiers, earned a bye to the quarterfinals.
In last weekend’s live Round of 12, Belmonte defeated Tom Smallwood, Krol sent Zach Wilkins home just in time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Svensson dethroned Matt Russo and Troup took down Chris Via.
The four quarterfinals victors will advance to the semifinal and championship rounds, which will be held next weekend at AMF Kissimmee in Kissimmee, Fla. Tickets for the PBA Playoffs Finals are available here.
The quarterfinals, taped last weekend, air May 12 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on FS1.
No. 1 EJ Tackett vs. No. 9 David Krol
The player everyone expected to be here versus the player who nobody expected to be here.
Tackett entered the season as the reigning Player of the Year following, without exaggeration, one of the greatest seasons in PBA Tour history; Krol began the 2024 campaign competing in pre-tournament qualifiers.
Krol won three regional titles last year; Tackett won five national titles.
None of that means a thing now. In fact, none of it mattered when the two met in the PBA Delaware Classic Round of 8.
Krol pushed Tackett to seven games, then hurled the front-seven strikes at him to make his first career TV show — which he would win for his first career title.
But Krol defeated the Tackett who made five straight shows without winning a title — not the Tackett who won back-to-back titles and might have won three straight if not for a shoulder injury.
(In reality, those Tacketts are the same person: a fire-breathing, pins-slaying Hoosier.)
No. 4 Bill O’Neill vs. No. 5 Jason Belmonte
With this matchup, the Playoffs are guaranteed at least one 40-year-old in the Final Four. Happy Mother’s Day! Dad’s taking everyone to Disney!
Watching these Roth/Holman Doubles teammates clash in the quarterfinals will be like watching two blue bloods battle in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.
O’Neill is the savvy point guard who thrives in the postseason. He’s accustomed to playing ball this late in March May. He’s willing to dive on the floor for any loose ball pins. He will play all 48 minutes 10 frames if asked.
To make an accurate-yet-definitely-not-coincidental comparison, O’Neill is Jalen Brunson on 2017-18 Villanova.
On the other hand(s), there is no modern college basketball corollary for Belmonte; anyone of his pedigree would’ve bolted for the NBA long before completing the gen-ed portion of the curriculum.
No. 2 Marshall Kent vs. No. 10 Jesper Svensson
At the start of every season, countless players talk about how they spent their offseason developing their game, working out in the gym and recommitting to their career. For a multitude of reasons, few of them turn those words into action.
Kent did in a big, big way. Washington’s prodigal son returns home fresh off winning the PBA Tournament of Champions.
Svensson, who is currently back home competing in the Swedish League Playoffs, is the living embodiment of the cliché “process over results.” The tall Swede may not have yet won a PBA Tour title this season, but he is physically and mentally bowling as well as anyone and ranks fifth on tour with a 225.26 average in 321 games.
No. 3 Anthony Simonsen vs. No. 6 Kyle Troup
To circle back to the NCAA analogies… Remember that time UNC beat Duke in Coach K’s final home game? And then UNC beat Duke again in the Final Four that season and ended Coach K’s career?
That’s the scenario (career-ending loss for Simonsen aside) in front of Troup, who beat Simonsen to win the 2024 U.S. Open earlier this year.
Simonsen, meanwhile, is akin to the dynasty Dawn Staley is brewing in South Carolina. The Gameco*ck women lost in the 2023 Final Four to Caitlin Clark and Iowa, then avenged that defeat in the 2024 national championship.
Simonsen, much like Staley’s squads, is armed with more talent than pretty much anyone else in the field. The only motivation the 27-year-old needs is a shiny trophy in front of him — but he’ll welcome any additional carrots thrown his way.
When these two-handers share the lanes, every board on the lane is in play. (That’s called a teaser, folks.)
Quarterfinals | May 12 at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1
No. 1 EJ Tackett vs. No. 9 David Krol
No. 4 Bill O’Neill vs. No. 5 Jason Belmonte
No. 2 Marshall Kent vs. No. 10 Jesper Svensson
No. 3 Anthony Simonsen vs. No. 6 Kyle Troup
Semifinal + Championship | May 19 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX
Tackett/Krol vs. O’Neill/Belmonte
Kent/Svensson vs. Simonsen/Troup
Tackett/Krol/O’Neill/Belmonte vs. Kent/Svensson/Simonsen/Troup
Tickets for the PBA Playoffs Finals are available here.
