March 26, 2023 Nolan Hughes

Anthony Simonsen breaks conventional wisdom and precedent at nearly every turn, and that is perhaps best exemplified by the USBC Masters. 

In 2016, Simonsen won the Masters for his first career major title at 19 years old to become the youngest major champion in PBA Tour history. He won again last season at age 26, becoming the youngest to grasp four major crowns.

His title defense begins Monday morning with the first five-game qualifying round at the legendary Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich., where Simonsen also won the 2021 PBA Tour Finals. 

Fifteen total games of qualifying set the stage for the event’s signature 64-player double-elimination bracket.

Storylines

As the defending champion, Simonsen is guaranteed a berth in the match play field and will be among the favorites. The two-handed virtuoso has reached four championship rounds and tallied five top-five finishes in seven events this season.

Simonsen may be the most consistent player thus far 2023, finishing no lower than 10th place, but EJ Tackett has been the most dominant. The right-hander has made five championship rounds in seven events this season, collecting three titles, a runner-up and a third-place finish last week in Jackson.

But if there’s any event that has Tackett’s number, it may be the Masters. He has not made the championship round since he earned the No. 1 seed in 2014, falling to Jason Belmonte in the title match.

A win and the $100,000 top prize would put Tackett at more $315,000 in earnings for the season, potentially placing Kyle Troup’s single-season earning’s record ($496,900) from 2021 in jeopardy.

Additionally, a Masters title for Tackett, as well as Dom Barrett or Chris Barnes, would make them the fourth player in PBA history to achieve the Grand Slam. Only Belmonte, Norm Duke and Mike Aulby have won the Masters, U.S. Open, World/National Championship and Tournament of Champions.

Belmonte, the only four-time Masters champion, always looms as a threat to win. Earlier this month, Tackett led the Tournament of Champions wire-to-wire before a red-hot Belmonte unseated him in the title match.

With their major titles, Tackett and Belmonte have secured berths in the PBA Super Slam Cup this May. The champions of the Masters, World Championship and Players Championship (or the runner-up in the event of a repeat winner) will join the duo in Florida for a chance at an additional $100,000 top prize.

Players to Watch

Andrew Anderson, the 2018 Masters champion, will look to become the 10th multi-time winner in the event’s nearly 75-year history — and he’ll look to do it an hour from his hometown of Holly, Mich.

Michigan’s Tom Smallwood will strive for a third career major, notching his first after qualifying out of Thunderbowl Lanes at the inaugural World Series of Bowling in 2009.

Troup has earned top-six finishes at each major this season, though he has to make the championship round at the Masters in his career. Also looking to add a second major title to his résumé is Jakob Butturff, the 2019 Masters champion. A win this week would make both players Hall of Fame eligible.

The last player to make consecutive championship rounds was Alex Hoskins in 2017 and 2018; Simonsen, Brad Miller, AJ Johnson and Shawn Maldonado will look to end that drought.

Format

The 64-player, double-elimination bracket distinguishes the Masters from every other tournament on the PBA calendar. The Masters features 15 games of qualifying across three five-game blocks — one of which is a “burn” squad, meaning the lanes are not re-oiled following the previous squad’s five games.

The top 63 players and defending champion Simonsen will begin match play on Thursday. Each match will be decided by total pinfall after three games. After several rounds of competition on Thursday and Friday, eight finalists will advance to the television finals.

The last two players in the winner’s bracket will clinch berths in Sunday’s championship round (1 p.m. ET on FOX), while the six remaining players compete Friday at 7 p.m. on FS1 to determine the final two participants on Sunday’s show.

Tournament Schedule

All times are listed in Eastern time. The full schedule is available here.

Monday, March 27 | BowlTV
8 a.m. — A-squad Qualifying Round 1 (five games; fresh oil)
12:30 p.m. — B-squad Qualifying Round 1 (five games; burn)
6:30 p.m. — C-squad Qualifying Round 1 (five games; fresh oil)

Tuesday, March 28 | BowlTV
8 a.m. — B-squad Qualifying Round 2 (five games; fresh oil)
12:30 p.m. — C-squad Qualifying Round 2 (five games; burn)
6:30 p.m. — A-squad Qualifying Round 2 (five games; fresh oil)

Wednesday, March 29 | BowlTV
8 a.m. — C-squad Qualifying Round 3 (five games; fresh oil)
12:30 p.m. — A-squad Qualifying Round 3 (five games; burn)
6:30 p.m. — B-squad Qualifying Round 3 (five games; fresh oil)

Thursday, March 30 | BowlTV
10 a.m. — Match play Round 1 (left side of bracket)
12:30 p.m. — Match play Round 1 (right side of bracket)
2:30 p.m. — Match play (all winners)
5 p.m. — Match Play (two contenders rounds)

Friday, March 31 | BowlTV and FS1
8 a.m. — Match play cont.
2 p.m. — Match play cont.
7 p.m. — Match play on FS1
Tickets are available for Friday night’s show here.

Sunday, April 2 | FOX
1 p.m. — Stepladder finals

More information on the Masters is available here.