February 19, 2024 Nolan Hughes

The fifth title event of the season heads to David Small’s Championship Lanes

Anthony Simonsen won’t have long to celebrate after winning his 14th career title on Sunday afternoon.

PBA Tour players hustled from Springfield, Mo. to Anderson, Ind. — diligently avoiding the horror known as St. Louis-style “pizza” along the way — and arrived just in time for the season’s fifth title event at David Small’s Championship Lanes.

The Just Bare PBA Indiana Classic finals will be held Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tickets are available here.

Storylines

While it’s true that Bill O’Neill is in the midst of a potential career year, his brilliance dates back to last season. Since the veteran switched back to 15-pound equipment before the 2023 World Series of Bowling, he has competed in 10 PBA Tour title events. O’Neill has finished top 20 in each of them, including top 10 in each of the past seven, with five top-five finishes.

O’Neill had a chance to place a stranglehold on the Player of the Year race, but ran into the buzzsaw known as Simonsen in Sunday’s title match. Simonsen, with recent finishes of second, 11th and first, is up to second in points behind O’Neill.

Kyle Troup’s U.S. Open crown places him third in points through four title events, followed by Marshall Kent and EJ Tackett.

If the season ended today, Packy Hanrahan would be the final qualifier for the PBA Playoffs.

Players to Watch

Few players have capitalized on a home-field advantage more than Indiana native EJ Tackett over the past few seasons. The Hoosier has finished top-four in each of the past five PBA Tour stops in Indiana dating back to 2020.

While Tackett will compete about one hour from his native Bluffton, Jason Belmonte traveled for over one full day to reach Anderson. After a brief excursion home to Australia, the superstar returns to competition this week.

AJ Johnson, one of four players to make multiple championship round appearances this season, will look for a third straight top-five finish this week.

Zach Wilkins has laid the groundwork of a true breakout season. The Canadian has racked up finishes of 12th, 13th, 18th and 10th this year.

Meanwhile, a handful of PBA Tour champions are still searching for a single top-20 finish. Darren Tang (best finish of 33rd), Matt Ogle (23rd), Dick Allen (37th), Ronnie Russell (24th), Zac Tackett (31st), and François Lavoie (28th) will look to get back on track this week.

Format

Competition begins on Tuesday with two six-game qualifying rounds on the 37-foot Viper oil pattern. Following a third six-game qualifying round on Wednesday morning, the top 32 players will advance to the elimination rounds.

Pins will carry over through three six-game advancer rounds as the field is whittled down from 32 to five players for Sunday’s stepladder finals.

All qualifying and match play rounds will be livestreamed on BowlTV.

The Just Bare PBA Indiana Classic finals will be held Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tickets are available here.

More information on the Just Bare PBA Indiana Classic is available here.

Just Bare PBA Indiana Classic Schedule

David Small’s Championship Lanes | Anderson, IN

All times Eastern

Monday, Feb. 19
8:30 a.m. — Pre-tournament qualifier (seven games)
3 p.m. — Practice session
6 p.m. — PBA Elite League presented by Snickers (Rounds 7-8)

Tuesday, Feb. 20
10 a.m. — Qualifying Round 1 (six games)
6 p.m. — Qualifying Round 2 (six games)

Wednesday, Feb. 21
10 a.m. — Qualifying Round 3 (six games)
Cut to top 32 players; pins carry over
6 p.m. — Elimination Round 1 (six games)
Cut to top 24 players; pins carry over

Thursday, Feb. 22
10 a.m. — Elimination Round 2 (six games)
Cut to top 12 players; pins carry over
6 p.m. — Elimination Round 3 (six games)
Top five players advance to championship round

Saturday, Feb. 24
7:30 p.m. — Just Bare PBA Indiana Classic finals
Tickets