February 29, 2024 Nolan Hughes

Sixteen players remain entering final day of match play

After 18 games of PBA Delaware Classic qualifying, Andrew Anderson secured the top seed and sits one game away from Sunday’s televised finals.

The top eight seeds — Anderson, EJ Tackett, Tomas Käyhkö, Dom Barrett, Chris Via, Kyle Troup, David Krol and Jason Sterner — earned a one-round bye as the 64-player field was trimmed to 16 players on Thursday at Mid County Lanes & Entertainment in Middletown, Del.

Twenty-four players advanced to the first round of elimination match play, which features the best-of-seven-games format.

The four Round of 8 winners will advance to Sunday’s finals, as will the highest qualifier among the players defeated in the Round of 8.

Therefore, Anderson can clinch a berth on the show, as either the No. 1 or No. 5 seed, with a Round of 8 match victory over Tim Foy Jr.

Foy, a Delaware native, said he has no qualms about facing the top seed, especially not with the hometown crowd behind him.

“The Masters is one of my favorite events, but any event here is my favorite,” Foy said. “I practice here. The staff here does a lot for me. And then to have the hometown crowd behind you, it just makes things a lot easier.”

When asked what it would mean to make the show in his hometown, Foy summed it up in a single word.

“It would mean everything to make the show,” he said. “That’s my goal. Whatever happens on the show, happens, but it would mean everything. Being at home and sleeping on my own bed all week, it would mean everything.”

Additional winners in the Round of 24 included Nate Stubler, Nathan Bohr, Tommy Jones, Tom Smallwood, Jason Belmonte, Bill O’Neill and Kevin McCune.

Belmonte said his motivation is probably higher than ever.

“Being away from home hurts more than it ever has, so I’ve got to try and turn that into motivation,” Belmonte said. “I've got to try to turn that into motivation. If I'm going to be away, I've got to start making more shows and I’ve got to start winning some more titles. Tonight's match against Michael (Davidson) was a really good start to that, especially the last two games. I found a little something with my process to really make some really big shots down the stretch.”

As far as what he found, Belmonte said won't be divulging that information until he retires. He will face the No. 6 seed, this year’s U.S. Open champion and last week’s Just Bare PBA Indiana Classic champion: Kyle Troup.

“For Kyle, it’s been a really good week or it's a really bad week. He hasn't had one in the middle yet,” Belmonte said. “I don't know which one it’s going to be easy: He’s either going to find the one in the middle (if I win) or it's going to be another good week for him. All I do know is that I have to take the opportunities to win games against Kyle. I need to be a little bit better in those moments.”

The Round of 16 will begin at 10 a.m. ET Friday with the final round of match play beginning at 6 p.m.

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

The PBA Delaware Classic finals will be held Sunday, March 3 at noon ET on FS1. Tickets are available here.

More information on the PBA Delaware Classic is available here.

Round of 24 Results

No. 17 Tim Foy Jr. def. No. 16 AJ Johnson, 4-0
No. 9 Nate Stubler def. No. 23 Keven Williams, 4-3

No. 15 Nathan Bohr def. No. 18 Richie Teece, 4-1
No. 10 Tommy Jones def. No. 23 Sean Rash, 4-2

No. 19 Tom Smallwood def. No. 14 Matt Russo, 4-1
No. 11 Jason Belmonte def. No. 22 Michael Davidson, 4-2

No. 12 Bill O’Neill def. No. 21 Jesper Svensson, 4-1
No. 13 Kevin McCune def. No. 20 Zac Tackett, 4-0

Round of 16 Matches

No. 1 Andrew Anderson vs. No. 17 Tim Foy Jr.
No. 8 Jason Sterner vs. No. 9 Nate Stubler

No. 2 EJ Tackett vs. No. 15 Nathan Bohr
No. 7 David Krol vs. No. 10 Tommy Jones

No. 3 Tomas Käyhkö vs. No. 19 Tom Smallwood
No. 6 Kyle Troup vs. No. 11 Jason Belmonte

No. 4 Dom Barrett vs. No. 13 Kevin McCune
No. 5 Chris Via vs. No. 12 Bill O’Neill

Full scores are available here.

PBA Delaware Classic Schedule

Mid County Lanes & Entertainment | Middletown, Del.

All times Eastern

Friday, March 1
10 a.m. — Elimination Match Play, Round of 16 (best of seven games)
6 p.m. — Elimination Match Play, Round of 8 (best of seven games)

Sunday, March 3
Noon ET — PBA Delaware Classic finals on FS1
Tickets