Svensson, Tackett Rise to Top of TOC Standings
Both Jesper Svensson and EJ Tackett have won the PBA Tournament of Champions.
Neither has won the prestigious major at historic AMF Riviera Lanes, which has hosted the TOC 36 times dating back to 1966.
Both have finished runner-up as the top seed since the TOC returned to the revered Fairlawn, Ohio venue in 2018.
On Wednesday, Svensson and Tackett surged to the top of the PBA Tournament of Champions powered by 1800 Tequila standings.
Svensson leads the 24 remaining players after one of three rounds of round-robin match play. Tackett sits in second place 253 pins behind the Swede. AJ Johnson, Graham Fach and Matt Sanders round out the top five.
Tackett closed the third and final round of qualifying with a 300 game to take the lead. Then Svensson began the first round of round-robin match play, featuring the top 24 players after 18 games of qualifying on the 40-foot Don Johnson oil pattern, with a perfect game.
Svensson tallied seven more wins on the evening to rack up an 8-0 record and 240 bonus pins.
“It’s kind of wild, honestly. I didn’t see that coming,” Svensson said. “I’ve seen the lanes well this week. At this point, it’s mostly about getting comfortable and firing away because everybody’s going to be pretty much lined up. I did my job really well and hit the jackpot.”
Svensson started the season slowly, but tallied six top-25 finishes in six events in Reno, including a sixth place finish in the PBA World Championship.
“It's been a little up and down this season, and I feel like I've been better and better again as we've been progressing through the season,” Svensson said. “It feels good to put a block like this together and prove to myself that I belong up here. I’ve got what it takes to at least beat these guys every now and then.”
Svensson holds a 253-pin margin over Tackett, who is seeking to become the second player to win three majors in a single season, for the lead
“EJ is scary when he gets it going, but I am pretty confident that he would say the same thing about me right now,” Svensson said.
Tackett is coming off his worst performance in at least three seasons, finishing 110th in the PBA Players Championship. Tackett said he went home and practiced to work out some kinks in his physical game, but he made it clear missing the cut was far from a blessing in disguise.
“I don't think it's ever a benefit to not be bowling,” he said. “Obviously, I struggled a lot last week and I worked through a couple of things practicing at home. I felt like I bowled well in the first round, it just wasn't cohesive yet. After drilling a ball and seeing the lane a little bit differently, everything kind of melted together. As we bowled, I felt like I kept throwing it better and better. The last 12 games (before match play) have been pretty special.”
Tackett has made the championship round three times since the TOC returned to Riviera in 2018, including a runner-up finish in 2023. Much like his U.S. Open triumphs at Indianapolis’ Royal Pin Woodland, Tackett would relish the opportunity to hoist a trophy on Riviera’s sacred lanes 27-28.
“I’ve talked about it a bunch in the past, just how special this building is and how important this building is to bowling, and especially to professional bowling,” Tackett said. “This is where it all started, so it would be very, very special for me to be able to get any sort of win in this building. Obviously, the Tournament of Champions would make it even more cool and more special.”
Belmonte, who beat Tackett in the 2023 TOC title match, is familiar with that very feeling. He closed his final game of qualifying with five consecutive strikes to make the cut.
He made a similar comeback in 2023, rising from 51st place to make the cut and eventually winning the title.
“Don't worry, I tell myself to stop doing this. This isn't something that I'm purposefully doing,” Belmonte joked about needing to make a comeback seemingly every year in the TOC.
“There's a lot of bowling left. We haven't even got to the halfway point of the tournament,” Belmonte added. “I think with 24 games, bonus pins and a top-nine step ladder, I really do believe in myself. I believe that if I can make some shots, get some really good pairs, get some wins, there's no reason why I can't climb all the way to the very top like I have before. That’s exactly how I'm going to approach it.”
Belmonte (+741) currently sits in 14th place, trailing Shawn Maldonado in ninth place by 83 pins.
Match play concludes on Thursday with rounds beginning at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m Eastern time. All match play rounds will be livestreamed on BowlTV.
Nine players will qualify for the two-part championship round. Players are also competing for berths in the PBA Playoffs and PBA Tour Finals in the regular season finale.
The prelims round, a stepladder featuring the fifth through ninth qualifiers, will air live Saturday, April 19 at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.
The winner will meet the top four qualifiers in Sunday’s championship round, airing live on FOX at 3 p.m. ET.
Tickets to watch the prelims and championship rounds are available to purchase here.
Match Play Round 1 Standings | 26 Games
- Jesper Svensson, +1,248
- EJ Tackett, +999
- AJ Johnson, +997
- Graham Fach, +942
- Matt Sanders, +876
- Kevin McCune, +854
- Jakob Butturff, +852
- Packy Hanrahan, +849
- Shawn Maldonado, +825
- BJ Moore, +811
- Boog Krol, +799
- Mika Koivuniemi, +777
- Keven Williams, +769
- Jason Belmonte, +741
- Stu Williams, +722
- François Lavoie, +711
- Dom Barrett, +708
- Tom Smallwood, +699
- Darren Tang, +693
- Anthony Simonsen, +631
- Matt Zweig, +592
- Tom Daugherty, +586
- Bailey Mavrick, +551
- Ethan Fiore, +523
Tournament Schedule
AMF Riviera Lanes | Fairlawn, Ohio
All times Eastern/local
Thursday, April 17 | BowlTV
11 a.m. — Match Play Round 2 (eight games)
6 p.m. — Match Play Round 3 (eight games)
Top nine players advance to stepladder finals
5th-9th qualifiers players advance to prelims; 1st-4th qualifiers advance to championship round
Friday, April 18 | BowlTV
5 p.m. — PBA Hall of Fame - Class of 2025 Induction Ceremony
Saturday, April 19 | FS1
5 p.m. — Prelims Round (stepladder finals)
Winner advances to finals
Sunday, April 20 | FOX
3 p.m. — Championship Round (stepladder finals)
More information on the PBA Tournament of Champions powered by 1800 Tequila is available here.