Anderson, Tackett Headline Finals Field in PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic presented by Pilgrim’s
For the second time this season, the road to a PBA Tour title goes through Andrew Anderson, who earned the top seed for the PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic presented by Pilgrim’s.
EJ Tackett, Ethan Fiore, Alec Keplinger and Jesper Svensson round out the stepladder finals field.
The championship round will be held Saturday, March 15 at 3 p.m. Pacific/local (6 p.m. Eastern) on FS1. Tickets for the championship round, which includes the PBA Jr. National Championship Finals taping, are free.
Anderson led the field through 30 games of competition and two elimination rounds at Coconut Bowl at Wild Island in Sparks, Nev. He averaged more than 237 to tally a 7,117 (+1,117) total pinfall on the 39-foot Mike Aulby oil pattern.
“I think people tend to forget what I'm capable of when I'm healthy, in the right state of mind and bowling well,” Anderson said. “I've led tournaments before. I’ve led majors before. It's no surprise to me. It just kind of feels like a surprise to everybody else, so I'm trying to send a reminder that I'm capable of some really cool things.”
In an event named after an Indiana legend, another Indiana legend secured the No. 2 seed for the stepladder finals.
Tackett entered the day with the lead, but as he said himself, things can (and did) change very quickly. Anderson shot 300 to begin the second six-game elimination round, while Tackett mustered just 161.
“I bowled a little bit better the last few games, but the whole day I didn't bowl that well,” Tackett said. “Andrew did the exact opposite of that. He bowled unbelievable today. He matched up really well, but also through a ton of really good shots on top of that.”
Tackett, who won his 25th career title earlier this month in Missouri, will look to capture his second straight and third title of the season.
Tackett would tie Don Johnson for 10th all-time with a win.
“It's one of those things where it just doesn't feel real,” Tackett said. “I've talked about it before, when I came on tour I always believed in myself and I knew I was going to win at some point. But I never, never thought in a million years that I'd be where I am today. It’s a fun wave that I'm on right now, and I'm going to try to continue to ride it as long as possible.”
Fiore and Keplinger each advanced out of the event’s pre-tournament qualifier. Fiore then led the event after the first round of qualifying, and Keplinger did the same after two rounds.
The two players tied after the second elimination round, and Fiore defeated Keplinger 224-159 in a one-game roll-off to secure the No. 3 seed.
Fiore, 20, said he turned professional at 17, but largely stuck to the regional tour to improve his game. Last year, he earned a pair of top-12 finishes in last year’s World Series of Bowling and won his first regional title, which gave him the confidence to make the leap to the national tour full-time.
His self-belief paid off, securing his first berth under the bright lights in a championship round.
“It’s a lot of games all back to back at such a high level,” Fiore said of the week. “You don't see this back home or when you bowl regionals. This is something else, but it's such a good moment to have. I'm happy to be here.”
Keplinger, last year’s runner-up in PBA Rookie of the Year voting, will make his second career championship round appearance. He finished fourth in the 2024 PBA Cheetah Championship.
Keplinger has also been bowling the tour full-time. He advanced out of the PTQ in Delaware, Missouri and Nevada, earning a 20th place finish in the latter event.
“Going into Missouri, I told myself that I need to start pushing,” Keplinger said. “We're getting towards the back end of the season, and I need to do better in these qualifying rounds. You can look at getting through PTQs as a win in itself, but that's really not where it starts or ends. This is another chance to win a title and try to get as many points to stay exempt for next year. Besides winning a title, that's the big goal out here.”
After a demoralizing start to the season, which included one singles cut in four events, Svensson broke through with his best finish of 2025 this week.
“I feel like I needed this to show to myself that I'm still a competitor and I can still be a factor,” Svensson said. “The beginning of the season has been tough mentally. I had some minor injuries that were bugging me a little bit, but I've been trying my very best. I just haven’t really seen the picture correctly. It’s a big, big dub to be on the show and as the No. 5 seed, it’s a little bit of a free roll from here. With the finals at the stadium, anything can happen and I’m looking forward to it.”
The Swede staved off Tom Smallwood by seven pins and fellow southpaw Graham Fach by 10 pins for the final berth on the show.
The PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic presented by Pilgrim’s finals will be held Saturday, March 15 at 3 p.m. Pacific/local (6 p.m. Eastern) on FS1.
Tickets for the championship round, which includes the PBA Jr. National Championship Finals taping, are free.
Elimination Round 2 Standings | 30 Games
- Andrew Anderson, 7,117 (+1,117)
- EJ Tackett, 7,020 (+1,020)
- Ethan Fiore, 6,983 (+983)
- Alec Keplinger, 6,983 (+983)
- Jesper Svensson, 6,961 (+961)
- Tom Smallwood, 6,954 (+954)
- Graham Fach, 6,951 (+951)
- Matt Ogle, 6,950 (+950)
- Kris Prather, 6,926 (+926)
- Sean Lavery-Spahr, 6,892 (+892)
- Jason Belmonte, 6,886 (+886)
- Jakob Butturff, 6,868 (+868)
- Thomas Larsen, 6,828 (+828)
- AJ Chapman, 6,806 (+806)
- Kyle Troup, 6,731 (+731)
- Darren Tang, 6,668 (+668)
Full standings are available here.
Tournament Schedule
Qualifying: Coconut Bowl at Wild Island | Reno, Nev.
Championship Round: National Bowling Stadium | Reno, Nev.
Saturday, March 15 | FS1
3 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET) — Championship Round (stepladder finals)
Tickets
More information on the PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic presented by Pilgrim’s is available here.