February 15, 2025 Nolan Hughes

EJ Tackett led the PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic from the first game of qualifying to the last. After earning a one-round bye in the elimination match play bracket, the two-time reigning PBA Player of the Year won two matches to secure the top seed for the stepladder finals.

Tackett will be joined by Tim Foy Jr., Timmy Tan, Dom Barrett and Ryan Barnes in Sunday’s stepladder finals, airing at 12 p.m. Central/local time (1 p.m. Eastern) on FS1, at Enterprise Park Lanes in Springfield, Mo.

Tackett, Foy, Tan and Barrett secured their berth in the finals by winning their respective bracket, with each match being the best-of-seven games. Barnes earned the fifth seed as the highest-qualifying player who lost in the Round of 8.

Tackett, who qualified first among the 76-player field, defeated Shawn Maldonado and Tomas Käyhkö to put himself one game away from his 25th career PBA Tour title.

Tackett is the second-youngest player to eclipse 20 career titles, trailing only Pete Weber himself. In fact, Tackett’s 20th career title — the 2023 PBA Cheetah Championship — came 30 years to the date after Weber’s 20th career title.

Since the start of the 2023 season, Tackett has finished top five in 22 of his 39 title events, a rate of more than 56%.

“It is awesome to know that I have an opportunity to win a tournament with Pete's name attached to it,” Tackett said. “I hope I can bowl a good game on Sunday and give myself a chance to have a trophy in my trophy case that has his name on it.”

After earning a one-round bye and defeating Tom Daugherty and Andrew Anderson, Foy made his third consecutive championship round appearance.

He qualified for the finals of the PBA Owen’s Illinois Classic, finishing third, and the PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship, airing March 2, last week.

Foy made the PBA Delaware Classic finals last season, which was his only previous championship round appearance. Despite thoroughly dominating the PBA East Region last season, winning four titles and racking up eight top-three finishes in nine events, Foy entered this season with doubts of being a one-hit wonder.

Those doubts have been erased after making his third straight stepladder finals.

“At the beginning of the year, I just wanted to make one (show),” Foy said. “To say I made three, let alone three in a row, I'm just a kid living in a dream right now.”

In still-unbelievable fashion, Tan will be making his debut championship round after defeating AJ Chapman in seven games, Kevin McCune in six games and Kyle Troup in seven games.

In the Round of 8, Troup only needed a mark in the 10th frame of Game 7 to defeat Tan. Troup’s shot hit the pocket, but somehow the 5-10 remained standing. He missed right on the spare attempt, allowing Tan to advance by a single pin.

Tan did not see Troup’s shot, but he heard the collective gasp of the crowd.

“I still can’t believe it,” Tan said.

Earlier this year, Tan won gold in the IBF World Cup team event with Rafiq Ismail, Tun Hakim and Ahmad Muaz.

Ismail was a finalist for PBA Rookie of the Year in 2018, while Zulmazran Zulkifli became the first Malaysian player to win a PBA Regional Tour title in 2023.

But perhaps Malaysia’s greatest bowler today, and one of Tan’s best friends, he said, is Li Jane Sin. She won two major titles and four titles overall en route to being named PWBA Player of the Year in 2024.

Tan will aim to follow Sin’s winning ways and become the first Malaysian player to win a PBA Tour title.

“(Her PWBA season) definitely impacted me a lot,” Tan said. “She had an incredible season and it makes me want to win just like her.”

Barrett qualified in a tie for 23rd place, besting Tommy Jones by just five pins for a match play berth. He then overcame an 0-3 deficit to Richie Teece — in which they tied in Game 4, putting Barrett literally one shot from elimination — before defeating Bill O’Neill and Barnes.

“Experience is huge,” Barrett said. “I think I'm pretty good at staying in the moment and taking the decisions very methodically. For me, those five steps are what counts. It’s about controlling those five steps, throwing the ball the way you're supposed to throw it, and whatever happens, happens. I think letting go of the control has probably helped me out a lot with (my mentality).

Barrett gave Barnes, the son of PBA Hall of Famer Chris Barnes, a few words of support and advice after their match — words Barrett said he would quickly come to regret once Barnes became the fifth seed for the stepladder finals as the highest-seeded loser in the Round of 8.

The opening match of the stepladder finals will be a Barrett and Barnes rematch.

Barnes made the PBA Players Championship finals last season as an amateur. This season, in his first as a PBA member, the rookie has made match play in all three PBA-run singles events, finishing sixth in Delaware and 12th in Illinois.

“I feel like I have what it takes to compete every week,” Barnes said. “It's really just figuring out how to win. That's something you have to learn and it’s not an easy thing to do. Hopefully I can continue this success and keep it going.”

The championship round will air live Sunday, Feb. 16 at 12 p.m. Central/local time (1 p.m. Eastern) on FS1.

Round of 8 Results

No. 1 EJ Tackett def. No. 24 Tomas Käyhkö, 4-2

No. 3 Tim Foy Jr. def. No. 22 Andrew Anderson, 4-0

No. 12 Timmy Tan def. No. 4 Kyle Troup, 4-3

No. 23 Dom Barrett def. No. 2 Ryan Barnes, 4-1

Round of 16 Results

No. 1 EJ Tackett def. No. 17 Shawn Maldonado, 4-1
No. 24 Tomas Käyhkö def. No. 8 Chris Via, 4-2

No. 3 Tim Foy Jr. def. No. 14 Tom Daugherty, 4-1
No. 22 Andrew Anderson def. No. 6 AJ Johnson, 4-1

No. 4 Kyle Troup def. No. 13 Zach Wilkins, 4-2
No. 12 Timmy Tan def. No. 5 Kevin McCune, 4-2

No. 2 Ryan Barnes def. No. 15 Jake Peters, 4-2
No. 23 Dom Barrett def. No. 7 Bill O’Neill, 4-2

Match scores are available here.

Tournament Schedule

Enterprise Park Lanes | Springfield, MO

Sunday, Feb. 16 | FS1
12 p.m. CT (1 p.m ET) — Championship Round