January 20, 2025 Nolan Hughes

The wait is over. A new PBA Tour season has arrived and it begins with the PBA Delaware Classic at Mid County Lanes and Entertainment in Middletown, Del.

Qualifying for the season’s first title event begins at 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday and continues through Thursday. All qualifying and match play rounds will be livestreamed on BowlTV.

Players to Watch

A new season means every player is on equal footing. To learn about all 55 exempt players, check out our season preview: “100 Things to Know Before the 2025 PBA Tour.”

EJ Tackett may be a three-time and two-time defending PBA Player of the Year, but those awards mean nothing in the race for the 2025 award. Tackett, Jason Belmonte, Anthony Simonsen and Kyle Troup are annual fixtures in the POY race, but Marshall Kent and Bill O’Neill have to be mentioned following their brilliant 2024 campaigns.

A year ago, Boog Krol drove 16 hours from his home in Springfield, Mo. to bowl the PBA Delaware Classic pre-tournament qualifier. He left seven days later knowing his life would never be the same. Krol made the same drive this week; this time as the defending PBA Delaware Classic champion and a two-time PBA Tour champion.

Delaware’s Tim Foy Jr. figures to have plenty of fans in the house this week. Last year, he made them proud by advancing to the stepladder finals and earning fourth-place finish.

Storylines

A new wrinkle this season is the PBA Elite League: Battle of the Brands.

The teams, each representing a major bowling ball manufacturer, have chosen their starting lineups for the week. Only points earned by those players will count for PBA Elite League standings.

Players on teams with a parent company can throw equipment from any brand under their umbrella during the regular season.

Format

All players will bowl 18 games of qualifying on the 35-foot Cheetah oil pattern beginning on Tuesday morning. After three six-game rounds, the top 24 players will advance to bracket match play.

Each match, starting Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET, will be the best of seven games. The four winners in the Round of 8 will advance to the stepladder finals, as will the highest-seeded loser in that round.

The stepladder finals will air live on FS1 at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 25.

More information on the PBA Delaware Classic is available here.

Tournament Schedule

Mid County Lanes & Entertainment | Middletown, DE

All times Eastern

Tuesday, Jan. 21
10 a.m. — Qualifying Round 1 (six games)
6 p.m.  — Qualifying Round 2 (six games)

Wednesday, Jan. 22
10 a.m. — Qualifying Round 3 (six games)
Top 24 players advance to bracket match play
6 p.m. — Match Play Round of 24 (best-of-seven games)

Thursday, Jan. 23
11 a.m. — Match Play Round of 16 (best-of-seven games)
6 p.m. — Match Play Round of 8 (best-of-seven games)
Four winners plus highest-seeded Round of 8 loser advance to stepladder finals

Saturday, Jan. 25
5 p.m. — Finals | FS1