Ahmad Muaz, Landin Jordan Headline Advancers in PBA Shark Championship
Ahmad Muaz led the 199-player field with a total pinfall of 2,872 (+472) for his 12 games of qualifying in the PBA Shark Championship, the fourth and final standard title event PBA World Series of Bowling (WSOB) XVI.
His efforts on the 47-foot Shark oil pattern landed him a first-round bye in the elimination match play bracket.
“It’s a dream come true,” Muaz said of bowling the WSOB. “For the Shark pattern, I wanted to fight for the top 50 and the PBA World Championship cut. I needed to bowl as high as I could.”
EJ Tackett, Packy Hanrahan, Jesper Svensson, Matt Ogle, Justin Knowles, Jakob Butturff and Ben Robinson also earned a bye to the Round of 16.
Tackett has made the Round of 16 in all four animal pattern championships in the WSOB. He also leads the PBA World Championship, which includes qualifying games from the PBA Scorpion, Viper, Chameleon and Shark Championships.
The ninth through 24th qualifiers on Shark competed in the Round of 24, featuring best-of-five-games matches, on Tuesday night at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev.
Jason Belmonte, Tim Foy Jr., Tom Smallwood, Kyle Troup, Ryan Barnes, Chris Via and Jean Perez each won their respective matches, but the biggest winner of the night was 18-year-old Landin Jordan.
While the PBA Junior National Championships are set to begin later this week, the former national champion has moved onto the professional ranks… with permission from his teachers.
“My parents made me get (bowling the WSOB) cleared with my teachers that I'd be able to stay caught up with all my work,” Jordan said. “I've been working online all week. I've actually taken a math quiz and a math test while I’ve been out here.”
Jordan qualified for the U.S. Open preliminary stepladder finals earlier this season, finishing eighth. He averaged 252 in his 3-1 victory over Rafiq Ismail on Tuesday night.
More importantly, the high schooler gets to extend his mini-vacation.
“‘Do I want to go back to school for a week before spring break, or do I just want to have the extra week off?’ I needed a couple hits in the 10th frame and it was definitely going through my head,” Jordan said. “This week was not going great until today, really. To be able to come out here, make a cut and then get a win in a match, it feels pretty amazing. It took a little more than I expected. Rafiq bowled amazing, and I was just fortunate to come away with this one.”
In the PBA Chameleon Championship, Jordan bowled with EJ Tackett for the duration of qualifying.
“My goal was to beat him. Unfortunately, he's EJ. It's not easy to beat him,” Jordan said. “To be able to learn from him, hear his thoughts and see his gameplan was really helpful. It allowed me to come in the second block and be a lot more successful. To cross with him and learn from him was really huge.”
Jordan will face Jakob Butturff in the Round of 16. Awaiting in a potential Round of 8 match is none other than Tackett himself.
The PBA Shark Championship Rounds of 16 and 8 will take place on Wednesday, March 19, leading to the championship round that day at 4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. ET) on FS1.
After all 48 games across the PBA Scorpion, Viper, Chameleon and Shark Championships, the PBA World Championships field has been trimmed to the top 50 players.
Tackett (+1,790) leads the field, averaging more than 237 across the four oil patterns. Jason Belmonte, Jesper Svensson, Tim Foy Jr. and Matt Ogle round out the top five of the major championship.
Pontus Andersson (+971) held off fellow Swede Martin Larsen for the final position inside the cut. Jordan (+988) also moved inside the major championship cut with his strong performance in the PBA Shark Championship.
Following a practice session on Wednesday, those 50 players will bowl two eight-game advancer rounds, one on Thursday and one on Friday. The top 16 players will bowl an additional 16 games of round-robin match play on Thursday, March 20.
The top five players will advance to the championship round on Saturday, May 22 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
All rounds of PBA WSOB XVI qualifying and match play will be livestreamed on BowlTV.
Round 2 Leaders | PBA Shark Championship
- Ahmad Muaz, 2,872 (+472)
- EJ Tackett, 2,845 (+445)
- Packy Hanrahan, 2,829 (+429)
- Jesper Svensson, 2,816 (+416)
- Matt Ogle, 2,811 (+411)
- Justin Knowles, 2,810 (+410)
- Jakob Butturff, 2,802 (+402)
- Ben Robinson, 2,780 (+380)
Round of 24 Results
No. 17 Tim Foy Jr. def. No. 16 Nu'Man Syahmi Yusri, 3-1
No. 9 Jason Belmonte def. No. 24 Nate Stubler, 3-1
No. 21 Tom Smallwood def. No. 13 François Lavoie, 3-0
No. 13 Kyle Troup def. No. 20 Richie Teece, 3-1
No. 19 Ryan Barnes def. No. 14 Jord Van Weeren, 3-2
No. 11 Chris Via def. No. 22 Nathan Bohr, 3-0
No. 23 Landin Jordan def. No. 10 Rafiq Ismail, 3-1
No. 18 Jean Perez def. No. 15 Cam Crowe, 3-0
Round of 16 Matches
No. 1 Ahmad Muaz vs. No. 17 Tim Foy Jr.
No. 8 Ben Robinson vs. No. 9 Jason Belmonte
No. 2 EJ Tackett vs. No. 18 Jean Perez
No. 7 Jakob Butturff vs. No. 23 Landin Jordan
No. 3 Packy Hanrahan vs. No. 19 Ryan Barnes
No. 6 Justin Knowles vs. No. 11 Chris Via
No. 4 Jesper Svensson vs. No. 13 Kyle Troup
No. 5 Matt Ogle vs. No. 21 Tom Smallwood
Full standings and match results are available here.
Round 8 Leaders | PBA World Championship
- EJ Tackett, 11,390 (+1,790)
- Jason Belmonte, 11,304 (+1,704)
- Jesper Svensson, 11,224 (+1,624)
- Tim Foy Jr., 11,185 (+1,585)
- Matt Ogle, 11,078 (+1,478)
- Boog Krol, 11,055 (+1,455)
- BJ Moore, 11,045 (+1,445)
- Trevor Roberts, 11,012 (+1,412)
- Darren Ong, 10,981 (+1,381)
- Mitch Hupé, 10,955 (+1,355)
Full standings are available here.
Tournament Schedule
National Bowling Stadium | Reno, NV
All times Pacific/local
Wednesday, March 12
12 p.m. — PBA World Championship - Practice
Thursday, March 13
10 a.m. — PBA World Championship - Advancer Round 1 (eight games)
Friday, March 14
10 a.m. — PBA World Championship - Advancer Round 2 (eight games)
Top 16 players advance to PBA World Championship round-robin match play
3 p.m. — PBA Jr. National Championships - Meet and Greet
4 p.m. — PBA Jr. National Championships - Practice
6 p.m. — PBA Jr. National Championships - Match Play
Saturday, March 15
9 a.m. — PBA Jr. National Championships - Match Play
12:30 p.m. — PBA Jr. National Championships - Stepladder Finals (MIXED, U18 Boys and U18 Girls)
3 p.m. on FS1 — PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic pres. by Pilgrim’s - Finals
7 p.m. — PBA Jr. National Championship - Finals taping
Free Tickets
Sunday, March 16
9 a.m. — PBA Scorpion Championship - Match Play Round of 16 (best-of-five games)
11:30 a.m. — PBA Scorpion Championship - Match Play Round of 8 (best-of-five games)
Four winners and highest-seeded loser in Round of 8 advance to PBA Scorpion Championship Finals
5 p.m. on FS1 — PBA Scorpion Championship - Finals
Free Tickets
Monday, March 17
9 a.m. — PBA Viper Championship - Match Play Round of 16 (best-of-five games)
11:30 a.m. — PBA Viper Championship - Match Play Round of 8 (best-of-five games)
Four winners and highest-seeded loser in Round of 8 advance to PBA Viper Championship Finals
4 p.m. on FS1 — PBA Viper Championship - Finals
Free Tickets
Tuesday, March 18
9 a.m. — PBA Chameleon Championship - Match Play Round of 16 (best-of-five games)
11:30 a.m. — PBA Chameleon Championship - Match Play Round of 8 (best-of-five games)
Four winners and highest-seeded loser in Round of 8 advance to PBA Chameleon Championship stepladder finals
4 p.m. on FS1 — PBA Chameleon Championship - Finals
Free Tickets
Wednesday, March 19
9 a.m. — PBA Shark Championship - Match Play Round of 16 (best-of-five games)
11:30 a.m. — PBA Shark Championship - Match Play Round of 8 (best-of-five games)
Four winners and highest-seeded loser in Round of 8 advance to PBA Shark Championship stepladder finals
4 p.m. on FS1 — PBA Shark Championship - Finals
Free Tickets
Thursday, March 20
10 a.m. — PBA World Championship - Round-Robin Match Play Round 1 (eight games)
5 p.m. — PBA World Championship - Round-Robin Match Play Round 2 (eight games)
Top five players advance to PBA World Championship stepladder finals
Saturday, March 22
12 p.m. on FOX — PBA World Championship Finals
Free Tickets
More information on the PBA World Series of Bowling XVI is available here.