Darren Ong’s Dominance Headlines Star-Studded PBA Viper Championship Finals

The second championship round of the PBA World Series of Bowling (WSOB) XVI features two of the PBA Tour’s biggest names, but neither matched the dominance of Darren Ong

The Singapore star earned the top seed for the PBA Viper Championship stepladder finals, awaiting to see which of Kris Prather, Zach Wilkins, Jason Belmonte and EJ Tackett can meet him in the championship.

The PBA Viper Championship finals will air live on FS1 and the FOX Sports app at 4 p.m. Pacific/local (7 p.m. Eastern) time at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev.

Ong led qualifying, firing three 300 games in the first seven games of the 12-game round. He swept Stu Williams and Trevor Roberts in the elimination bracket, featuring best-of-five-games matches, to clinch the top seed for the stepladder finals.

No Singapore player has ever won a PBA Tour title. In fact, no Singapore player had ever competed on the PBA Tour until Ong and Jaris Goh bowled in last year’s WSOB XV, Goh said.

Prather, who won his first career PBA Tour title in 2019’s WSOB X Scorpion Championship, seized the second seed by qualifying fifth and defeating Chris Barnes and Tom Daugherty.

Wilkins had not been able to replicate the success of his breakout 2024 season. Before the WSOB, he cashed in just two of six title events.

But Wilkins turned his season around in Reno, defeating Verity Crawley, Thomas Larsen and Tackett to make the PBA Viper Championship finals. He also qualified for round-robin match play in the PBA World Championship, which will be held on Thursday.

Belmonte has now finished in the top 11 in six straight title events this season, including his PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship victory with Bill O’Neill. Belmonte qualified 11th on Viper, before defeating Nick Borgaro, Matt Ogle and Boog Krol.

Belmonte currently ranks second in the PBA World Championship, trailing only Tackett. Belmonte and Tackett have won a combined six of the past eight PBA World Championship titles and are the two winningest players in WSOB history with nine and seven titles, respectively.

Tackett advanced to his third straight championship round of the season as the highest-seeded qualifier to lose in the Round of 8. Tackett qualified second, defeated Patrick Dombrowski, then lost to Wilkins.

Viper is one of just two WSOB animal pattern championships Tackett has yet to win. The other is Chameleon, which he also has a chance to win tomorrow.

The PBA Viper Championship stepladder finals will begin at 4 p.m. Pacific/local (7 p.m. Eastern) time, airing live on FS1 and the FOX Sports app. International viewers can watch via BowlTV.

Round of 16 Results

No. 1 Darren Ong def. No. 16 Stu Williams, 3-0
No. 24 Trevor Roberts def. No. 8 Jean Perez, 3-0

No. 2 EJ Tackett def. No. 15 Patrick Dombrowski, 3-2
No. 10 Zach Wilkins def. No. 7 Thomas Larsen, 3-0

No. 3 Boog Krol def. No. 14 Jesper Svensson, 3-0
No. 11 Jason Belmonte def. No. 6 Matt Ogle, 3-1

No. 5 Kris Prather def. No. 12 Chris Barnes, 3-1
No. 4 Tom Daugherty def. No. 20 Trevor Ashby, 3-2

Round of 8 Results

No. 1 Darren Ong def. No. 24 Trevor Roberts, 3-0
No. 10 Zach Wilkins def. No. 2 EJ Tackett, 3-0
No. 11 Jason Belmonte def. No. 3 Boog Krol, 3-2
No. 5 Kris Prather def. No. 4 Tom Daugherty, 3-2

Championship Round Matches

Match One: No. 4 Jason Belmonte vs. No. 5 EJ Tackett
Match Two: winner vs. No. 3 Zach Wilkins
Match Three: winner vs. No. 2 Kris Prather
Championship: winner vs. No. 1 Darren Ong

Full standings and match results are available here.