March 26, 2025 Nolan Hughes

Match play of the USBC Masters, the season’s third major championship, is set to begin on Thursday.

The field was trimmed to the top 63 players and the defending champion, DeeRonn Booker, after 15 games of qualifying on the 44-foot oil pattern. All players bowl two five-game rounds on fresh lane conditions and one round on “burn” conditions, meaning the lanes are not re-oiled after the previous squad.

Bill O’Neill, who led after two qualifying rounds, maintained his lead of the 390-player field with a total pinfall of 3,331 (+331). Anthony Simonsen, Jean Perez, Marshall Kent and Tom Smallwood round out the top five at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich.

The red-hot EJ Tackett, seeking to make his seventh consecutive championship round, qualified 11th and one spot behind four-time Masters champion Jason Belmonte.

The first round of match play, featuring the left side of the bracket, begins at 10 a.m. Eastern on Thursday. The right side of the bracket competes at 12:30 p.m.

All rounds of match play will be livestreamed on BowlTV.

The full match play schedule is available here.

Two years ago, Simonsen lit Thunderbowl Lanes ablaze during his record-setting performance in match play.

Simonsen averaged 250.4, including an 845 series in his final match, en route to going 6-0 and earning the top seed. Simonsen went on to win the title, his second consecutive and third career victory in the event.

The scoring pace in this year’s event has been lower than the 2023 event and much of the 2025 PBA Tour, which plays right into Simonsen’s preference.

“The scoring pace throughout the year has been a little higher than I would like, so I really appreciate that aspect of this week,” Simonsen said. “The biggest goal of the week is to be one of the 64 guys in the bracket. Obviously, it's nice to put together some good games, but really I’m just trying to gather information to be as prepared as possible moving into the matches. I think there are going to be some matches that are going to be really high scoring and some matches that are really low scoring. I think it'll be important to decipher what you think your match is going to be prior to starting, and that might dictate your gameplan.”

All matches are three games and the player with the highest total pinfall will advance. Without changing pairs between games, the transition of the 44-foot oil pattern is dictated by the competitors in the match and characteristics of the pair alone. Simonsen said he enjoys competing in an environment with fewer variables.

“A lot of guys out here kind of struggle, not even necessarily following themselves, but without the help of others. I thoroughly would rather bowl on my own pair most of the time,” Simonsen said. “Doing that just allows me to get comfortable and really get an understanding of what each lane is doing, then I can dial in and not have to worry about what the next pair is doing and who I'm following. It allows me to put a little more focus on what's in front of me, and it generally leads to some more success in matches.”

The elimination bracket will continue in Saturday’s preliminary round, airing at 12 p.m. ET on FS1, to complete the field for Sunday’s four-player stepladder finals.

The top seed, who will have gone 6-0 in bracket match play, will need to be defeated twice in the championship match.

The USBC Masters finals will air live at 12 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX.

More information on the 2025 USBC Masters is available here.

Qualifying Leaders | Five Games
Match Play Bracket
USBC Masters Schedule

Thunderbowl Lanes | Allen Park, MI

All times Eastern

Thursday, March 27
10 a.m. — First round (left side of bracket)
12:30 p.m. — First round (right side of bracket)
2:30pm — All first round winners
5 p.m. — Match play continues

Friday, March 28
10 a.m. — Match play continues
2 p.m. — Match play continues

Saturday, March 39
12:00 p.m. (FS1) — Preliminary round

Sunday, March 30
12:00 p.m. (FOX) — Championship round

More information on the 2025 USBC Masters is available here.