The 2025 Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour season is set to begin in just a few days, promising another thrilling chapter in professional bowling. With a jam-packed schedule featuring over twenty events—including the brand-new PBA Elite League format, All-Star Weekend, 18 title events (including five majors and two doubles events)—the 2025 season is shaping up to be one to remember.
BowlingLife brings you a preview with everything you need to know about the upcoming season, including the format, points system, prize funds, and, of course, the full tour schedule.
Format and Points System
The 66th season begins on January 20 with the PBA Delaware Classic – the first standard tour event. Throughout the season, eleven standard title events will be held, along with five majors and two doubles title events.
The PBA Tour operates on a season-long points system, with bowlers accumulating points throughout the tournaments. The higher a player's finish in each event, the more points they earn, contributing to their overall rank on the tour.
Moreover, the point count is also determined by the scale of the tournament. Tier 3 PBA short-format or limited-field tournaments award 2,500 points for first place, with descending point values thereafter. Tier 3 tournaments include the PBA WSOB animal pattern events (Scorpion, Viper, Chameleon, and Shark).
Tier 2 tournaments, the standard ones, offer double the points of Tier 3 events. Examples of Tier 2 events include the PBA Delaware Open and all Classic tournaments (PBA Owen's Illinois Classic, PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic, or PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic).
Tier 1 events are the season's major tournaments, granting triple the points of Tier 3 events and the prestigious major title that all bowlers are striving for in their careers.
Points are accumulated throughout the season as players compete for positions in the PBA Playoffs, which culminate in the PBA Tour Finals scheduled for June. The PBA Tour Playoffs is an annual invitational event, meaning participation is limited. This year, the top 12 players on the 2025 PBA Points List, based on points earned in qualifying tournaments to date, will advance to the Playoffs.
The 2025 PBA Tour season will wrap up with the sole PBA Tour event outside the U.S. – the Storm Lucky Larsen Masters, which will be held in the Swedish Riviera, Helsingborg, at the Olympia Bowling venue.
Prize Funds
In addition to ranking points, the PBA tournaments offer significant prize funds, making each event highly competitive.
The total prize fund for standard events often reaches $200,000, with a $30,000 first-place prize for the winner, while prize money for major events can increase significantly, reaching $100,000 for the major winner.
Full 2025 PBA Tour Schedule
Here’s a complete list of the 2025 PBA Tour events, including key dates and locations. Major events are bolded:
| Date | Event | Location |
| Jan 20–25 | PBA Delaware Classic | Middletown, DE |
| Jan 26–Feb 2 | U.S. Open presented by Go Bowling | Indianapolis, IN |
| Feb 3–8 | PBA Owen's Illinois Classic | Vernon Hills, IL |
| Feb 3–8 | PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship | Vernon Hills, IL |
| Feb 11–16 | PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic | Springfield, MO |
| Feb 25–Mar 15 | PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic | Reno, NV |
| Mar 3–22 | PBA World Series of Bowling XVI | Reno, NV |
| Mar 3–16 | PBA WSOB XVI Scorpion Championship | Reno, NV |
| Mar 3–17 | PBA WSOB XVI Viper Championship | Reno, NV |
| Mar 3–18 | PBA WSOB XVI Chameleon Championship | Reno, NV |
| Mar 3–19 | PBA WSOB XVI Shark Championship | Reno, NV |
| Mar 3–22 | PBA WSOB XVI World Championship | Reno, NV |
| Mar 23–30 | USBC Masters | Allen Park, MI |
| Apr 4–5 | PBA All-Star Weekend Powered by QubicaAMF | Waukesha, WI |
| Apr 7–13 | PBA Players Championship | Jackson, MI |
| Apr 14–20 | PBA Tournament of Champions | Fairlawn, OH |
| Apr 25–27 | PBA Elite League: Battle of the Brands | Allen Park, MI |
| Apr 27–30 | PBA Playoffs | Allen Park, MI |
| May 23–24 | PBA Playoffs Championship | Allen Park, MI |
| June 2025 | PBA Tour Finals | Bethlehem, PA |
| Jul 24–27 | PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles | Houston, TX |
| Aug 22–31 | Storm Lucky Larsen Masters | Helsingborg, Sweden |
Players to Watch
The 2025 season will be a battle to remember, with the best of the best vying for supremacy on the PBA Tour. As the 2025 PBA Tour season kicks off, all eyes will be on reigning Player of the Year, EJ Tackett. After back-to-back Player of the Year honors in 2023 and 2024, Tackett’s dominance on the lanes has been undeniable. With seven titles in the past two years and a record-breaking performance in the 2023 U.S. Open, Tackett has proven himself as one of the best in the game. However, his reign is far from uncontested. Jason Belmonte, who has long been a force in professional bowling, will be looking to reclaim his throne after Tackett dethroned him last year. Alongside them, Anthony Simonsen, with his six-title 2023 campaign, and contenders such as Kyle Troup and Jesper Svensson, who just won his 13th PBA Tour title during the 2024 Storm Lucky Larsen Masters, will bring fierce competition. Not to mention hundreds of other world class players, ready to do whatever it takes to grab a spot among the greatest in the sport.
Stay updated on the latest PBA Tour news by visiting PBA.com and following the PBA on social media.
