EJ Tackett claimed his second Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour title of the season at the PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic after defeating England's Dominic Barrett 238-202. This victory marks Tackett's 25th career tour title.
The first stepladder finals match picked up right where the Round of 8 left off—a battle between Ryan Barnes and Dominic Barrett. Seeking redemption for Friday’s loss, Ryan Barnes started with a strike using the 900 Global Origin, while Barrett answered with one using the Brunswick Mesmerize. However, both bowlers struggled in the even frames—they were striking in frames 1, 3, and 5, but both made errors in 2 and 4. The curse was finally broken in the sixth frame when Dom Barrett made his first strike on the left lane just before the commercial break.
After the commercial, Ryan Barnes was still struggling to find a consistent ball reaction, missing one shot after another. Even the ball change to the Storm Road Warrior did little good. Meanwhile, Barrett was more consistent, making strikes and picking up his easy spares. Eventually, the low-scoring match ended with a final score of 141-190.
In stepladder match two, Barrett faced No. 3 seed Timmy Tan from Malaysia, who fought through the PTQ, finished 12th in qualifying, and took down AJ Chapman, Kevin McCune, and Kyle Troup in match play to make his PBA Tour stepladder final debut, becoming the first Malaysian bowler to ever reach the stepladder finals. Nevertheless, Tan didn’t look like a typical debutant—he started the match with five consecutive strikes to take an early lead against Barrett by 18 pins.
After the commercial, Barrett continued with an unfortunate split, while Tan continued his quest for the PBA title, shooting strike after strike until the ninth frame, when the 7 pin was left standing. In the tenth frame, Tan made a spare and a strike, leaving Barrett a small open window to strike twice and then get nine pins to take the win. And Barrett did just that, defeating Tan by one pin, 246-245.
Two wins away from the PBA Tour title, Barrett faced No. 2 seed Tim Foy Jr., a fellow Brunswick staffer. While Barrett was striking with ease on the left lane, the right lane was a different story. That all changed in the seventh frame when Barrett finally made a strike on it—and he never stopped. After that, Barrett made five consecutive strikes to shut down Tim Foy Jr. 239-224, securing his place in the title match against the 2025 U.S. Open champion, EJ Tackett, where he eventually fell 202-238.
PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic was the fourth PBA Tour event of the 2025 season. Delaware Classic, where Graham Fach emerged victorious, ended in late January, the U.S. Open ended with EJ Tackett claiming the first major title of the season, and Illinois Classic ended last week with Santtu Tahvanainen taking his first ever PBA Tour title.
The PBA Tour will now take a break for a week and will continue in late February with PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic in Reno, starting from February 25.
Total of 76 bowling players competed in this year's PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic in Enterprise Park Lanes, Springfield.
The total prize fund for the PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic was $200,000.
2025 PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic Stepladder Finals Scores:
Match 1: No. 5 Ryan Barnes - No. 4 Dom Barrett, 141-190
Match 2: No. 4 Dom Barrett - No. 3 Timmy Tan, 246-245
Match 3: No. 4 Dom Barrett - No. 2 Tim Foy Jr., 239-224
Match 4: No. 4 Dom Barrett - No. 1 EJ Tackett, 202-238
