Zach Wilkins was one spare away from one of the greatest stepladder runs in recent PBA Tour history.
The Canadian entered the PBA World Championship stepladder finals as the No. 5 seed after surviving the earlier play-in round. Three victories later, he stood in the championship match with a chance to win his first major title, his third title of the season, and potentially lock up PBA Player of the Year honors.
Instead, EJ Tackett found a way to survive once again.
In the championship match, Tackett and Wilkins both opened with splits, immediately setting the tone for another tense battle on Thunderbowl's demanding championship pair.
Neither player was able to create much separation early. They traded marks and small advantages, with both bowlers surviving the lane conditions rather than building long strings of strikes. That changed in the sixth frame, when Tackett began lofting the ball a little and finally connected strikes to build a slim 10-pin lead.
Wilkins, bowling his sixth match of the day, stayed within striking distance by filling frames and converting spares. Having already survived five elimination matches, he knew better than anyone how quickly momentum could shift on this pair.
Soon, it did.
Tackett left the 3-10 split twice but converted it both times to protect a seven-pin advantage. Still, Wilkins remained close. He responded with a double, while Tackett converted another difficult spare in the ninth and stepped onto the approach in the 10th needing as much count as possible, since Wilkins was now the one in the lead.
Tackett struck on his first shot in the 10th but could not get the second. He finished at 188, leaving Wilkins needing only a mark to complete one of the most remarkable stepladder runs in PBA Tour history.
But the lanes had one final twist.
Wilkins left the 4-9 split and was unable to convert it. Tackett dropped to his knees, hardly believing what had just happened. For the fourth consecutive year, EJ Tackett was the PBA World Champion.
With his 28th career win, Tackett all but ended the Player of the Year debate, putting himself in position to claim the award for the fourth year in a row.
Zach Wilkins vs. Kris Prather
Wilkins opened the main stepladder finals against Kris Prather.
The two traded quality shots throughout the game, but it was Wilkins who adjusted slightly better after the commercial break. He took control when Prather left a split that he could not convert, allowing the Canadian to build a lead heading into the closing frames.
But Prather refused to go away. He finished with three consecutive strikes and a nine, forcing Wilkins to strike twice in the 10th. Wilkins delivered the first strike but could not get the second, settling for a spare and sending the match to a one-shot roll-off.
Prather stepped up first and struck. Wilkins answered with a strike of his own. In the second roll-off shot, Prather’s ball went Brooklyn and left the 10 pin standing. Wilkins then delivered another strike to win.
Zach Wilkins vs. Bill O'Neill
Wilkins then carried that momentum into his match against Hall of Famer Bill O’Neill, winning 205-144 to move one step closer to the title match.
Once again, Wilkins started stronger. O’Neill spent the early frames searching for a reliable ball motion on the demanding lane pair at Thunderbowl, but he could not connect strikes or stay out of trouble. Open frames in the third and fifth kept him from putting pressure on Wilkins, while the Canadian looked more comfortable with every shot.
After the break, O’Neill’s struggles continued. Wilkins opened in the eighth frame, but by then the lead was already comfortable. A strike in the ninth frame all but ended the match, and he cruised to a 205-144 victory.
Zach Wilkins vs. Chris Via
Needing just two more wins to complete an incredible run from the No. 5 seed, Wilkins next faced Chris Via in the semifinal.
Wilkins opened with a spare and then went perfect through the rest of the first half. With Via leaving an early open frame and unable to match Wilkins' strike pace, the Canadian carried a commanding 42-pin lead into the commercial break.
After grinding through five previous matches while averaging under 200, Wilkins was suddenly on pace for his best game of the stepladder finals. His first non-strike after the opening frame came in the seventh, when he settled for a spare.
Via finally found some momentum with strikes from the sixth through eighth frames, but he needed much more - and preferably a mistake from Wilkins. That mistake never came. Even when the strikes slowed down, Wilkins continued to fill frames and protect the advantage he had built earlier.
Via made one final push, striking in the foundation frame, but a ringing 7 pin in the 10th ended his hopes. Wilkins closed out a 235-217 victory to advance to the championship match, where the rest is history.
The PBA World Championship capped off the major championship portion of the 2026 PBA Tour season, serving as the final major title up for grabs.
While the majors are now complete, several regular-title events remain on the schedule, beginning with The Magnum Ice Cream Company PBA Norm Duke Open, which takes place June 16-21.
