Under the bright lights at Bowlero St. Peters, Canada’s Graham Fach continued his strong start to the 2026 PBA Tour season. In his second consecutive television appearance, this time he went all the way.
Fach captured the PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic for his third career PBA Tour title, receiving the trophy from the legend himself - Pete Weber.
In the championship match, Fach defeated Justin Knowles to claim the $30,000 top prize. With the victory, he becomes just the third player to lift the Pete Weber trophy, joining Anthony Simonsen and EJ Tackett.
Fach stayed with the Hammer Black Pearl Urethane for the entire final, just as he had in the semifinal, while Knowles used the Roto Grip Transformer and Storm !Q Tour A.I.
Fach was more consistent throughout the match, striking four times in his first five shots and steadily increasing the pressure on Knowles. He gave away nothing, leaving no room for mistakes, and eventually secured a dominant 269-239 victory.
Here’s how the remaining stepladder finals unfolded at the PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic.
Hometown Hope Rolls On
In the opening match, No. 5 seed Matt Russo, a New Jersey native now based in St. Louis, entered the stepladder finals as the hometown contender. He faced 25-year-old rookie Hayden Stippich, who was making his first career PBA Tour television appearance after defeating Richie Teece, Jason Belmonte, and Anthony Neuer to reach the show.
Russo started strong, opening with five consecutive strikes while using the Motiv Supra and Motiv Pride Liberty. Stippich began with a strike using the Ebonite Game Breaker 5, but went Brooklyn in the second frame and then failed to convert a spare in the third. That early mistake gave Russo a clear advantage.
After the commercial break, Stippich responded with three straight strikes to stay within reach. However, a 3-7 split in the ninth frame ended his chances.
Russo closed out the match 238-203 to advance and face No. 3 seed Thomas
Larsen of Denmark, the only right-handed player in the stepladder finals.
Denmark's Domination
In the second stepladder match, No. 3 seed Thomas Larsen took on Matt Russo. Larsen secured his spot on the show after a seven game victory over EJ Tackett in the Round of 8. The Danish bowler, who won the 2021 USBC Masters, opened the match with five consecutive strikes while using the 900 Global Venomance and Storm Ion Max.
Russo struggled early. He left a 2-4-6-7-10 split in the second frame and was unable to convert it. At the time, he was using a Motiv Supra with added polish. The open frame gave Larsen an early advantage. Russo then switched back to a more matte Motiv Supra and responded with several strikes, but he still trailed by 45 pins heading into the television break.
After the break, both players exchanged strikes. However, an unfortunate break
for Russo in the eighth frame ended his comeback attempt. Larsen closed out
the match with a 246-191 win and advanced to the PBA Pete Weber Missouri
Classic semifinal to face Canada’s Graham Fach, who returned to the stepladder
finals for the second consecutive week after finishing third at the PBA
Players Championship.
A Clash of Groundbreakers
Canada’s first PBA Tour title winner, Graham Fach, who had averaged over 281 on the television pair earlier in the week, stormed into the semifinal with authority. He opened with five consecutive strikes and quickly built an early lead after Denmark’s Thomas Larsen failed to convert a spare in the second frame. Fach entered the commercial break with a commanding 33-pin advantage.
After the break, Fach continued striking and extended his lead, briefly flirting with perfection before a stone 9 pin in the ninth frame ended his 300 hopes. Using Hammer Black Pearl Urethane throughout the match, Fach defeated Larsen 268-235 to advance to the championship match against Justin Knowles.
The PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic marked the second PBA Tour event of the season. The tour now heads to Royal Pin Woodland in Indianapolis, Indiana, for the season’s second major, the U.S. Open, which begins Tuesday, March 3, at 8 a.m.
