John Janawicz won the 2026 PBA50 Norfolk Classic after climbing from the fifth seed and winning four consecutive matches in Thursday’s stepladder finals.
The two-time reigning PBA50 Player of the Year defeated Mika Koivuniemi 256-225 in the championship match to claim his 11th career PBA50 Tour title and second victory of the season in five tournaments. A hand injury had kept him away from competition after his win at the Ballard Championship.
Janawicz had led the PBA50 Norfolk Classic through qualifying and the Advancers Round, but a loss to Parker Bohn III during bracket match play dropped him to the fifth seed for the stepladder.
That meant he needed to defeat every other finalist to win the title.
Janawicz began the ladder with a 258-215 victory over Ricky Schissler. He then rolled seven consecutive strikes to start his match against Tony Campagna Jr. and advanced with a 267-183 win.
The semifinal brought a rematch with Bohn III, who had beaten Janawicz earlier in the day. Janawicz finished the match with seven straight strikes to advance 246-214.
In the final, No. 1 seed Mika Koivuniemi was looking for his second title in eight days after winning the Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship. He started with five strikes in his first six frames, but his run ended with a 7-10 split in the seventh.
Koivuniemi recovered to finish with 225, but Janawicz stayed patient and struck on all three shots in the 10th frame to close out the match in his favor.
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For the win, Janawicz earned $7,500.
The PBA50 Tour season will conclude with the PBA50 Tournament of Champions in Morgantown, West Virginia. Janawicz will enter the event as the defending champion.
