Muaz Dominates Shark, Tackett Leads PBA World Championship After Qualification

Mar 12, 2025 | By Erikas Jansonas

PBA

Article hero image

Picture Credit: Professional Bowlers Association

Muaz Dominates Shark, Tackett Leads PBA World Championship After Qualification

Mar 12, 2025 | By Erikas Jansonas

Picture Credit: Professional Bowlers Association

PBA

Malaysia's Ahmad Muaz topped PBA Shark Championship qualifying with a 12-game total of 2,872, earning a first-round bye in match play.

EJ Tackett, Packy Hanrahan, Jesper Svensson, Matt Ogle, Justin Knowles, Jakob Butturff, and Ben Robinson also secured a bye to the Round of 16, while the 9th through 24th qualifiers competed in the Round of 24 in best-of-five matches.

Jason Belmonte, Tim Foy Jr., Tom Smallwood, Kyle Troup, Ryan Barnes, Chris Via, Jean Perez, and Landin Jordan won their respective matches to advance.

Following Shark pattern qualifying, the PBA World Championship cut was set, with Tackett leading the field after 48 games. He has made the Round of 16 in all four WSOB animal pattern championships, averaging 237.29 over those games.

The top 50 advance to advancer rounds, followed by round-robin match play beginning March 20. The top five will compete for the major title on May 22.

Round 2 Leaders | PBA Shark Championship

  1. Ahmad Muaz, 2,872
  2. EJ Tackett, 2,845
  3. Packy Hanrahan, 2,829
  4. Jesper Svensson, 2,816
  5. Matt Ogle, 2,811
  6. Justin Knowles, 2,810
  7. Jakob Butturff, 2,802
  8. Ben Robinson, 2,780

Full standings are available here.

Round of 24 Results | PBA Shark Championship

No. 17 Tim Foy Jr. def. No. 16 Nu'Man Syahmi Yusri, 3-1

No. 9 Jason Belmonte def. No. 24 Nate Stubler, 3-1

No. 21 Tom Smallwood def. No. 12 François Lavoie, 3-0

No. 13 Kyle Troup def. No. 20 Richard Teece, 3-1

No. 19 Ryan Barnes def. No. 14 Jord Van Weeren, 3-2

No. 11 Chris Via def. No. 22 Nathan Bohr, 3-0

No. 23 Landin Jordan def. No. 10 Rafiq Ismail, 3-1

No. 18 Jean Perez def. No. 15 Cam Crowe, 3-0

Round of 16 Matches | PBA Shark Championship

No. 1 Ahmad Muaz vs. No. 17 Tim Foy Jr.

No. 8 Ben Robinson vs. No. 9 Jason Belmonte

No. 2 EJ Tackett vs. No. 18 Jean Perez

No. 7 Jakob Butturff vs. No. 23 Landin Jordan

No. 3 Packy Hanrahan vs. No. 19 Ryan Barnes

No. 6 Justin Knowles vs. No. 11 Chris Via

No. 4 Jesper Svensson vs. No. 13 Kyle Troup

No. 5 Matt Ogle vs. No. 21 Tom Smallwood

Full PBA World Series of Bowling XVI Schedule:

Wednesday, March 12

  • 12 p.m. – PBA World Championship - Practice

Thursday, March 13

  • 10 a.m. – PBA World Championship - Advancer Round 1 (eight games)

Friday, March 14

  • 10 a.m. – PBA World Championship - Advancer Round 2 (eight games)
  • 6 p.m. – PBA Jr. National Championships - Match Play

Saturday, March 15

  • 9 a.m. – PBA Jr. National Championships - Match Play
  • 12:30 p.m. – PBA Jr. National Championships - Stepladder Finals (Mixed, U18 Boys and U18 Girls)
  • 3 p.m. on FS1 – PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic - Finals
  • 7 p.m. – PBA Jr. National Championship - Finals taping

Sunday, March 16

  • 9 a.m.  – PBA Scorpion Championship - Match Play Round of 16 (best-of-five games)
  • 11:30 a.m. – PBA Scorpion Championship - Match Play Round of 8 (best-of-five games)
  • 5 p.m. on FS1 – PBA Scorpion Championship - Finals

Monday, March 17

  • 9 a.m. – PBA Viper Championship - Match Play Round of 16 (best-of-five games)
  • 11:30 a.m. – PBA Viper Championship - Match Play Round of 8 (best-of-five games)
  • 4 p.m. on FS1 – PBA Viper Championship - Finals

Tuesday, March 18

  • 9 a.m. – PBA Chameleon Championship - Match Play Round of 16 (best-of-five games)
  • 11:30 a.m. – PBA Chameleon Championship - Match Play Round of 8 (best-of-five games)
  • 4 p.m. on FS1 – PBA Chameleon Championship - Finals

Wednesday, March 19

  • 9 a.m. – PBA Shark Championship - Match Play Round of 16 (best-of-five games)
  • 11:30 a.m. – PBA Shark Championship - Match Play Round of 8 (best-of-five games)
  • 4 p.m. on FS1 – PBA Shark Championship - Finals

Thursday, March 20

  • 10 a.m. – PBA World Championship - Round-Robin Match Play Round 1 (eight games)
  • 5 p.m. – PBA World Championship - Round-Robin Match Play Round 2 (eight games)

Saturday, March 22

  • 12 p.m. on FOX – PBA World Championship Finals

Similar Articles

see more
Article thumbnail image

Coté and Via Capture 2025 Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles Title

Chris Via and Bryanna Coté claimed the title at the 25th anniversary edition of the Storm PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles, held at Copperfield Bowl in Houston. After finishing qualifying in 22nd place, the pair surged during match play and secured the top spot heading into the final game. With a total pinfall of 10,416 (+1,216) over 46 combined games, they held a comfortable lead of 260 pins over Kyle Troup and Liz Johnson, who finished in second with +1,042. Latest win marked Coté’s sixth PWBA title and Via’s second PBA title. For the win they were awarded with $25,000. Via also rolled the only two 300 games of the tournament and donated both $300 bonuses to the Striking Against Breast Cancer foundation. Last year's champions Anthony Simonsen and Danielle McEwan finished in 22nd. Last year's champions Last year's champions The final PBA title event of the season will be the Storm Lucky Larsen Masters in Helsingborg, Sweden, while the PWBA season wraps in August with Championship Week in Rochester, New York. Storm Lucky Larsen Masters in Helsingborg, Sweden Storm Lucky Larsen Masters in Helsingborg, Sweden Championship Week in Rochester, New York Championship Week in Rochester, New York Top 5 Final Standings: Top 5 Final Standings: Chris Via / Bryanna Coté – 10,416 (+1,216)Kyle Troup / Liz Johnson – 10,242 (+1,042)Darren Tang / Sin Li Jane – 10,039 (+839)Andrew Anderson / Erin McCarthy – 9,952 (+752)Tommy Jones / Shannon Pluhowsky – 9,918 (+718) Chris Via / Bryanna Coté – 10,416 (+1,216) Kyle Troup / Liz Johnson – 10,242 (+1,042) Darren Tang / Sin Li Jane – 10,039 (+839) Andrew Anderson / Erin McCarthy – 9,952 (+752) Tommy Jones / Shannon Pluhowsky – 9,918 (+718)

PBA

Article thumbnail image

Darren Tang Makes PBA History Winning With Both Styles: “The Optimal Way to Throw Strikes Is With Two Hands”

Darren Tang, a PBA Tour title holder since his win at the 2021 Bowlerstore.com Classic, has officially written his name into the PBA record books with one exceptional achievement. After years of competing as a one-handed player, Tang made a bold move in late 2024 by switching to a two-handed delivery. Many fans assumed it was just for content - since Tang is the one of the biggest bowling content creators on YouTube - but it wasn’t. He bowled his first tournament using the two-handed style in November and fully committed to the change in February 2025. biggest bowling content creators on YouTube biggest bowling content creators on YouTube This weekend, his efforts fully paid off as he won the PBA Santa Maria Open in the West Region. With this victory, Tang becomes the first bowler ever to win PBA titles using both one-handed and two-handed techniques. Following the victory, Darren Tang spoke with Erikas Jansonas from BowlingLife about his newest achievement, the challenges he faced during the transition to two-handed, and how he sees his future on tour. As most things in life, best of them comes unexpectedly. That happened and this time. When asked what it meant for him to become the first player in PBA history to win titles using both styles, Darren said that he didn’t pursue the distinction on purpose, but acknowledged it was still a special moment. “Always cool to have the distinction to be the first to do something. It’s not something that I thought too much about,” Tang stated. “I just want to keep getting better to give myself the best chance possible to win again on the tour.” “Always cool to have the distinction to be the first to do something. It’s not something that I thought too much about,” Tang stated. “I just want to keep getting better to give myself the best chance possible to win again on the tour.” Even though many say that two-handed bowling is a kind of cheat code, it’s still difficult to learn - especially well enough to win a PBA title. When explaining the technical challenges that came with switching styles, Tang shared that one old habit in particular was especially tough to break. “The hardest habit to break for me is the internal rotation of my shoulder. I had this move as a one hander, and it would cause misses to the left and is more or less a power leak," Tang explained. "It’s exaggerated bowling two handed because of the position I have to rotate around now. If I don’t keep it in check, my elbow flies around the ball much worse than a good shot.” “The hardest habit to break for me is the internal rotation of my shoulder. I had this move as a one hander, and it would cause misses to the left and is more or less a power leak," Tang explained. "It’s exaggerated bowling two handed because of the position I have to rotate around now. If I don’t keep it in check, my elbow flies around the ball much worse than a good shot.” Starting over with a brand-new style is never easy—it takes time to develop, and there’s always some doubt. For pros like Tang, who need to perform just to make a living, the risk is even bigger. He admitted that the initial decision to switch wasn’t easy. But once he fully committed to going two-handed, he never looked back. “I haven’t doubted the switch. I did doubt switching initially. I think the hardest part in anything someone does is start. I understood that this would take some time. I told myself that I need to be okay with not cashing for the rest of the season to develop this skill. Once I committed, I never looked back. I was extremely fortunate to pick up on it much faster than I anticipated.” “I haven’t doubted the switch. I did doubt switching initially. I think the hardest part in anything someone does is start. I understood that this would take some time. I told myself that I need to be okay with not cashing for the rest of the season to develop this skill. Once I committed, I never looked back. I was extremely fortunate to pick up on it much faster than I anticipated.” Tang noticed that he strikes more often with the two-handed style, but some old habits of one-handed style still sneak into his current technique - reminding us that bowling is always changing and adapting. “I have committed to both styles. I believe the optimal way to throw strikes is with two hands. I also believe that the optimal way to shoot spares is with the thumb in. So that is what I will be committing to for the foreseeable future.” “I have committed to both styles. I believe the optimal way to throw strikes is with two hands. I also believe that the optimal way to shoot spares is with the thumb in. So that is what I will be committing to for the foreseeable future.”

PBA

Article thumbnail image

Mika Koivuniemi Captures PBA50 Petraglia Championship Title

The 2025 PBA50 Petraglia Championship concluded on Tuesday in Jackson, Michigan, with Finland’s Mika Koivuniemi winning his first PBA50 title since 2018. In the title match, Koivuniemi, the No. 2 seed, started strong with a strike and spare, then built momentum with seven consecutive strikes from the fourth to the tenth frame - a pace his opponent just couldn't hande, securing the win 258-224. Previously, in the semifinal, Koivuniemi defeated No. 5 seed Liz Johnson, who had advanced through two earlier matches by defeating Brian LeClair in the opening match, 215-199 and then defeating Tom Daugherty 225-197. Johnson and Koivuniemi were even early in the game, but a split in the fourth frame gave Koivuniemi the lead. He remained clean through the match and finished strong to win 227-202. Koivuniemi earned $5,000 for the win. This win was crucial for Major Mika as he moves closer to qualifying for the PBA50 World Championship match play. All qualifying scores from this tournament, along with those from the Ballard, Monacelli, and Holman Championships, will determine the top 18 players advancing to the World Championship. Koivuniemi currently stands in 19th place and will need strong results in the upcoming Holman Championship to move up. All matches of the PBA50 are available to watch live on BowlTV. PBA50 Petraglia Championship Stepladder Finals – Match Results PBA50 Petraglia Championship Stepladder Finals – Match Results Match 1: Liz Johnson def. Brian LeClair, 215 – 199 Match 1: Match 2: Liz Johnson def. Tom Daugherty, 225 – 197 Match 2: Semifinal: Mika Koivuniemi def. Liz Johnson, 227 – 202 Semifinal: Final: Mika Koivuniemi def. Bo Goergen, 258 – 224 Final:

PBA

Article thumbnail image

Andrew Anderson Defeats Belmo and Tackett to Win 2025 PBA Tour Finals

Andrew Anderson defeated EJ Tackett in two straight games during Sunday’s finale at Steel City Bowl & Brews in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to become the fifth bowler to claim the title since the lounch of the event. The final match began with Tackett taking an early lead with four straight strikes, but open frames in the later stages allowed Anderson to steal Game 1, 212–200. In Game 2, early errors from Tackett gave Anderson a comfortable advantage. Despite an open frame in the sixth, Anderson held on to win 212–189 and sweep the Race-to-Two final. This win marks Anderson’s second title of the season—both earned in finals matches against Tackett—and the sixth PBA Tour title of his career. Earlier in the year, Tackett topped Anderson in the U.S. Open, but Anderson bounced back to defeat him at the PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic. Tackett topped Anderson in the U.S. Open Tackett topped Anderson in the U.S. Open PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic With this win, he also pockets the $35,000 top prize. The Tour Finals featured the top eight points leaders from the 2024 and 2025 seasons, split into two groups. Anderson and Tackett each earned the top seed in their respective groups during Saturday’s positioning rounds and fought their way through stepladder matches to reach the final. In Group 1, Tackett advanced after narrowly escaping a roll-off win against Graham Fach. In Group 2, Anderson survived a high-scoring bracket that saw Jason Belmonte shoot 269 and 278 in his first two matches. Anderson lost the first game of their head-to-head but forced a roll-off and doubled in the tenth to move on to the championship. The PBA Tour Finals closes out the 2025 season. The post-season begins with the Storm PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles in July, followed by a return to international play in August at the Storm Lucky Larsen Masters in Sweden. Group 1 Stepladder Results: Group 1 Stepladder Results: Match 1: Kyle Troup (No. 4) defeated Bill O’Neill (No. 3), 227–214Match 2: Graham Fach (No. 2) defeated Kyle Troup, 226–197Match 3: EJ Tackett (No. 1) defeated Graham Fach, 2–1 Match 1: Kyle Troup (No. 4) defeated Bill O’Neill (No. 3), 227–214 Match 1: Match 2: Graham Fach (No. 2) defeated Kyle Troup, 226–197 Match 2: Match 3: EJ Tackett (No. 1) defeated Graham Fach, 2–1 Match 3: Group 2 Stepladder Results: Group 2 Stepladder Results: Match 1: Jason Belmonte (No. 3) defeated Anthony Simonsen (No. 4), 269–259Match 2: Jason Belmonte defeated Marshall Kent (No. 2), 278–221Match 3: Andrew Anderson (No. 1) defeated Jason Belmonte, 2–1 Match 1: Jason Belmonte (No. 3) defeated Anthony Simonsen (No. 4), 269–259 Match 1: Match 2: Jason Belmonte defeated Marshall Kent (No. 2), 278–221 Match 2: Match 3: Andrew Anderson (No. 1) defeated Jason Belmonte, 2–1 Match 3:

PBA