Patrick Dombrowski captured the biggest win of his career, defeating top seed Anthony Simonsen 197–195 to claim his first PBA Tour title and a major championship.
In a dramatic title match, Simonsen opened with a strike using the Storm Ion Max Pearl, while Dombrowski answered with two strikes of his own, carrying momentum from his 248–211 semifinal victory over Chris Via. The match quickly turned into a tense back-and-forth battle, with both bowlers exchanging splits in the third frame before trading strikes and unfortunate breaks as the game remained tight heading into the final frames.
Simonsen converted a key spare in the ninth frame on the troublesome left lane that had been a headache for players throughout the night. Dombrowski responded with a strike on the right lane and then converted a difficult 3–10 split to stay in control. Needing nine pins in the tenth frame to secure the win, Dombrowski knocked down eight, leaving the door open for Simonsen to force a roll-off.
Simonsen struck on his first two shots in the tenth, but then the star of the night returned - the 7–10 split appeared once again. With that, Dombrowski sealed the two-pin victory and the first major title of his PBA Tour career.
Here’s how the remaining stepladder finals unfolded at the 2026 Go Bowling U.S. Open.
#4 Tim Foy Jr. vs. #5 Andrew Anderson
In the stepladder opener, Andrew Anderson, using a new Storm Concept, got off to the better start and held a slim five-pin lead before the commercial break. But Tim Foy Jr., still chasing his first title in 13 years, was not ready to let the opportunity slip away. He responded with a string of strikes of his own before leaving a 10 pin in the crucial ninth frame.
Although Foy finished with a turkey in the tenth, Anderson needed only 15 pins in his final frame. He struck on his first two shots to advance, 250-226, to the second match of the stepladder finals.
#3 Chris Via vs. #5 Andrew Anderson
In the second stepladder match, Anderson faced No. 3 seed Chris Via, who was hoping to give himself an early birthday present, as he will celebrate tomorrow. Via showed that intent from the start, opening with a turkey, while Anderson struggled with splits, including back-to-back 7-10 splits between the third and fifth frames. That stretch proved costly, allowing Via to build a 65-pin lead heading into the break.
After the break, the earlier 7-10 splits seemed to linger in Anderson’s mind, as he struggled to strike on quality shots and had to settle for spares. Via, on the other hand, continued to extend his lead. The match was basically decided well before the final Storm Concept was thrown, as both players were relying on the same ball. Via secured the win, 258-159, and advanced to the semifinal match against Patrick Dombrowski.
#2 Patrick Dombrowski vs. #3 Chris Via
The runner-up at the 2024 USBC Masters, Patrick Dombrowski, opened with a
spare, while Via once again started strong with two early strikes to grab the
early lead. Dombrowski struggled to carry strikes, and even a ball change to a
Storm Bionic with a different layout did not immediately help. However, he was
perfect on his spare attempts, which kept him within striking distance heading
into the break, trailing by only seven pins.
After the break, both bowlers came out at full throttle, trading strikes back and forth. The turning point came in the tenth frame, when Via left a 7-10 split at the worst possible moment. That gave Dombrowski the open window, and with just eight pins needed to win, he closed out the match to advance to the championship round, 248-211.
The next stop on the PBA Tour schedule is the Groupon PBA Illinois Classic, taking place at David Small’s Victory Lanes in Decatur, Illinois, from March 9–15.
