The PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship begins tomorrow in Portland, Maine, and one thing is already clear - we are getting new champions this year.

Well, at least one of them.

Jason Belmonte, who won the PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship with Bill O’Neill last year, is not in the field.

After the PBA Ohio Classic, Belmonte returned home and will also miss the PBA New York Classic and this week’s Doubles Championship.

That means O’Neill will defend his share of the title with a new partner - and he could not have picked a much stronger one.

O’Neill teams up with Canada’s Graham Fach, who is coming in strong form this season. The 34-year-old left-hander won the PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic in March and currently sits fourth in points, sixth in earnings, and tenth in average on the PBA Tour.

Although the player field is smaller than in other PBA Tour events this season - only 32 teams (64 players) - the competition will be tough, as several former championship-winning teams are also back in the field.

EJ Tackett and Marshall Kent return as the 2022 champions, while Jesper Svensson and Kyle Troup reunite after winning the title in 2017 and 2020. Andrew Anderson and Kris Prather, champions in 2021 and 2024, are also back, along with Mitch Hupé and Packy Hanrahan, who won in 2023, and Matt Ogle and Sean Rash, the 2019 champions.

Tackett will be driven not only by team ambitions, but also by personal goals as he still looks for his first title of the 2026 season.

Despite leading the tour in nearly every key statistical category, Tackett has yet to win, which currently leaves him outside PBA Player of the Year eligibility - an award he has won for the past three years.

He teams up again with Kent, who recently returned to the winner’s circle after claiming the PBA Indiana Classic title in one of the most dramatic championship matches of the season.

PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship Format

A total of 32 teams will compete in the event, which will be played in a single-elimination bracket.

Teams were invited and seeded based on their position in the PBA points standings following the USBC Masters.

All matches before the finals will be played in a best-of-seven Baker format, where teammates alternate shots throughout each game.

The tournament begins with the Round of 32 on Thursday, followed by the Round of 16 and Round of 8 on Friday.

The four remaining teams will then advance to the championship round.

The finals will take place on Sunday, April 19 at 4 p.m. ET on The CW.

The final stage will feature single-game matches, with the winners advancing to a Race-to-Two title match to determine the champions.

All earlier rounds will be streamed live on BowlTV.