Josie Barnes of Hermitage, Tennessee, claimed the 2025 PWBA Anniversary Open title after winning two matches during Sunday night’s stepladder finals at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The finals took place as part of the Junior Gold Championships Opening Ceremony, drawing over 6,500 spectators into the arena. It marked one of the most attended and visually striking finals in recent PWBA history.
Barnes, seeded second, first faced Verity Crawley of England in the semifinals. Crawley had advanced with a 212–193 win over Colombia’s Rocio Restrepo in Match 2. Barnes kept a clean game and used Crawley’s mid-game opens to take control, winning 214–194 to earn a spot in the title match.
In the championship match, Barnes met Kayla Smith of Rockford, Illinois. Smith had secured the No. 1 seed after a strong final qualifying round but struggled with carry in the final. Barnes built momentum early with five consecutive strikes and held the lead to close out the match 236–191. The win marks her second title of the 2025 season and sixth overall on the PWBA Tour.
The stepladder finals opened with Sweden’s Nora Johansson making her PWBA finals debut. Johansson, the first two-handed player to reach a PWBA stepladder final, led early against Restrepo but closed with back-to-back splits, losing 209–215.
All matches were contested at the Resch Center on a specially built lane installation. The event was aired live on CBS Sports Network.
PWBA Anniversary Open Stepladder Finals - Match Results
- Match 1: Rocio Restrepo def. Nora Johansson, 215 - 209
- Match 2: Verity Crawley def. Rocio Restrepo, 212 - 193
- Semifinal: Josie Barnes def. Verity Crawley, 214 - 194
- Final: Josie Barnes def. Kayla Smith, 236 - 191
