Sweden's Rasmus Edvall claimed his first Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour title at the PBA Scorpion Championship, defeating Ryan Barnes, Tobias Börding, EJ Tackett, and Malaysia's Rafiq Ismail in the final, 224-172. His victory as a No. 5 seed marked one of the biggest comeback stories in recent PBA Tour history.
In the first stepladder finals match, No. 5 seed Rasmus Edvall of Sweden, making his first PBA Tour finals appearance, faced No. 4 seed Ryan Barnes, who had recently reached the PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic finals. Both bowlers started nervously—Edvall failed to pick up a 6-10 spare, while Barnes opened with a 2-10 split. In the first three frames, both bowlers recorded more open frames than strikes combined, obviously putting added pressure on themselves. Just before the commercial break, Edvall made a strike, while Barnes left another split on the right lane. However, Barnes quickly recovered with a strike in the sixth frame, trailing by 26 pins heading into the second half of the match.
After the break, Edvall followed up with a spare and a strike, while Barnes finally struck on the right lane—only to leave yet another split on the left, further complicating his chances of advancing. Edvall remained steady with another spare and strike, while Barnes suffered yet another split on the troublesome right lane, sealing his fate. Edvall advanced with a final score of 196-133.
In the second stepladder match, Edvall faced No. 3 seed Tobias Börding of Germany, who became the first German bowler to appear in a televised PBA Tour round since 2015, when Pascal Winternheimer reached the PBA Chameleon Championship finals but lost to Sweden’s Jesper Svensson. Börding opened with a spare, while Edvall started strong with two flush strikes. Börding quickly responded with a strike in the second frame, but it was his only one before the commercial break. By that point, the German trailed by 24 pins.
Börding ran into bigger trouble in the sixth frame when he missed a 4-pin spare. He rebounded with a double, but Edvall remained steady, making no costly mistakes. He controlled the match until the end, securing a 204-189 victory to advance.
Now just two wins away from a PBA Tour title, Sweden's Rasmus Edvall faced No. 2 seed EJ Tackett, the reigning Player of the Year, who had finished second at the PBA Tour Mike Aulby Nevada Classic less than 24 hours earlier.
Edvall opened with a Brooklyn strike, while Tackett set the tone with four consecutive strikes, taking an early lead. But Edvall stayed close—after striking for a triple, the Swede entered the break with a slim one-pin lead.
After the break, Edvall made two solid shots, but both left a stubborn 7-pin standing, forcing him to settle for spares. Meanwhile, Tackett struck again, but an unfortunate split put the semifinal up for grabs once more. Both bowlers struck in the foundation frame, meaning Tackett needed two strikes and a nine-count to shut out Edvall. However, he left another split on the left lane and failed to convert, sealing his fate. Edvall picked up a spare and clinched 217-205 victory over the world's top player.
In the finals, No. 1 seed, Malaysia's Rafiq Ismail was waiting for the Rasmus Edvall and he was probably the calmest bowler to stand on the lane today, being the sole left handed bowler in the finals, meaning he had all the fresh side for himself. Ismail started with a strike, but the early 3-7-9 split on the right lane gave an early lead to Edvall. Ismail was getting back to the game but another 3-7-9 split in the sixth frame put him in a big trouble, trailling by 43 pins. In the second part of the match both bowlers were struggling to strike, but it was in favor to the Swede, ho maintained the lead and captured the title 224-172.
The PBA Scorpion Championship held its finals during the PBA World Series of Bowling XVI in Reno. Tomorrow, the competition will shift to the PBA Viper Championship Match Play Rounds and stepladder finals, starting at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.
The prize fund for the PBA Scorpion Championship winner was $20,000.
2025 PBA Scorpion Championship Stepladder Finals Scores:
Match 1: No. 5 Rasmus Edvall - No. 4 Ryan Barnes, 196-133
Match 2: No. 5 Rasmus Edvall - No. 3 Tobias Börding, 204-189
Match 3: No. 5 Rasmus Edvall - No. 2 EJ Tackett, 217-205
Match 4: No. 5 Rasmus Edvall - No. 1 Rafiq Ismail, 224-172
PBA World Series of Bowling XVI Schedule:
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
