Raymond Teece Turns Childhood Dream Into PBA Tour Title at Storm Lucky Larsen Masters

Raymond Teece once watched PBA telecasts over and over on videotapes sent from the United States, wondering what it would feel like to win a title of his own. On Monday night in Sweden, he finally found out.

The Englishman defeated Finland’s Tomas Käyhkö 195-191 at Olympia Bowling in Helsingborg to win the 2026 Storm Lucky Larsen Masters - the first PBA Tour title of his career.

The childhood dream had come true with almost the entire family together.

His parents, wife Sydney and seven-month-old daughter watched from behind the lanes. Even his brother Richie joined the celebration by phone.

“It’s very hard to express in words. I feel just elation,” Teece told Erikas Jansonas from BowlingLife after the final. “I’m still trying to process everything that led up to it and what has actually happened.”

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Four Pins Between Teece and Käyhkö

Teece reached the championship match with a commanding 235-179 semifinal win over Sweden’s Carl Eklund. Käyhkö earned the other place by defeating Albin Gullstrand 255-209.

The final was much tighter. Teece found a clear look on the right lane, but the left lane demanded a different answer. He covered four spares there before finally striking in the ninth frame.

Teece had received information about the pair while preparing away from the television set. Richie stayed in contact with him, while his Full House coach was beside him in the warm-up area.

“They were watching the match while I was warming up and giving me some intel on what Tomas was doing on the lanes,” Teece said. “We just felt like that lane was getting tighter because the ball would lock up a little bit more when you got it out, whereas on the right lane you could get it there and it would recover a little bit easier.”

Käyhkö opened the door by missing a single 10-pin early in the game, but the Finn remained close. Teece then tripped the 9-pin in the ninth frame, giving him his first strike on the left lane and completing a double at the most important moment.

“That still wasn’t the greatest shot that I wanted to throw,” Teece said. “But it was good enough to get the job done.”

Käyhkö struck in the ninth, but left a 10-pin on each of his first two shots in the 10th and finished with 191.

Teece needed only enough count after his ninth-frame strike. His first ball left the 2-7-8, and the whole crowd at the Olympia Bowling sighed loutdly. BUt only for a second - knocking down two pins on the spare attempt secured a four-pin victory.

From Videotapes to Dream Come True

Teece’s dream began more than two decades ago, long before PBA broadcasts were easy to find online.

“It’s insane to think back to the shows that I still remember watching when I was a teenager,” Teece said. “A guy that we knew would get videotapes sent to him by a friend in the States every month, with all the telecasts from that month. I’d just be watching them all the time, on video, over and over and over.”

Those recordings showed him the best bowlers in the world lifting trophies and celebrating moments he wanted to experience himself.

“Watching those guys win their titles and some of their reactions, just thinking, ‘I want to be there. I want that to happen to me. I’ll do whatever I need to do.’”

The opportunity had started to feel more urgent in recent seasons. Teece admitted that he could feel the window for winning at the highest level becoming smaller, which made Monday’s victory even harder to comprehend.

“To have actually done it—it just means all of that time has been worth it,” he said.

Mum and Dad Kept Their Promise

Before the final, Teece told BowlingLife about a promise his parents made when he and Richie were young. If either brother reached a PBA Tour final, they would do everything possible to be there.

They kept that promise when Richie won the 2017 PBA Shark Championship on his first television appearance. Nearly nine years later, they travelled from England to Sweden and watched Raymond join him as a champion.

“They made a promise to us when we were younger and we were aspiring to it: ‘If you ever make it, we will be there. As long as it’s not on the same day, we will be there,’” Teece said.

“Maybe, maybe Mum and Dad are the lucky charm,” he said. “It’s nothing to do with us.”

Teece’s title completed a tournament that began with the first 300 game of the week and included a difficult route through both Sunday final stages.

He then defeated Teodor Samuelsson, qualifying winner Tomo Gaber Pinteric, Eklund and Käyhkö on his way to the trophy.

“All the time, all the effort, all the dedication, and all the time that I’ve kind of taken away from my own game to help others as well with coaching and everything else—I wouldn’t change any of it,” Teece said. “I know that it led here and it led to me being able to do that.”