For the second straight year, Stefanie Johnson won the PWBA Rochester Open, claiming the 2026 title at ABC Gates Bowl in Rochester, New York.
Johnson defeated Finland’s Peppi Konsteri 200-183 in the title match to win her sixth career PWBA Tour title and the $10,000 first prize.
Last year, Johnson entered the finals as the No. 2 seed before defeating Singapore’s New Hui Fen in the semifinal and top seed Bailey Delrose in the championship match to win the title.
This year, the road to the title was much more complicated. Johnson entered match play as the final qualifier, claiming the 16th and last spot. She then moved through the bracket by defeating qualifying leader Crystal Elliott 3-0 and No. 9 seed Maria Jose Bohr 3-2 to reach another Rochester final.
The semifinal and final matches were one-game matches. In the semifinal, Johnson faced Singapore’s Daphne Tan. Johnson started with four straight strikes, controlled the match, and defeated Tan 257-167.
In the second semifinal, Konsteri reached her first career PWBA final after defeating Sweden’s Nora Johansson 243-157.
The title match between Johnson and Konsteri stayed close until the final frame. Johnson finished first in the 10th frame with a strike, nine count, and spare for a 200 game. Konsteri needed a double and count to win her first PWBA title, but left a split on her first shot in the final frame. That gave Johnson the win and a second straight PWBA Rochester Open title.
Konsteri finished second and earned $5,000. Johansson and Tan shared third place and each earned $3,520.
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The PWBA Rochester Open was the first of three events in the PWBA Summer Series.
The BowlTV Open begins Friday with two six-game qualifying rounds at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET. The top 12 players will advance to round-robin match play on Saturday. The top five after match play will move on to the stepladder finals at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The Lilac City Open will close the series on Sunday and Monday. After qualifying, the top 24 players will advance to the match-play bracket.
