The final phase of the Storm Lucky Larsen Masters - the PBA Tour’s only event
outside the United States - opened Sunday morning with 30 players bowling a
five-game scratch block to determine 15 qualifiers for Final Step 2, where
they join the top 25 seeds.
Last year’s semifinalist James Blomgren set the pace at Olympia Bowling,
posting 1,150 for five, sparked by a near-perfect 279 in Game 1. He followed
with 252, 211, 183, 225 to close the block on top.
Close behind was Dominic Barrett, who reached the SLLM finals via a 1,289 total in the last qualifying squad on Saturday night.
Barrett opened Step 1 with a 743 three-game start (231, 255, 257), absorbed a setback with 168 in Game 4, and finished at 1,121. Pontus Andersson placed third with 1,115, AJ Johnson - the 2023 champion - took fourth at 1,087, and Alec Keplinger rounded out the top five on 1,073.
Nora Johansson secured the final advancing position in 15th with 1,005, becoming the only woman to reach Final Step 2.
The moment of the round belonged to Iceland’s Arnar Jonsson, who delivered the tournament’s first 300 game - a timely strikefest that carried him to 12th and safely through.
Final Step 2 is already underway. All 40 players will bowl a six-game scratch block to decide the top 16 for match play.
Those 16 then contest three-game total-pinfall matches in the round of 16 and quarterfinals to produce four semifinalists; single-game semifinals and a single-game final will decide the champion and award the PBA Tour title.
