After Saturday’s final four squads, qualifying at the Storm Lucky Larsen
Masters is officially complete, with 55 players advancing to Sunday’s finals.
With the last chance to improve position, the intensity jumped and
re-entries surged, as bowlers fought for byes and final spots on a long,
demanding pattern that has rewarded disciplined moves through transition and
kept scores honest all week.
Friday ended with a
statement from Trevor Roberts. A late addition from the waiting list, he slipped into the final spot of
Squad 22 and delivered 1,444, surpassing previous leader Ethan Fiore’s 1,393
by 51 pins and becoming the first to break 1,400.
Saturday morning brought another push: Finland’s Niko Oksanen opened with a near-perfect 299 and finished on 1,404, climbing to second overall and becoming just the second bowler to jump over the +200 mark for six games.
In the day’s second squad, 2022 Storm Lucky Larsen Masters champion Mathias
Ankerdal of Denmark posted 1,324, which proved enough to earn a bye straight
to Final Step 2 on Sunday.
Then, with only two squads remaining,
the leaderboard flipped again.
Kyle Troup - who arrived in
Helsingborg straight from the aisle of his wedding - produced a sensational
1,463 to set a new qualifying high. Fans instantly noticed a small face jewel
he wore during the block; Troup said it was a gift from Chase Nadeau’s
daughter, Skylar, and was sure it brought a little magic at just the right
time.
Closing out the day,
2023 Storm Lucky Larsen Masters champion AJ Johnson
won the final squad with 1,309, securing 31st and a spot in the top 40.
The
defending champion
and 2023 runner-up Jesper Svensson finished in the 75th place with 1,254 total
and did not make it to the finals.
Full advancers list can be found
here.
A total of 40 players qualify through the general standings, with another 15 spots earned via the Early Bird, Seniors, U21, Women, High Game, and as one of three PBA Regional stop winners.
The field now moves to Sunday’s finals: the top 25 advance directly to Final
Step 2, while the remaining 30 bowl a five-game scratch block in Final Step 1
starting at 8:00 AM to decide the 15 who move on.
In Final Step 2,
40 players bowl six games scratch to determine the top 16.
Those
16 then bowl one three-game total-pinfall match in the round of 16 and the
quarterfinals to decide the four semifinalists, and single-game matches in the
semifinals and final will determine the champion and award the PBA Tour
title.
The full finals will stream free on the
Storm Lucky Larsen Masters YouTube channel.
This year’s event has drawn more than 360 bowlers from 25
countries and features a prize fund exceeding $136,000. It remains the only
opportunity outside the United States to win a PBA Tour title.
