Stuart Williams is among seventeen TOC stepladder finalists

Mar 17, 2023 | By Erikas Jansonas

PBA

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Picture Source: Professional Bowlers Association

Stuart Williams is among seventeen TOC stepladder finalists

Mar 17, 2023 | By Erikas Jansonas

Picture Source: Professional Bowlers Association

PBA

Stuart Williams remains the only European still in play for the PBA Tournament of Champions major title.

Stu managed to win 12 out of 24 of his match-play duels (12W-12L-0D) and it was enough to secure the No. 10 seed at the TOC stepladder finals. Stu also earned one day off for his efforts. Stuart Williams will bowl on Sunday, at 1:30 AM CET.

Jesper Svensson (8W-15L-1D) and Richard Teece (9W-15L-0D) were also among twenty-four match-play bowlers, however, they were left outside of the cut, finishing in 20th and 21st place accordingly.

After the TOC match-play round, only seventeen players secured their spot at the stepladder finals.

EJ Tackett earned the No. 1 seed after another phenomenal performance on the PBA Tour. He averaged 225.76 for forty-eight games on the 40-foot Don Johnson oil pattern. It will be the fourth title match for the Indiana native this season.

EJ Tackett is now one game away from becoming the first player in PBA Tour history to win four of the season's first six tournaments.

Anthony Simonsen secured the No. 2 seed and will seek revenge after a loss to Tackett one week ago at the PBA Jackson Classic.

Australian bowling star Jason Belmonte made a little miracle when he was 154 pins outside the cut going into the third round of qualifying in 51st place. He moved up to 20th place and qualified for match-play with a field-high 1,446 series. With that not being enough, the 14-time major champion won 13 of his final 14 matches to secure the No. 6 seed, being only six wins away from his 15th major.

SEED NAME AVG +/-
#1 EJ Tacket 225.76 638
#2 Anthony Simonsen 222.36 510
#3 Matthew Ogle 221.64 495
#4 Jason Sterner 222.79 378
#5 Kyle Troup 219.69 368
#6 Jason Belmonte 219.38 355
#7 Andrew Anderson 220.60 316
#8 Marshall Kent 219.86 300
#9 Jake Peters 218.62 263
#10 Stuart Williams 219.83 254
#11 Chris Via 218.64 189
#12 Tom Smallwood 217.36 180
#13 Kristopher Prather 218.40 149
#14 Wes Malott 217.36 120
#15 Tim Gruendler 215.81 85
#16 Francois Lavoie 218.17 64
#17 Patrick Hanrahan 212.71 0

The TOC stepladder finals start on Saturday at 3 AM CET with No. 16 François Lavoie facing No. 17 Packy Hanrahan on FS1.

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