Tomas Käyhkö enters Monday evening two wins away from the first PBA Tour title of his career at the Storm Lucky Larsen Masters in Helsingborg, Sweden.
The Finnish bowler will face Sweden’s Albin Gullstrand in a one-game
semifinal at Olympia Bowling.
Käyhkö is the only full-time PBA Tour player
among the four semifinalists, but like Gullstrand, Carl Eklund and Raymond
Teece, he is still chasing his first Tour title.
Käyhkö secured his place in the final stages during his first qualifying attempt. He then produced one of the strongest finishes of the tournament in Final Step 2, closing with games of 300, 268 and 278 .
“Winning today would be a dream come true, something I’ve been dreaming about all my life,” Käyhkö told BowlingLife. “The tournament has been going pretty well. I qualified in my first squad, then had a huge finish in Final Step 2. I won matches against Santtu [Tahvanainen] and Zach [Wilkins], and now I’m finally here. It would mean the world to me to win today.”
Käyhkö defeated fellow Finn and PBA Tour champion Santtu Tahvanainen 690-624 in the Round of 16. He followed that by beating two-time PBA Tour winner Zach Wilkins 736-713 in the quarterfinals.
The televised rounds begin on freshly prepared lanes, a situation in which Käyhkö has looked comfortable throughout the week. His plan has been built around the equipment that has worked best at Olympia Bowling.
“I like throwing urethane, and urethane has been the thing this week, so I feel confident doing that,” Käyhkö said.
Experience Under the TV Lights
Käyhkö has already experienced bowling for a PBA Tour title on tv.
At the 2024 PBA Delaware Classic, David Krol defeated Käyhkö in the championship match, leaving
the Finn one victory short of his first PBA Tour title.
Käyhkö believes that
experience could help him as he returns to the television lights in
Helsingborg.
“This kind of feels like an international event combined with a PBA event, but I feel like I maybe have a little bit more experience on TV than the others, so it might give me a little bit of an edge,” Käyhkö said.
The SLLM semifinals begin at 7 p.m. local time.
The two winners will return
for the one-game title match, with the champion
collecting 200,000 Swedish kronor (approx. 21,000 dollars) and an official PBA Tour title.
All the
action will be streamed live on the
Storm Lucky Larsen Masters YouTube channel.
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