Zach Wilkins completed his climb through the play-in stepladder and earned the final spot in the five-player PBA World Championship finals with a 185-181 win over Jason Belmonte.
Wilkins, who had already defeated Jason Sterner and Brandon Bonta earlier in the show, faced 15-time major champion and three-time PBA World Championship winner Belmonte for the No. 5 seed.
The match started poorly for Wilkins, who opened with a 7-10 split. He quickly settled down with a strike and a spare to stay within reach. Belmonte opened with a strike and two spares, then left a split of his own. But just as the match seemed wide open again, Belmonte put together a double to take the lead into the commercial break.
After the break, Wilkins still could not find a fully comfortable look, but he kept himself alive by filling frames. He caught a break in the eighth frame with a light-pocket strike, but could not turn it into a double despite a strong shot on the next delivery.
Then the door opened.
In the ninth frame, Belmonte left a difficult 3-6-9-10 and failed to convert it, giving Wilkins a chance. Belmonte struck on his first shot in the 10th, but left a split on his final delivery, creating a huge opportunity for Wilkins.
Suddenly, Wilkins needed just 17 pins to win.
He calmly converted the spare and followed it with a strike, sealing the 185-181 victory and earning the No. 5 seed in the main stepladder finals.
“Four more to go,” Wilkins said afterward.
With the win, Wilkins advanced to face Kris Prather in the opening match of the five-player stepladder finals. The winner of that match will continue the climb toward the PBA World Championship title.
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Before Wilkins reached Belmonte, his run had already taken him through two demanding matches on a difficult pair.
The opening match of the play-in show delivered drama immediately, as No. 8 seed Jason Sterner survived No. 9 seed Darren Tang 203-202.
Tang opened with a 4-9 split using urethane, but converted it in style. Sterner quickly took control, starting with a double while throwing the Hammer Black Widow 3.0 Dynasty. Tang later switched to the Storm Concept and found a better look, but a missed spare in the fifth frame helped Sterner build a 34-pin lead by the commercial break.
Tang fought back after the break, while Sterner’s missed 4-6-7 split suddenly cut the match to a single pin. Sterner struck on his first shot in the 10th, but then left the 2-8-10, giving Tang one final chance.
Tang needed a strike and five pins to advance, but could not strike. He still had a chance to force a tie on the fill ball, but missed the pocket again. Sterner escaped with a dramatic one-pin win.
That escape, however, did not turn into a long run.
Against No. 7 seed Wilkins, the demanding pair began to take full control of the match. Both players used reactive balls, but neither could consistently get to the right side of the pocket. Splits and missed spares shaped most of the game, and momentum was hard to find. Still, Wilkins managed to take a narrow three-pin lead into the commercial break.
The trouble continued after the break, with both players leaving splits and failing to convert. But with the match still open late, Wilkins finally found the look he needed. He struck at the right time, created separation, and closed the door on Sterner.
“Escaped that one!” Wilkins said afterward.
After a tough match on a demanding pair, Wilkins advanced with a 180-165 win and moved on to face PBA Players Championship winner Brandon Bonta.
By then, the theme of the play-in show was clear. The pair was tough, mistakes were costly, and clean frames were almost as valuable as strikes.
Wilkins carried that patience into his match against Bonta.
Both players tried to stay clean on the demanding lane conditions, but strikes were still difficult to create early. Neither bowler could build much separation, and Wilkins held only a two-pin lead at the halfway point.
After the break, Wilkins finally found momentum. He put together a turkey from the seventh through ninth frames, while Bonta could not match him. Bonta struck in the eighth, but a missed spare in the ninth frame all but ended his hopes.
Wilkins then finished the job in the 10th frame, sealing a 223-173 victory.
