By GENE J. KANAK
USBC Communications
ALLEN PARK, Michigan – Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pa., earned the top seed for the 64-player double-elimination bracket at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Masters, which is being contested at Thunderbowl Lanes.
The 43-year-old right-hander rolled games of 195, 205, 239, 191 and 194 on Wednesday to finish atop the standings in the 390-player field with a three-day, 15-game qualifying total of 3,331 (a 222.07 average).
Three-time Masters champion Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas, who won the event in 2016, 2022 and 2023, qualified second at 3,322.
The remaining spots in the top five were secured by Jean Perez of Indianapolis (3,311), Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., (3,303), and Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich. (3,290).
O’Neill didn’t approach Wednesday’s round with designs on maintaining the overall lead he’d captured the night before; instead, he was just looking to continue throwing quality shots.
“There weren’t a lot of strikes out there for me today,” O’Neill said. “I probably could have changed to some other balls and tried some more drastic options, but I really didn’t need to do that due to the nature of this format. I knew I didn’t have to be leading the tournament.
“I felt OK today. Whenever things get squirrely with ball reaction, you can start throwing bad shots while trying to get your ball to strike. That’s the one thing I didn’t want to do today. I just wanted to stay in my comfort zone and make sure my hand was in the spot it’s going to need to be in starting tomorrow.”
The scoring pace has been higher, which fits into Simonsen’s game plan.
“The scoring pace throughout the year has been a little higher than I would like, so I really appreciate that aspect of this week,” Simonsen said. “The biggest goal of the week is to be one of the 64 guys in the bracket. Obviously, it’s nice to put together some good games, but really I’m just trying to gather information to be as prepared as possible moving into the matches. I think there are going to be some matches that are going to be really high scoring and some matches that are really low scoring. I think it’ll be important to decipher what you think your match is going to be prior to starting, and that might dictate your game plan.”
One bowler who had almost no difficulty getting his ball to strike during Round 3 was Alec Keplinger of Quincy, Mich. The former Wichita State standout connected for 12 strikes in a row during Game 3 of A Squad qualifying Wednesday afternoon.
Not only did that earn Keplinger the distinction of becoming just the third competitor to roll a perfect game at the 2025 Masters – Sweden’s Rasmus Edvall (Round 1) and Finland’s Santtu Tahvanainen (Round 2) rolled the first two – but it also propelled him to a Round 3 score of 1,118, which vaulted him up the leaderboard and allowed him to make the cut in 43rd place with a three-game mark of 3,136.
The top 63 players, based on total pinfall, advanced to match play, which kicks off Thursday morning at 10 a.m. Eastern at Thunderbowl Lanes.
The 63rd spot from qualifying went to Reynoldsburg’s Chad Roberts. Roberts finished with a 3,096 total (a 206.40 average) and will face Simonsen in Thursday’s opening round.
“Well, the pins fell my way and I was the cut number to the top 64 match play bracket at the USBC Masters. Never take anything for granted and never feel like you’re out of it,” Roberts said in a Facebook post. “One shot at a time!”
All matches are three games and the player with the highest total pinfall will advance. Without changing pairs between games, the transition of the 44-foot oil pattern is dictated by the competitors in the match and characteristics of the pair alone. Simonsen said he enjoys competing in an environment with fewer variables.
“A lot of guys out here kind of struggle, not even necessarily following themselves, but without the help of others. I thoroughly would rather bowl on my own pair most of the time,” Simonsen told pba.com. “Doing that just allows me to get comfortable and really get an understanding of what each lane is doing, then I can dial in and not have to worry about what the next pair is doing and who I’m following. It allows me to put a little more focus on what’s in front of me, and it generally leads to some more success in matches.”
Parma’s Patrick Dombrowski, the runner-up during the 2024 Masters, sits eighth with 3,261. Also still in the running are Jason Belmonte (10th) and four-time PBA winner this season EJ Tackett, who averaged 216.73 and sits 11th.
DeeRonn Booker of Albuquerque, New Mexico, didn’t need to finish inside the top 64 as he had already locked up a spot in the bracket as the defending Masters champion.
Although Booker was guaranteed no worse than the 64th seed for match play, he had the opportunity to improve his position through qualifying.
That didn’t end up being the case, however, as Booker finished in a tie for 96th place with a 3,032 total. As such, he will be the No. 64 seed and will draw O’Neill to start match play.
Other Ohioans’ making the cut include Toledo’s Charles Easton (12th, 3,243); Urbana’s Graham Fach (16th, 3,226); Versailles’ Michael Davidson (17th, 3,215); and Blacklick’s Chris Via (48th, 3,127);
Despite the difference in their seeds, O’Neill definitely won’t be taking Booker lightly during their opening-round battle.
“I have to keep bowling like I did the first two days on the fresh,” O’Neill said. “If I keep physically bowling that way, the rest will take care of itself. In this tournament, the guy you’re against can go out there and shoot 780, and then that’s it. I just have to keep bowling like I have the first few days and hope to get some good draws.”
There will be plenty of tough draws to be had during match play as this year’s bracket features a plethora of PBA Tour superstars, accomplished international players and collegiate standouts.
As the top 64 move on to match play, the USBC paid up to 100 places as cash spots, with the final spots belonging to Tom Daugherty, BJ Moore and Darin Bloomquist at 3,032.
Ohioans earning cash spots included Dublin’s Carter Street (69th, 3,081); Jefferson’s Casey Cohagan (83rd, 3,054); and Massillon’s Frank Testa (94th, 3,035). Testa shot 977 over his final five games and earned $1,280, missing the cut by 61 pins.
Qualifying and match play at the 2025 Masters remained consistent with previous editions of the event prior to the introduction of TV on March 29. The double-elimination bracket was retained, and all matches leading up to the final eight competitors will feature three-game total-pinfall contests.
However, once the Elimination Bracket is down to the final six, television matches will start with four single-game matches replacing the final three-game head-to-head round and four-player shootout to determine the finalists for the stepladder. These matches will be broadcast live on FS1.
These TV matches will implement a knockout-style format with the winners of the first two games advancing to the finals of the Elimination Bracket. The advancers then will take on players who lost in the semifinals of the Winners Bracket with each winner earning a spot in the opening match of the stepladder on March 30.
The two players who emerge victorious from the semifinals of the Winners Bracket will earn automatic spots on the March 30 broadcast with a three-game total-pinfall match determining the top seed. This match will be broadcast at BowlTV.com.
With only four players advancing to the stepladder, the top seed will need to be defeated twice on FOX to be denied the title.
The stepladder at the 2025 event will be at noon March 30 on FOX, with the champion taking home a spot in the tournament’s storied history, a major title on the PBA Tour and the $100,000 top prize.