By NOLAN HUGHES
PBA Communications
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota is set to host a landmark event in PBA history.
The 17th PBA World Series of Bowling is underway at Bowlero Brooklyn Park.
Five titles are up for grabs in the event, including the season’s final major in the PBA World Championship.
But the stars of the PBA Tour aren’t the only professional bowlers in town.
The fourth annual PBA50 World Series of Bowling is taking place just 20 miles south at AMF Southtown Lanes.
Each animal pattern championship will include four hours of televised championship rounds, airing live May 9 through 12 on CBS Sports Network.
Each championship round of the PBA50 WSOB will air live on CBS Sports Network as well.
The nine finalists in the PBA World Championship will reconvene June 13 at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich. The semifinals will air on CBS Sports Network, setting up the championship round on CBS and Paramount+.
All qualifying rounds will be livestreamed on BowlTV.
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All eyes are on EJ Tackett entering this year’s WSOB.
Tackett is the three-time defending PBA World Championship and two-time defending PBA Shark Champion.
No player has ever won a major in four consecutive years. A fourth straight PBA World Championship title would elevate Tackett to uncharted territory in PBA lore after he fell short of making the final five last week at the Tournament of Champions in Fairlawn.
The WSOB also has massive implications for Tackett’s 2026 season itself.
He leads the tour in points, earnings and average, but without a title, he would not be eligible for the Player of the Year ballot at season’s end.
A title in this year’s WSOB, especially in the World Championship, would make Tackett the distant front-runner let alone place him on the ballot.
Jason Belmonte, who finished runner-up to Tackett in the 2023 and 2025 World Championships, also is only a title away from throwing his hat in the Player of the Year race.
Belmonte has won four of the five title events during his career, including three World Championship and three Chameleon Championship wins. Cheetah is the lone animal pattern being used this year that has evaded his WSOB dominance.
But Belmonte said he views the animal pattern championships as stepping stones toward the greater goal: Winning a 16th career major in the World Championship. Belmonte has been winless in singles events since winning the TOC in 2023.
AWARD RACE CHECK-IN
If the season ended today, the top Player of the Year candidates would be Boog Krol, Patrick Dombrowski, Anthony Simonsen and Brandon Bonta. Graham Fach and Zach Wilkins would also merit consideration.
Krol, Dombrowski, Simonsen and Bonta rank second through fifth in points, respectively, though are separated by a mere 160 points.
Three are major champions: Bonta won the Players Championship; Krol won the USBC Masters; and Dombrowski won the U.S. Open.
While Simonsen is the only one of the three without a major title, he did finish runner-up in the U.S. Open to Dombrowski and seventh in last week’s TOC.
Bonta ranks second overall in earnings with three top-six finishes in majors. He’s also a rookie.
With four champions, including Bonta, Spencer Robarge, Austin Grammar and last week’s TOC champion Alex Horton, this year’s rookie class has been nothing short of historic.
Through 10 events this season, there have been no repeat champions.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Minnesota native Nick Pate grew up in Inver Grove Heights, a Minneapolis suburb located 30 miles southeast of Bowlero Brooklyn Park.
Pate ranks 29th this season in points. He has finished top 30 in eight of 10 events with a high finish of 13th in Fort Wayne.
A title in his backyard would be the greatest cherry on top of his turnaround season he could ever dream of.
Last year’s WSOB saw three international players claim their first career title, starting a wave of new champions that continued into this season.
Singapore’s Darren One and Malaysia’s Tun Hakim made history by becoming the first player from their respective countries to win on the PBA Tour.
Sweden’s Rasmussen Edvall suffered a knee injury shortly after his win in last year’s Scorpion Championship. He reinjured his knee at the start of this season and won’t be in the field this week.
Tournament Formats
Each animal pattern championship features the same format.
All players will bowl 10 games on each oil pattern with the top 12 players advancing to the televised championship rounds on CBS Sports Network.
The semifinal round will feature two concurrent matches each game.
- Game 1: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed + No. 5 seed vs. No. 12 seed
- Game 2: No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed + No. 6 seed vs. No. 11 seed
- Game 3: No. 1 seed vs. No. 8/9 seed + No. 4 seed vs. No. 5/12 seed
- Game 4: No. 2 seed vs. No. 7/10 + No. 3 seed vs. No. 6/11 seed
The four winners of each match will advance to the championship round, which will be a continuation of the bracket. The title match will be a Race-to-Two format.
The PBA World Championship represents the culmination of each animal pattern.
The top third of the entire field across all 40 qualifying games will advance. Ten more games will determine the 16-player match play field for the PBA World Championship.
After 66 games in the PBA World Championship, the top nine players will advance to the televised championship rounds on June 13.
The June 13 semifinal and championship round will be a continuous nine-player stepladder finals.
WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE
Thursday, April 30 — Bowlero Brooklyn Park
10 a.m. (11 a.m. ET) — Official practice session (Cheetah and Chameleon oil patterns)
2 p.m. (3 p.m. ET) — Official practice session (Cheetah and Chameleon oil patterns)
Friday, May 1 — Bowlero Brooklyn Park — BowlTV
11 a.m. (12 p.m. ET) — Cheetah Championship Qualifying Round 1 (5 games)
5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) — Cheetah Championship Qualifying Round 2 (5 games)
Top 12 players advance to televised rounds on May 9
Saturday, May 2 — Bowlero Brooklyn Park — BowlTV
11 a.m. (12 p.m. ET) — Chameleon Championship Qualifying Round 1 (5 games)
5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) — Chameleon Championship Qualifying Round 2 (5 games)
Top 12 players advance to televised rounds on May 10
Sunday, May 3 — Bowlero Brooklyn Park — BowlTV
11 a.m. (12 p.m. ET) — Scorpion Championship Qualifying Round 1 (5 games)
5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) — Scorpion Championship Qualifying Round 2 (5 games)
Top 12 players advance to televised rounds on May 11
Monday, May 4 — Bowlero Brooklyn Park — BowlTV
11 a.m. (12 p.m. ET) — Shark Championship Qualifying Round 1 (5 games)
5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) — Shark Championship Qualifying Round 2 (5 games)
Top 12 players advance to televised rounds on May 12
Top 1:3 of field advance in PBA World Championship
Tuesday, May 5 — Bowlero Brooklyn Park — BowlTV
9 a.m. (10 a.m. ET) — World Championship practice session
12 p.m. (1 p.m. ET) — World Championship Advancers Round 1 (5 games)
5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) — World Championship Advancers Round 1 (5 games)
Top 16 players advance to World Championship round-robin match play
Wednesday, May 6 — Bowlero Brooklyn Park — BowlTV
11 a.m. (12 p.m. ET) — World Championship Match Play Round 1 (8 games)
5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) — World Championship Match Play Round 2 (8 games)
Top nine players advance to World Championship televised rounds on June 13
Saturday, May 9 — Lucky Strike Lakeville — CBS Sports Network
2 p.m. (3 p.m. ET) — PBA50 Ballard Championship finals
3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET) — PBA Cheetah Championship semifinals
5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) — PBA Cheetah Championship finals
Sunday, May 10 — Lucky Strike Lakeville — CBS Sports Network
2 p.m. (3 p.m. ET) — PBA50 Monacelli Championship finals
3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET) — PBA Chameleon Championship semifinals
5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) — PBA Chameleon Championship finals
Monday, May 11 — Lucky Strike Lakeville — CBS Sports Network
5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) — PBA50 Petraglia Championship finals
6 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) — PBA Scorpion Championship semifinals
8 p.m. (9 p.m. ET) — PBA Scorpion Championship finals
Tuesday, May 12 — Lucky Strike Lakeville — CBS Sports Network
5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) — PBA50 World Championship finals
6 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) — PBA Shark Championship semifinals
8 p.m. (9 p.m. ET) — PBA Shark Championship finals
Saturday, June 13 — Thunderbowl Lanes — CBS and Paramount+
11 a.m. ET — PBA World Championship semifinals
1 p.m. ET — PBA World Championship finals
More information on the PBA WSOB XVII is available here.