Quarterfinalists resume battling for the $100,000 top prize and WWE championship title belt
Milford, Conn.—Eight Guaranteed Rate PBA Tour players continue their quests to become the 2021 Kia PBA Playoffs champion with the quarterfinals airing this Sunday and Monday on Fox Sports’ FS1. Sunday at noon ET, Kyle Troup will face Thomas Larsen and François Lavoie will take on defending champion Bill O’Neill. Monday at 8 p.m. ET will feature EJ Tackett batting Cristian Azcona and Tom Daugherty against Sam Cooley.
No. 1 Kyle Troup vs. No. 9 Thomas Larsen
Top seed Troup advanced to the quarterfinals after a roll-off victory over No. 16 seed Anderson. Troup, who has three top-10 finishes in majors this season including his first major title in the PBA Players Championship, has already earned $369,200 this season. Troup will face Thomas Larsen, who also won his first major title this season in the USBC Masters. Larsen earned his way into the quarterfinals with a 2-0 sweep of Anthony Simonsen.
No. 4 François Lavoie vs. No. 12 Bill O’Neill
Lavoie, the winner of both the 2021 Kia PBA Tournament of Champions and Guaranteed Rate PBA Super Slam, is looking to win his third six-figure prize check of the season in the PBA Playoffs. Lavoie defeated Dick Allen in a Round of 16 roll-off to earn a match with defending Playoffs champion O’Neill, who also advanced via a roll-off, defeating Jakob Butturff. O’Neill finished second in the 2019 PBA Playoffs before winning in 2020.
No. 10 EJ Tackett vs. No. 15 Cristian Azcona
Tackett advanced to the quarterfinals by eliminating 2019 PBA Playoffs champion Kris Prather in a roll-off. Tackett has two third-place finishes in 2021, including in the Guaranteed Rate PBA World Championship. Azcona upset No. 2 seed Chris Via in two straight games to move into the quarterfinals. Azcona finished fourth in the U.S. Open, winning the opening match on the stepladder to guarantee himself a Playoffs berth.
No. 3 Tom Daugherty vs. No. 11 Sam Cooley
Guaranteed Rate PBA World Championship winner Daugherty needed an additional roll-off to get past Jason Sterner in the Round of 16. After the players each won a game, they tied at 39 in the ninth-and-10th-frame roll-off, requiring an additional, sudden-death one-ball roll-off. Daugherty struck to Sterner’s nine to advance. Likewise, PBA Scorpion champion Cooley needed several roll-offs to get past Jesper Svensson. With Cooley trailing 1-0 in the match, he and Svensson tied at 223 in game two. Cooley broke that tie in a one-ball roll-off to force a ninth-and-10th-frame roll-off to decide the match. Cooley advanced with a 35-16 win over Svensson in the deciding roll-off.
The winner of the PBA Playoffs, which conclude May 16 on FOX Broadcast Channel, will earn $100,000 and a custom WWE championship title belt.
Kia PBA Playoffs Upcoming Television Schedule
Sunday, May 9 at noon ET on FS1 – Quarterfinals
Monday, May 10 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1 – Quarterfinals
Saturday, May 15 at 11 a.m. ET on FS1 – Semifinals
Sunday, May 16 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX – Championship
Kia PBA Playoffs Champions Since 2019
2019 – Kris Prather
2020 – Bill O’Neill
About the PBA
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the world’s preeminent organization dedicated to the sport of bowling and its professional competition, with thousands of members and millions of fans throughout the world. The PBA plays host to bowling’s biggest tournaments from the PBA Tour, PBA Regional Tour, and PBA50 Tour. In 2020, the PBA launched PBA Jr., a club for elite youth bowlers under the age of 17 and the PBA Pinsiders, a membership for fans of the sport. For more information, please visit PBA.com.
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