EJ
Tackett
successfully
defended
his PBA
World
Championship
title on
Sunday
afternoon
at
Strobl
Arena in
Thunderbowl
Lanes in
Allen
Park,
Mich.
(Photo
by
Montez
Miller/Tell
Us
Detroit) |
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The
marathon
of the
PBA
World
Series
of
Bowling
XV has
reached
its
final
destination
as PBA
World
Championship
qualifying
has
completed
at
Thunderbowl
Lanes in
Allen
Park,
Mich. |
|
EJ
Tackett
defends
his PBA
World
Championship
title,
winning
the
second
year
By
Montez
Miller/Photo
Journalist
tellusdetroit.com
ALLEN
PARK, MI
- EJ
Tackett
successfully
defended
his PBA
World
Championship
title on
Sunday
afternoon
at
Strobl
Arena in
Thunderbowl
Lanes in
Allen
Park,
Mich.
Tackett,
the only
right-hander
in the
field,
defeated
four
consecutive
southpaws—Eric
Jones,
Graham
Fach,
Jesper
Svensson,
and top
seed
Matt
Russo—to
win the
title.
This
victory
marked
the
third
World
Championship
win of
his
career.
Tackett
became
the
seventh
player
in PBA
history
to reach
23
titles
and five
major
victories.
He
joined
the
likes of
Walter
Ray
Williams
Jr.,
Earl
Anthony,
Norm
Duke,
Pete
Weber,
Jason
Belmonte,
and Mike
Aulby.
Tackett,
Russo,
Svensson,
and Fach
clinched
berths
in
Sunday’s
finals
by
qualifying
in the
top four
of the
PBA
World
Championship,
which
consisted
of 61
games of
qualifying
throughout
the PBA
World
Series
of
Bowling
XV.
Jones,
who
qualified
sixth,
reached
the
championship
round by
winning
Saturday's
play-in
stepladder,
featuring
the
fifth
through
ninth
qualifiers.
In the
opening
match,
Tackett
defeated
19-year-old
Eric
Jones,
246-205.
Tackett
fired
six
consecutive
strikes
after
converting
a 4-pin
in the
opening
frame.
He left
the 4-10
split on
the
right
lane in
the
ninth,
following
a shot
he
thought
was
good.
The
reigning
Player
of the
Year
rebounded
with two
strikes
to shut
out the
younger
EJ.
Over the
next
three
matches,
the
left-handers
dealt
with the
ramifications
of the
additional
transition.
Fach,
seeking
his
first
title
since
his 2016
Players
Championship
victory,
left
five
consecutive
single-pins
leading
into the
final
frame.
After an
open
frame
and two
spare
conversions
by
Tackett,
Fach had
an
opportunity
to win
the
match
with two
strikes
and nine
pins in
his 10th
frame.
However,
the
higher-seeded
Fach
opted to
finish
on the
right
lane,
which
players
have
emphatically
said all
week is
the
harder
of the
two
lanes.
The
Canadian
southpaw,
who
decided
to add
some
loft to
his shot
with a
urethane
ball,
went
high and
left the
3-10.
Tackett
advanced
with a
213-202
victory.
In the
semifinal
match,
Svensson
experienced
déjà vu
from his
semifinal
loss in
the PBA
Scorpion
Championship
finals
last
Wednesday.
The
two-handed
Swede
boasts
the
highest
rev rate
on tour
but left
seven
single-pins
in 11
shots:
three
straight
7-pins,
followed
by three
straight
10-pins
and a
6-pin
for one
final
kick in
the
teeth.
With the
match in
hand,
Tackett
was
afforded
an
opportunity
in the
10th
frame to
try a
different
ball.
The
result,
a 2-10
split,
gave
Tackett
the
conviction
to stick
with the
ball he
had been
using—the
exact
same
ball
with
which he
won the
Shark
Championship.
Tackett
prevailed
over
top-seeded
Russo in
the
title
match.
After
Russo’s
sixth
single-pin
leave in
the 10th
frame,
Tackett
clinched
the
title—his
first
win with
his
four-month-old
son,
Eddie
III (aka
Tripp),
in the
audience.
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