April 12, 2022 Jef Goodger

The 2022 Kia PBA Playoffs resume this weekend on Fox Sports’ FS1 with four remaining Round of 16 matches determining who will join Bill O’Neill, Kyle Troup, Dom Barrett and Kris Prather in the quarterfinals. Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, Anthony Simonsen faces Shawn Maldonado and Jakob Butturff takes on AJ Johnson. Sunday at 6 p.m. ET, EJ Tackett battles Jesper Svensson and Tommy Jones goes against Kyle Sherman.

All Round of 16 matches will be contested in the Race to 2 Points format, with one point going to the winner of each game. If the players are tied at one point apiece, the deciding point will be awarded to the winner of a 9th/10th-frame roll-off.

The quarterfinals will air the following two weekends, April 24 and May 1, also on FS1, with the semifinals and finals moving to FOX Broadcast Channel on May 8 and 15.

No. 2 Anthony Simonsen vs. No. 15 Shawn Maldonado
On April 3, Anthony Simonsen won the USBC Masters for his second major of the season and fourth of his career. Now, he enters the Kia PBA Playoffs, in which he’s finished in the top four twice in the three years the event has been running, including a second-place finish in 2020. Shawn Maldonado is making his second Playoffs appearance and first since 2019, when he was eliminated in the first round. By finishing fifth in the USBC Masters for his third top-five of the season, Maldonado jumped into the top 16 and will now try to get past a Player of the Year contender.

No. 7 Jakob Butturff vs. No. 10 AJ Johnson
The seventh seed, Jakob Butturff, has yet to make it past the Round of 16 in the three years of PBA Playoffs competition, but has qualified for the elite event each time it’s been held. He has six top-10 finishes in 2022 and will need to defeat AJ Johnson to earn a seventh. Johnson is making his second career Playoffs appearance, previously losing to eventual champion Bill O’Neill in the 2020 edition. Johnson earned the No. 10 seed with four top-10 finishes this season, including taking fourth place in two majors, the U.S. Open and USBC Masters. He’s looking to make the 2022 Kia PBA Playoffs his first PBA Tour title.

No. 3 EJ Tackett vs. No. 14 Jesper Svensson
Two future Hall of Famers will begin the telecast on Easter Sunday, with third seed EJ Tackett facing 14th-seeded Jesper Svensson. Both players have a title this season and double-digit title counts in their careers (Tackett 15, Svensson 11). Both are major champions (Tackett twice, Svensson once). Both players have qualified for the Playoffs every year the event has been held, but neither player has advanced into the semifinals. Tackett made it to the quarterfinals last season and Svensson has yet to make it past the Round of 16. Tackett has an astounding 10 top-10 finishes this season in 12 events bowled, claiming the No. 3 seed. In addition to Svensson’s win, he has four more top 10s in 2022.

No. 6 Tommy Jones vs. No. 11 Kyle Sherman
2022 PBA Cheetah Champion Kyle Sherman is making his third PBA Playoffs appearance while Hall of Famer Tommy Jones is making his second. Sherman’s win earlier this season was the second of his career and one of a pair of top 10s (extend it to top 13 and he has two more, with both of the additions being majors). Jones earned the No. 6 seed with a strong performance in just about every event, particularly majors. Jones qualified for three of the five major telecasts, finished one spot off the show in the U.S. Open and, in his lowest major finish, 14th in the USBC Masters. His best finish this season is third in the PBA World Championship as he looks to make the PBA Playoffs his 21st career title.

The winner of the Kia PBA Playoffs, which conclude May 15 on FOX Broadcast Channel, will earn $100,000 and a Guaranteed Rate PBA Tour title.

Kia PBA Playoffs Remaining Television Schedule

Saturday, Apr. 16 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1– Round of 16
No. 2 Anthony Simonsen vs. No. 15 Shawn Maldonado
No. 7 Jakob Butturff vs. No. 10 AJ Johnson

Sunday, Apr. 17 at 6 p.m. ET on FS1– Round of 16
No. 3 EJ Tackett vs. No. 14 Jesper Svensson
No. 6 Tommy Jones vs. No. 11 Kyle Sherman

Sunday, Apr. 24 at noon ET on FS1– Quarterfinals
No. 16 Bill O’Neill vs. No. 9 Kyle Troup
No. 4 Dom Barrett vs. No. 5 Kris Prather

Sunday, May 1 at noon ET on FS1– Quarterfinals
Winner of Simonsen/Maldonado vs. winner of Butturff/Johnson
Winner of Tackett/Svensson vs. winner of Jones/Sherman

Sunday, May 8 at 1 p.m. ET on FOX – Semifinals
Remaining four bowlers

Sunday, May 15 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX – Championship
Remaining two bowlers

Kia PBA Playoffs Champions Since 2019

2019 – Kris Prather
2020 – Bill O’Neill
2021 – Kyle Troup

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.