March 19, 2022 Nolan Hughes

A five-event sprint shook up the playoff picture following the Guaranteed Rate PBA World Series of Bowling XIII. With so many points on the table, a forgettable first half of 2022 could all be forgiven. A few players caught fire in Milwaukee and raced up the standings, while others lost ground. As the Player of the Year favorite distances himself from the field, tiers begin to form beneath him.

The top 16 players at the conclusion of the regular season will advance to the Kia PBA Playoffs in April.

1. Jason Belmonte - 25,655
The front-runner for PBA Player of the Year extended his lead at the World Series of Bowling. He made three singles shows, the most of any player, and earned his third title of the season at the Scorpion Championship. No other player boasts multiple titles this season, and the gap between first and second place grew to 7,000 points. Belmonte remains the man to beat.

2. EJ Tackett - 18,655
The top-five players have separated themselves from the pack this season, four of whom are major champions in 2022; Tackett is not only the lone exception, but ranks second among all players in points. He claimed his first title of the season at the Roth/Holman Doubles in a breathtaking display of repetition and force. There may not be a more dominant performance on TV this season.

3. Anthony Simonsen - 18,605
Simonsen made the show at the Scorpion and Shark Championship, earning the top seed in the former, but failed to win a match on television. His median finish of seventh across the five events was tied for the fourth-best among all players. No player has more points over the past two seasons than Simonsen, as he edges Belmonte by 80 points.

4. Kris Prather - 17,900
Prather’s second career major title at the World Championship sparked his ascent into the top-five of the points race. On the backs of that $100,000 check, no player took home more money at the WSOB than Prather. He also advanced to match play on Cheetah and Scorpion, but lost in the Round of 16. With the Masters beginning at the end of the month, no player is hotter at majors than Prather.

5. Dom Barrett - 16,105
The champion of champions rounds out the top five thus far in 2022. He didn’t have his best WSOB, posting a best finish of 11th on Shark, but still managed to snag a top-20 finish at the World Championship. Even when the best don’t have their A-game, they find a way to survive.

6. Tommy Jones and Sean Rash - 13,610
Jones looked as great as ever, ranking fourth in WSOB earnings ($48,500) and median finish (7). Rash’s lowest finish of 34th was the fifth best of the field, but a back injury compromised his abilities in match play. The fiery righties are tied for now, but both will look to crack the top five heading down the stretch in 2022.

8. Kyle Sherman - 11,250
The quickest way to rise in the points race is to win a title, and that’s exactly what Sherman did at the Cheetah Championship. But Sherman showed consistency as well: He finished sixth in the Roth/Holman Doubles with, of course, Brad Miller and posted the 10th highest average finish of 19.4.

You can call him Mr. One-and-a-Half Titles, now.

9. Kyle Troup - 10,582.5
Troup keeps hanging around in 2022, but can’t quite get over the hump. He failed to make a show in Milwaukee, but took home a pair of sixth-place finishes at the Scorpion and World Championships. The latter marked his second consecutive major finish just outside the show.

10. Jason Sterner - 10,200
Sterner arose from nowhere, launching from 40th into the top 10 of the Playoffs race. He may not have won a title at the WSOB, but he was undoubtedly one of the top five players at the WSOB. Only Prather collected more earnings than Sterner’s $65,500, as he finished as the runner-up at the World Championship. Sterner also made the show at the Roth/Holman Doubles and the Shark Championship. He boasted the fourth highest average finish (11.6) and tied-second-highest median finish (5).

11. Jakob Butturff - 10,050
Welcome back, Jakob Butturff. He skyrocketed into 11th in the points race after making all five WSOB cuts and three TV shows, and posting the highest average finish of any competitor (6). His lowest finish of 10th was the best of the field and he took home the fifth most earnings, despite not finishing higher than third in any event.

12. Packy Hanrahan - 10,047.5
Hanrahan joined Butturff as the only two players to make all five cuts at the WSOB. He made the Scorpion Championship show, falling to Belmonte, but posted the second-highest average finish of 9.4. The youngster is in the running for most improved player on the tour in 2022.

13. Jesper Svensson - 9,290
Svensson did not make any shows at the WSOB, but three top-10 finishes, including ninth at the World Championship, kept the powerful Swede inside the current Playoffs cut.

14. AJ Johnson - 8,745
Johnson collected just one top-10 performance in Milwaukee, but finished inside the top 20 in four of five events. Bad news: Johnson remains on the Playoffs bubble. Good news: He won’t see the Shark pattern again in 2022.

15. Bill O’Neill - 8,300
After finishing eighth in the Roth/Holman Doubles with Belmonte, O’Neill failed to cash in another event. He slipped from ninth to 15th in points, and will need a strong finish to the regular season to stay inside the Playoffs cut.

16. Shawn Maldonado - 8,085
Similar to O’Neill, all of Maldonado’s success came in the doubles portion of the World Series. A high singles performance of 51st place puts him on the Playoffs bubble as he returns to his home state for the Lubbock Sports Open.

17. Tom Daugherty - 8,035
They say football is a game of inches; Daugherty would argue bowling fits the bill as well. Daugherty needed a spare in the final frame of the Round of 8 to make the Shark Championship show—then disaster struck (no pun intended). Depending on how the rest of the season goes, this moment could be pivotal to the playoff race.

18. Jake Peters - 8,030
Peters struggled in Milwaukee, achieving a sole top-20 finish and collecting an average finish of 47.4. The difference between him and Maldonado is negligible at this point; if he had finished three places higher in any one event at the WSOB, he’d be in the top 16.

19. Chris Via - 7,780
Via’s best performance in Milwaukee was 12th, which he accomplished in the Scorpion and World Championships, but his average finish of 26th ranked 16th among all players. That consistency keeps him well within striking distance heading down the stretch in 2022.

20. Tom Smallwood - 7,560
Smallwood may have carried Sterner’s water on the Roth/Holman Doubles telecast, but he couldn’t match Sterner’s subsequent success at the WSOB. Though his lowest finish was just 36th, he failed to crack the top 16 in any event. His steadiness earned him a 21st-place finish in the World Championship, which helped keep him within playoff contention.

Dropped outside the top-20: Nick Pate, Matt Ogle, François Lavoie, Wes Malott, Arturo Quintero