May 8, 2023 Nolan Hughes

Following the quarterfinals of the PBA Players Championship presented by Snickers, the PBA Tour stars made the two-hour trek south to Delaware for one of the season’s most captivating tournaments.

The Roth/Holman PBA Doubles Championship presented by Bally’s Dover Casino Resort begins on Tuesday at Mid County Lanes & Entertainment Center in Middletown, Del.

The tournament is named in honor of PBA Hall of Famers Mark Roth and Marshall Holman, who won a combined 56 titles, including three PBA Tour doubles titles together. Roth, who passed away in November 2021, won 34 titles on the PBA Tour, sixth-most in PBA history. 

Not only is the tournament named in honor of the bowling legends, but players will be competing on eponymous oil patterns this week.

The first round will be contested on the 38-foot Holman pattern, while the 42-foot Roth pattern will be used for the second round. Match play and the stepladder finals will feature a dual-pattern format.

The top 12 teams after two six-game rounds of qualifying will advance to round-robin match play. The top four teams after Thursday’s match play rounds will advance to the stepladder finals, airing at 6 p.m. ET. All rounds will be livestreamed on BowlTV.

This year’s champions will split the $20,000 top prize.

Storylines

Defending champions EJ Tackett and Marshall Kent seek to continue their mastery of the event, having made the championship round in five of the past six years.

Kent said he doesn’t feel any added pressure to bowl well and help sustain Tackett’s tremendous season. Beyond their extensive experience bowling together, Kent said his own history at Mid County Lanes gives him even more confidence.

“I know a couple tricks that work in this place that have worked pretty well in the past,” Kent said. “If that trick is there, then I really like our chances. If not, then that guy (pointing to Tackett) is going to have to bowl pretty good.”

If the duo is able to repeat this week, Tackett would tie Holman himself with 22 career titles. Tackett beamed when he realized that potential.

“That would be pretty cool,” said Tackett, smiling ear to ear.

Players To Watch

The past six teams to win the event are all competing together this week, including Kris Prather and Andrew Anderson (2021), Jesper Svensson and Kyle Troup (2017 and 2020), Sean Rash and Matt Ogle (2019) and Bill O’Neill and Jason Belmonte (2018).

DJ Archer and Shawn Maldonado will pursue redemption this year. They earned the top seed in last year’s event, but fell to Tackett and Kent in the championship match.

This marks Mid County Lanes sixth PBA Tour title event as the host venue. Ryan Ciminelli captured the last title awarded at the 32-lane Delaware center at the 2019 PBA Gene Carter's Pro Shop Classic. In 2018, Anthony Simonsen won throwing a back-up ball during the later stages of the event.

Notable A-squad Teams

  • Andrew Anderson and Kris Prather
  • Dom Barrett and Anthony Simonsen
  • AJ Johnson and Tommy Jones
  • Jason Sterner and Tom Smallwood
  • Darren Tang and Michael Tang

Notable B-squad Teams

  • Jason Belmonte and Bill O’Neill
  • Marshall Kent and EJ Tackett
  • Brad Miller and Kyle Sherman
  • Jesper Svensson and Kyle Troup
  • Matt Ogle and Sean Rash

Tournament Schedule

All times listed in Eastern.

Tuesday, May 9
11 a.m. — A-squad Qualifying Round 1 (six games)
4:30 p.m. — B-squad Qualifying Round 1 (six games)

Wednesday, May 10
11 a.m. — B-squad Qualifying Round 2 (six games)
4:30 p.m. — A-squad Qualifying Round 2 (six games)
Top 12 teams advance

Thursday, May 11
10 a.m. — Baker Match Play Round 1 (six games)
2 p.m. — Baker Match Play Round 2 (six games)
Top four teams advance
6 p.m. — Stepladder finals

More information on the Roth/Holman PBA Doubles Championship presented by Bally’s Dover Casino Resort, including a full roster of the teams, is available here.