Sean Rash Wins 2025 Storm Lucky Larsen Masters

Sean Rash capped off the 2025 PBA Tour season showing off the brilliance and perseverance that earned him a place in the PBA Hall of Fame earlier this year.

While battling a hand injury, Rash defeated Finland’s Juho Rissanen to win the Storm Lucky Larsen Masters at Olympia Bowling in Helsingborg, Sweden.

The win marked the 18th PBA Tour title of his career and first since his 2021 PBA Chesapeake Open win. Rash earned 165.000 SEK (about $17,500 USD) for the win.

A replay of the semifinals and championship is available here. All rounds were livestreamed on the Storm Lucky Larsen Masters YouTube channel.

Rash earned a bye through the first advancer round, Final Step 1, by virtue of his qualifying performance. He then advanced through Final Step 2, a six-game sprint against the top 40 players, to earn his berth in the elimination match play bracket.

In the Round of 16, Rash defeated Finland’s Kaarom Salomaa 606-567 in the three-game total pinfall match. He then eliminated England’s Raymond Teece 586-584 in the Round of 8 to advance to semifinals.

Both semifinal matches and the championship were a single game.

In the opening semifinal match against Nate Purches, the 2024 PBA Rookie of the Year, Rash started with a strike then left a pocket 7-10 in the second frame. That result appeared to have lingered in his head as he struggled for a few frames on the lane.

The veteran Rash showed his resilience as he struck in the ninth and 10th frames, forcing Purches to mark. Purches left the 3-6-9-10 but failed to convert, leaving the 10-pin standing. Rash advanced to the championship with a 174-166 victory.

The second semifinal saw Andrew Anderson, the 2018 PBA Player of the Year, look to make a late-season push for the 2025 award.

Anderson was introduced to the Swedish crowd as “the home team player” because of his extensive experience competing in the Swedish League — but the player who actually lives closest to Helsingborg pulled off the upset.

Rissanen, who analyst Matt McNiel said lives about 400 kilometers north of Helsinki, bowled a steady 213 to defeat Anderson’s 189.

Rash returned to the lanes after the second semifinal and missed left in his first shot of the championship, hitting the left side of the head-pin. The ball looked like it slipped off his hand.

However, Rash continued to aim directly at the 3-pin with minimal rev rate on subsequent shots. The spare-shot-like release appeared to be his way of managing a right hand or wrist injury.

Motiv tour rep Brett Spangler confirmed Rash was dealing with an injury. Spangler wrote to PBA media: “something seized up between matches and (Rash) can’t feel his hand.”

Injuries, particularly to his back, have defined the post-prime portion of Rash’s career. But sitting mere frames away from a title, Rash was determined to not let this opportunity slip away.

Rash managed to strike on his next four shots as Rissanen — a nine-year member of the Finnish national team but an amateur on the PBA level — battled nerves and the tricky lane conditions.

After missing the 1-2-4 in the seventh frame, Rash converted a pair of spares to set himself up for a manageable 10th frame.

Needing just a mark to shut out Rissanen, Rash threw three straight strikes to clinch the title.

“This one’s for the old guys,” Rash said. “My anxiety started to take over my mind. I called my wife, and she said, ‘Mind over matter. You got this, do what you can.’”

Rash heeded his wife's advice and did what he had previously done 17 times in his career: Win.