May 10, 2025 Nolan Hughes

EJ Tackett and Graham Fach are moving on to the semifinals of the PBA Playoffs.

The top-seeded Tackett notched a comeback victory over Anthony Simonsen, while Fach took down two-time PBA Playoffs champion Kyle Troup at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich.

Players competed on the 37-foot Bat oil pattern on the left lane and the 44-foot Hardwick oil pattern on the right lane. The dual-pattern format will be utilized throughout the PBA Playoffs.

The quarterfinals continue on May 11 — featuring matches between No. 2 Andrew Anderson vs. No. 7 Jesper Svensson and No. 3 Jason Belmonte vs. No. 6 Chris Via — at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on FS1.

The semifinals will air May 18 at 12 p.m. ET.

Tackett was 0-4 against Simonsen in televised matches before their matchup in last season’s PBA Shark Championship semifinal match. Tackett won that match and the title, and repeated the first half of that feat after prevailing against Simonsen in a roll-off once again in Allen Park.

Simonsen lept to a massive lead early in Game 1 and rode that momentum to a 236-211 victory. Tackett rallied to win Game 2, 258-201, and force a two-frame roll-off in the Race-to-Two match.

Simonsen left three single-pins, while Tackett doubled in the second frame to advance with a 48-38 win.

“Every opponent that I play, I expect the best from them,” Tackett said. “When you're playing against really elite players — like Simo or Kyle (Troup) or Belmo, especially Kyle in this event — you know you're going to have to step up your game and not make any mistakes. They're elite for a reason, and they will take advantage every single time you make a mistake. It's just (having) that mentality of you have to go out there and you have to perform. There's nothing given. There's nothing easy about it.”

Tackett will be making his first semifinal appearance in the PBA Playoffs. He made the quarterfinals in two of his six previous PBA Playoffs appearances and lost each time.

“For me, I've had to learn how to be successful in formats like this,” Tackett continued. “I think all the match play success that I had this year in Missouri and the World Series of Bowling definitely helped the confidence going into today and being able to win that match.”

In the second quarterfinal match, Troup took a 1-0 lead with a 226-210 Game 1 win. An open eighth frame from Troup helped Fach nine-spare his way to a 206-205 Game 2 win.

In the roll-off Troup struck in his first frame of the roll-off. In the second, he missed the head-pin right leaving the 1-2-4-8, then missed the head-pin left on the spare attempt.

The mistake was uncharacteristic of Troup, who was the only former PBA Playoffs champion to make the top-12 field this season. 

“It's a little bittersweet. I felt like I bowled great, and in the end, I felt like it was given to me,” Fach said. “When you're in that position, all you want is a chance. When Kyle's got ball in hand, more times than not, you're done. That's kind of the way I was expecting, but I was hoping for a chance. I feel for Kyle. He's had a great season. He's a hell of a bowler. He bowled a great match. But again, I feel very fortunate to be in the position I'm in now.”

Fach has improved his finishing position in points each of the past five seasons, rising from 68th in 2021 to 54th in 2022, 45th in 2023, 14th in 2024 and fourth this season.

“It’s pretty surreal,” Fach said. “When you work on your game, it can work, it can not work, or it could do nothing. We all work hard out here. I feel like what I've done in the offseason just happened to work, and it's put me in a position to be on more shows, to get more comfortable, to be in the environment more. That’s all I can do, is gain confidence and be comfortable in the moment.”

Fach and Tackett will square off in next weekend’s semifinals.

“I'm going to battle the lanes, I think the opponents are just going to do what they're going to do,” Fach said with a laugh. “I've been on this pair three times now, and I think my high game was 210. I don't think I've opened in four games, so it's got my number. I'm going to have to come at it a different way. I don't think nine-spares are going to get me through the final, but I’ve got to trust in what I can do and knock them over.”

The PBA Playoffs feature the top 12 players in competition points this season.

Tackett led the tour with 34,690 points — more than second place  Anderson (18,120) and third place Belmonte (15,365) combined. Fach qualified fourth with 15,181 points, earning the coveted fourth seed.

Tackett, Anderson, Belmonte and Fach each earned a bye to the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinals continue Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET followed by the semifinals, airing May 18 at 12 p.m. ET.

The finalists will return for the live championship match, featuring a Race-to-Three format, on May 24.

The full TV schedule is available here.

PBA Playoffs TV Schedule and Results

Quarterfinals
No. 1 EJ Tackett def. No. 9 Anthony Simonsen, 2-1 (211-236, 258-201, 48-38)
No. 4 Graham Fach def. No. 12 Kyle Troup (210-226, 206-205, 40-28)

Quarterfinals - airing May 11 at 6:30pm ET | FS1
No. 2 Andrew Anderson vs. No. 7 Jesper Svensson
No. 3 Jason Belmonte vs. No. 6 Chris Via

Semifinals - airing May 18 at 12pm ET | FS1
No. 1 EJ Tackett vs. No. 4 Graham Fach
Anderson/Svensson vs. Belmonte/Via

Championship - airing May 24 at 2:30pm ET | FOX (live)