November 5, 2025 Nolan Hughes

Twenty-five seasons have passed since the phenomenon of Y2K. In that time, more than 500 champions have been crowned on the PBA Tour and almost every notable record has changed hands (pun intended). Two players who had not yet been born have already bowled each other for a major title.

While the goal of bowling remains to knock down 10 pins as efficiently as possible, the method of doing so has changed dramatically. In 2000, there were no one-handers or two-handers — just bowlers.

The two-handed uprising ascended to international prominence when Finland’s Osku Palermaa made the 2004 U.S. Open finals and escalated into a full-blown revolution with Australian Jason Belmonte’s emergence in 2008. The style’s viability could no longer be denied after the 2011-12 World Series of Bowling III, in which Belmonte won two titles and Palermaa claimed the World Championship crown.

Since the turn of the century, a generation of PBA stars have come and gone. The players who predominated the tour in 2000 are not the same ones who compete for titles today. This passing of the torch didn’t happen overnight, of course, except that it basically did.

In 2015, Chris Barnes, Parker Bohn III, Norm Duke and Wes Malott each claimed a title within the season’s first month. Then six days after the airing of Duke and Malott’s doubles title, Jesper Svensson won his first career title. Kyle Troup, EJ Tackett and Anthony Simonsen each hoisted the first trophy of their careers later the same year.

In the subsequent 11 seasons, the four Hall of Famers have combined to win four titles — as many as Tackett won the following season alone — while Svensson, Troup, Tackett and Simonsen have combined for 69 wins and five Player of the Year honors. (Not to mention the exploits of the aforementioned Australian.)

Bowlers, who have never claimed to be leaders in the societal fashion movement, wore khakis and a casual collared shirt almost exclusively in the early aughts. Today, with the famed exception of Troup, black pants and a dye-sublimated jersey make up the conventional uniform. In between, Chris Barnes and Tommy Jones wore neon pants for some reason.

To celebrate the conclusion of the PBA Tour’s 25th season since 2000, the PBA ranked the top 25 players of the era.

These rankings were calculated solely by on-lane performance during the 2000-2025 seasons. Players whose careers began prior to 2000 are eligible, but achievements earned in previous seasons were not considered. Players were awarded points for various accolades, outlined here:

  • 1 point per top-five finish in a standard title event
  • 2 points per top-five finish in a major title event
  • 5 points per standard title
  • 7.5 points per major title
  • 15 points per Player of the Year award

The rankings will be revealed in descending order over the next several weeks.

This story will be updated.