October 22, 2025 Nolan Hughes

Bestowing the most prestigious awards in the history of awards after the 2025 PBA Tour season

With the complete 2025 PBA Tour season in the rearview mirror, it’s time to dish out some hardware.

No, not the official awards we announced last month. That’s old news. These awards are much, much more important.

If you think Belmo would rather win an eighth Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year award instead of one of these, you’re as mad as a cut snake.

Most Outstanding Player: EJ Tackett

The handsome starting quarterback who drives a Mustang and carries a 4.0 GPA has been named homecoming king. In other news, the sky is blue and the Buffalo Bills have never won the Super Bowl.

Full story: EJ Tackett won PBA Player of the Year for the third consecutive season in 2025.

 

Second-Most Outstanding Player: Andrew Anderson

Anderson won two titles, led a major, won the PBA LBC Clash, and won the all-events Eagle in the USBC Open Championships. He beat Tackett three times on television, including twice in title matches. His beloved Detroit Pistons even made the playoffs.

Second-Half King: Jesper Svensson

The initial stint of Svensson’s season was, by the Swede's lofty standards, mediocre. He tallied just two top-20 finishes with a high of 14th in the five tournaments before heading west.

He then finished top seven in four of six title events Reno with a low of 23rd. Then he won the PBA Tournament of Champions to qualify for the PBA Playoffs. Then he won the Playoffs. In between, he anchored Storm to the PBA Elite League championship. Good stuff by the Iceman.

Full story: how a pro-am helped Svensson become the Iceman once again

Boldest Decision: Darren Tang

Bold is a selective term. Some bowlers would consider making a slight adjustment to a finger pitch or trying a new layout to be a daring change during the season. So to describe switching from a one-handed delivery to two-handed mid-season as bold would be like saying a pineapple tastes sweet.

*pauses for applause, instead ducks to avoid flying tomatoes*

Tang largely abandoned his one-handed game, a form that led him to a PBA Tour title and six years on Team USA, in favor of the two-handed approach he had been experimenting with in the offseason.

Since the change, Tang earned PBA Tour finishes of seventh in Illinois, 16th in Nevada and 12th in Ohio (TOC), and won two regional titles, including one over EJ Tackett. It hasn't been all smooth sailing, but notching early results like that is a testament to Tang’s talent and potential.

Most Surprising Player: Tim Foy Jr.

Foy has been a solid, formidable regional player for many years. He proved he could compete with the national tour’s best when he made the 2024 PBA Delaware Classic finals, a feat many in his circle long believed him to be capable of.

But his performance this season surpassed anyone’s wildest expectations. He ranked fifth in points for the season and only EJ Tackett made more televised championship round appearances than Foy’s six.

While a title continues to elude Foy, respect from his peers does not.

Most Anticipated College Career: Landin and Griffin Jordan

When 17-year-old Landin Jordan qualified for the U.S. Open preliminary stepladder, Bill O’Neill raved about the teenager’s game on the broadcast. Then O’Neill was informed Landin has a twin brother, Griffin.

“There’s another one of these? Oh boy,” the Hall of Famer remarked.

Two months later, Griffin won the PBA Junior Boys National Championship — the same event Landin won in 2022 — and Landin added another top-10 finish in the PBA Shark Championship.

This fall, the Chicago-born Jordan brothers began their college careers at the Savannah College of Art and Design, which means their plans to join the tour full-time are on hold.

That sound you hear is the collective sigh of relief exhaled by touring players, who won’t have to see the Jordan boys every week next season.

Griffin Jordan watches his twin brother Landin compete in the 2025 U.S. Open.

Most Impressive TV Debut: Ethan Fiore

In his first career televised frame, Fiore missed a spare. He then fired eight of 10 strikes to dispatch Alec Keplinger and set up a semifinal bout with Tackett, the best player in the world in the midst of an all-time heater.

The 20-year-old did not blink. Seven times, Fiore needed a strike to extend the match and seven times he delivered. While he left a 7-pin to end the longest roll-off in PBA history, he also left a lasting impression on the PBA Tour.

Less than a month later, Fiore won the PBA Players Championship and became the fourth-youngest major champion of all time. Get used to seeing this kid, PBA fans.

Most Unbelievable Moment: Gary Haines Wins the Masters

Fresh off defeating Anthony Simonsen to clinch the No. 1 seed in a PBA major championship, Gary Haines compared himself to an all-time great.

No, not Jason Belmonte or Walter Ray Williams Jr. He did not mention fellow New Jersey southpaws Parker Bohn III or Johnny Petraglia either.

Haines, who works full-time for National Grid as a control room operator in a steam power plant, compared himself to Homer Simpson.

The steady competitor in the PBA East Region advanced to match play in the USBC Masters, a feat made more impressive by the extended delay after his pair’s lanes broke down during their final game of qualifying. He then went on the run of a lifetime, defeating Charles Easton, Packy Hanrahan, Tom Smallwood, Nate Stubler, Graham Fach and Simonsen to secure the top seed.

Haines’ first 18 frames of the two-game title match were littered with nerves, poor execution and fortunate breaks. Then he kissed his wife and changed his life with the two best shots of his career.

Full story: Gary Haines wins USBC Masters for first career PBA Tour title.

Best Story: Team Malaysia’s Breakout

Malaysia won the gold medal in the IBF World Cup, which was only a surprise to those who don’t follow international bowling.

Malaysia’s Li Jane Sin won PWBA Player of the Year honors in 2024, and the inevitable Malaysian men's breakout on the PBA Tour came this year.

Timmy Tan made the PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic finals, then Rafiq Ismail led the PBA Scorpion Championship before finishing second.

In the PBA Chameleon Championship, Tun Hakim prevailed to become the first Malaysian player to win a PBA Tour title.

Later in the World Series of Bowling, Ahmad Muaz led PBA Shark Championship qualifying and finished one match shy of making the stepladder.

It was a banner year for Malaysia. And odds are it won’t be the last.