Finals Set in 2026 PBA Tournament of Champions
The stage is set for the latest chapter of the PBA Tournament of Champions on the most iconic pair of lanes in PBA history: lanes 27-28 at AMF Riviera Lanes in Fairlawn, Ohio.
Zach Wilkins, Alex Horton, Andrew Anderson, Brandon Bonta and Jason Belmonte advanced to the stepladder finals of the season’s fourth major championship.
This year’s 61st TOC marks the 37th time Riviera has hosted the major championship.
The 10th tournament of the 2026 PBA Tour powered by Go Bowling is also the final PBA Championship Sunday on The CW of the season.
The stepladder finals will air live Sunday, April 26 at 4 p.m. ET on The CW.
Complete standings following 42 games of qualifying are available here.
Zach Wilkins dominated in his TOC debut.
The Canadian won his first career PBA Tour title last Sunday, capturing the Owen's Craft Mixers PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship with AJ Chapman.
This week, he led the field by nearly 100 pins after 42 total games on the 40-foot oil pattern, named in honor of Don Johnson.
“I think I finally belong out here,” Wilkins said. “It's been a very long journey with a lot of doubts and second guessing. ‘Is this really what I want to do for a living? Am I capable of winning out here or even making TV shows?’ I'm going to soak this one in. We’ve still got a lot of work to be done, but the sense of finally belonging out here and that I can compete with these guys, I think it's real.”
“I’m 1-1 at BoPo (Bayside Bowl), and hopefully come Sunday, I'm going to be 1-1 at AMF Riviera Lanes,” Wilkins added.
Alex Horton, who netted the No. 2 seed, will look to become the fourth rookie to win a title this season. Bonta won the first tournament of the season, then Spencer Robarge and Austin Grammar captured wins earlier this month.
“It’s definitely inspiring,” Horton said of the other rookies’ success. “Specifically Brandon winning that first title, that's what propelled me to come out and bowl. I'm just trying to etch my name with these rookies out here as well.”
Horton, a native of eastern Pennsylvania, grew up under the tutelage of a pair of PBA Hall of Famers. He said Parker Bohn III was and remains a father figure to him, and that Wes Malott helped him out a lot during his time at Indiana Institute of Technology (Indiana Tech).
Horton won his first PBA Regional Tour title last fall, earning him the opportunity to compete in the PTQ for the Tournament of Champions.
“This is something I never expected would happen,” Horton said. “I just wanted to get out of the PTQ and get more reps in the main field. To have a chance to win the title, to be on TV, this is all amazing. I’m taking it in stride, really. This is a surreal moment. It might not look like it on the outside, but truly deep down I'm grateful to be here. Whatever the outcome is, I'll live with the result.”
Andrew Anderson, who finished co-runner-up in PBA Player of the Year voting last season, will be the No. 3 seed.
“When it comes to this building, I made my first TV show ever here back in 2018,” Anderson said. “I haven't been bowling my best this year. I'm battling a bum wrist, day-to-day I’m just not consistent. But walking in here just gave me a good vibe. Since the first block, I bowled some of the best bowling I've done in months.”
Anderson owns six career PBA Tour titles, which includes one major in the 2018 USBC Masters. A second major victory would make him title-eligible for the PBA Hall of Fame at the age of 30.
“If you ask me why I show up for majors, that's why,” Anderson said. “Obviously, there's nothing I want more in my life than to be in the PBA Hall of Fame. It's what you grow up wanting. I know I'm in the middle of my prime and I’ve still got a lot of good bowling left, but there are so many good bowlers, and there are only so many opportunities. When you make a show like this, you know you have to take advantage of it. I’ve got a lot of matches ahead, but I’m just so thrilled to give myself another opportunity at it.”
While Bonta is the front-runner for PBA Rookie of the Year, he has a chance to become the front-runner for Player of the Year with a win on Sunday.
Bonta won the season-opening PBA Players Championship, climbing the stepladder as the No. 4 seed and shooting 300 in the title match against EJ Tackett.
“After I won, I think I just fully embraced that I can be the best player out here,” Bonta said. “If you don't believe you can do it, you shouldn't be out here. Having that pride in yourself, that you can be the best in the world, that’s what I can feel. Having that confidence in myself, that I'm supposed to be here, is the key thing for my success this season.”
This Sunday, Bonta will face four-time TOC champion Jason Belmonte in the opening match.
Belmonte has won two of his record four TOC titles at AMF Riviera Lanes. His most recent win in 2023 represents his last PBA Tour singles title, the longest such drought of his career.
Belmonte has made the finals in five of eight years since the TOC returned to Riviera in 2018.
“As untraditional as I bowl, I respect the tradition of the game,” Belmonte said. “I respect those that have bowled strikes before me, and I look forward to watching the kids that will bowl strikes after me. In this building, if the walls could talk, I'm sure there are a lot of stories that could be told. And I'm very grateful that I've been able to have some of those stories in this building.”
Belmonte missed the past two PBA Tour events, opting to spend time at home in Australia.
“I'm very grateful that I decided to go home and recharge,” Belmonte said. “I don't think I can remember one of (my son) Hugo's birthdays when I've been home, so to be able to spend his birthday with him was special. Those are the little things that recharge you, but also why it's so difficult to get back on the plane.”
The reason Belmonte does get back on the plane is for opportunities like Sunday: a chance to extend his record with a 16th career major championship.
The stepladder finals will air live Sunday, April 26 at 4 p.m. ET on The CW.
Match Play Round 3 Standings | 42 Games
- Zach Wilkins, 10,259 total pinfall, 233.19 average
- Alex Horton, 10,166, 229.90
- Andrew Anderson, 10,118, 229.83
- Brandon Bonta, 10,072, 230.17
- Jason Belmonte, 10,003, 228.88
- Santtu Tahvanainen, 9,931, 226.81
- Anthony Simonsen, 9,871, 223.60
- EJ Tackett, 9,870, 225.71
- Mitch Hupé, 9,856, 225.74
- Darren Tang, 9,838, 225.67
- Chris Via, 9,781, 223.60
- Tim Foy Jr., 9,778, 224.95
- Matt Ogle, 9,757, 224.45
- Kris Prather, 9,735, 224.64
- Kyle Troup, 9,680, 222.62
- Marshall Kent, 9,678, 221.86
- Ronnie Russell, 9,662, 220.40
- Ethan Fiore, 9,541, 220.02
- Jake Peters, 9,532, 218.38
- Sean Lavery-Spahr, 9,435, 217.50
- Austin Grammar, 9,398, 218.76
- Patrick Dombrowski, 9,391, 217.88
- Kevin McCune, 9,329, 214.26
- BJ Moore, 9,245, 215.12
Complete standings are available here.
Tournament Schedule
Sunday, April 26 — The CW
4 p.m. — PBA Tournament of Champions finals
More information on the PBA Tournament of Champions is available here.