Brandon Bonta Delivers Perfect Start to PBA Tour Career

There is only one possible way to describe the first tournament of the 2026 PBA Tour powered by Go Bowling, ushering in a new era of the PBA on The CW:

Perfect.

Brandon Bonta, a 23-year-old rookie, shot a perfect 300 game in the title match to win the PBA Players Championship at the International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas.

In his first career PBA Tour event as a professional, Bonta defeated EJ Tackett in the title match, 300-238, to win the major championship for his first career PBA Tour title, the $100,000 top prize and a $10,000 bonus for shooting a televised perfect game.

“What a great way to start my career, I can’t say anything else but that,” Bonta said.

Bonta earned the No. 4 seed for the championship round after 46 games of qualifying completed on Friday evening, setting up an opening match against his four-year college teammate and fellow rookie Spencer Robarge.

The rookies needed a few frames to work out their jitters, each missing a single-pin spare early in the match. Bonta shook off a missed 2-pin in his first frame, striking on seven of his next nine shots to eliminate Robarge by a 227-173 margin.

Bonta then faced Jesper Svensson, who won two tournaments with a $100,000 top prize last season, in the second match.

Both players started with four strikes before leaving the fifth frame open. Bonta nearly converted the 4-7-9 split, while Svensson missed a 7-pin. 

The 7-pin continued to plague Svensson’s game as he left the corner-pin three more times in the final five frames. Bonta, meanwhile, added five consecutive strikes to put the Iceman on ice.

Graham Fach, competing 10 years and one day after his 2016 PBA Players Championship title, sought to win the season-opener for the second straight year. But his battle with Bonta ended just as the Olympic men’s hockey final did earlier in the day: with heartbreak for the Canadian faithful.

Fach needed all three strikes in his final frame to force a roll-off, but left an 8-pin on his first shot.

The title match pitted Bonta, a 23-year-old making his rookie debut, against the three-time reigning PBA Player of the Year in EJ Tackett.

On a stage built for history, the match had all the makings of an all-time classic.

Six years ago, Tommy Jones shot a perfect game in the title match to win the PBA Hall of Fame Classic on the weekend of his own Hall of Fame induction.

On those very lanes where Jones capped off his legendary career, Bonta launched his own.

Bonta threw one strike, then four, then seven, then nine. Before stepping up for his final frame, he had already clinched the title he dreamed his entire life of one day winning.

There was just one thing left to do: Shoot 300.

“There was no doubt in my mind that I could throw the last three strikes,” Bonta said. “That was the freest 300 game I’ve ever shot in my life. The hard work was already done. I just needed to throw three shots on, I would say, the easy lane. I literally felt no nerves trying to bowl 300 on TV. I just wanted to throw those three shots, get it over with, and then hand me the trophy.”

If you asked an aspiring PBA Tour player to describe their bucket list of career achievements, they would say some combination of winning a title, winning a major, shooting 300 on TV and beating the best player in the world.

Brandon Bonta did all of that in two hours on Sunday afternoon. He said he has not even begun to process what he just accomplished, which included the 36th official televised 300 game in PBA history.

“This was an amazing day for me, one that I'll always remember,” Bonta said. “One day, when my bowling career is done, I'll obviously look back on this day and think I accomplished something that many, many people might not be able to. It’s just crazy at the moment right now. I definitely will cherish this forever.”

The 2026 season continues this week with the Legendz PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic. Qualifying begins on Wednesday, leading to the finals on Sunday, March 1 at 4 p.m. ET on The CW.

More information on the 2026 PBA Players Championship is available here.

Championship Round Matches

Match One: No. 4 Brandon Bonta def. No. 5 Spencer Robarge, 227-173
Match Two: No. 4 Brandon Bonta def. No. 3 Jesper Svensson, 253-216
Match Three: No. 4 Brandon Bonta def. No. 2 Graham Fach, 247-226
Championship: No. 4 Brandon Bonta def. No. 1 EJ Tackett, 300-238

Final Standings

1. Brandon Bonta, $110,000 (includes $10,000 bonus for TV perfect game)
2. EJ Tackett, $55,000
3. Graham Fach, $35,000
4. Jesper Svensson, $25,000
5. Spencer Robarge, $20,000

Complete standings are available here.