Field Set for Championship Sunday in PBA Pete Weber Classic

The championship round field is set in the PBA Pete Weber Classic, held at Bowlero St. Peters outside of St. Louis, Mo.

The finals will air live Sunday, March 1 at 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT) on The CW.

Justin Knowles secured the No. 1 seed for the stepladder finals. The 34-year-old Michigan native qualified fourth overall, averaging 229.50, to earn a one-round bye in the best-of-seven-games match play rounds.

On Friday, Knowles defeated AJ Chapman and Matt Russo to secure the top seed and place himself one game away from his first career PBA Tour title.

“I’ve waited my whole life for this moment,” Knowles said. “It's pretty special, though, to only have to win one game for it all. I’m looking forward to it. I'm just thrilled to be here. I'm honored to be a professional bowler. This is what I wanted to do every day of my life since I was little, so I'm all about having fun right now.”

For the second week in a row, Canada’s Graham Fach secured the stepladder finals’ No. 2 seed. Fach qualified 10th, then defeated Eric Jones, Packy Hanrahan and Tom Smallwood in match play.

Fach performed at a career-high level in 2025, yet is arguably off to an even better start in 2026.

“I'm learning that I don't know what my potential is,” Fach said. “Every time I hit the lanes, I get excited about what I could have done better, what could have gone my way. I love not knowing what I'm capable of. I love knowing what I did, but knowing what I could do — and those, in my head, never match up. There will always be a better Graham Fach in the future.”

Fach’s Round of 24 victory over Jones, in which Fach averaged north of 281 for four games, came on lanes 29-30 — the same pair of lanes that will be used for Sunday’s championship round.

“I mean, if I could average 280 I would hope that trophy is mine at the end of it,” Fach said. “I'm pretty excited to bowl on that pair again. But, we’ve got four great bowlers, so it's going to be a good show on Sunday.”

Denmark's Thomas Larsen defeated EJ Tackett in a seven-game thriller to seize the No. 3 seed. Larsen summed up his reaction to the win in a single word: Surprised.

“I went into this match against EJ thinking, ‘I'm supposed to lose; he's supposed to win,’” Larsen said. “(I decided before the match) I'd rather try to do what I'm good at, something he can't do, and lose 4-0 than try to play his game and not really have any chance. It worked out for me. I needed a seven-bagger every game to beat him, but it worked out.”

The battle for the No. 4 seed came down to a pair of tour roommates in Hayden Stippich and Anthony Neuer.

Stippich, a 25-year-old Pennsylvania native, had defeated Richie Teece and Jason Belmonte in earlier rounds of match play. Then he bested Neuer in four games.

“We ran quite the gauntlet from last night to the two matches tonight,” Stippich said. “I’m feeling a little tired right now. It's been a long day. We made a lot of great shots and put a lot of work in to get here. This feels really good right now.”

Stippich came into his 2025 rookie season with plenty of ambition.

He dominated PBA Tour Trials in Aug. 2024 and nearly made a pair of shows early in his rookie season. But a concurrence of ailments before the World Series of Bowling derailed his season.

Stippich put himself back on track with a solid finish in the season-opening PBA Players Championship and a breakthrough performance this week.

“We're going to try to get comfortable as quickly as we can,” Stippich said. “It's my first show and it'll be a little overwhelming. So the quicker I can settle down and stay comfortable, the better.”

Another player who’d like to forget their 2025 season is Stippich’s first opponent: Matt Russo. 

Russo finished a career-high seventh in 2024 points, then dropped to a dismal 64th a year ago. This season, he said, would put future seasons into question.

“I think this was going to be the telltale season,” Russo said, “if this is something I continue to do or something that I just do part time.”

Russo grew up in New Jersey under the tutelage of the living legend, Parker Bohn III. Russo moved with his wife, Lauren, to the St. Louis area a few years ago to start coaching the Maryville University women’s bowling team.

Sunday, the 29-year-old will make the 15-minute drive from home with his wife and his college team by his side in support.

“I've gotten to bowl on TV in my hometown a couple times, back in New Jersey, but this one just felt different,” Russo said. “This time, there were more people, a lot more, and it was a lot louder. I think I wanted it more for them than myself. Obviously, I had a chance to step up and get the No. 1 seed, and things just didn't go my way. But I’m very proud of myself for how I battled this entire week.”

Though Russo fell in the Round of 8, he earned the No. 5 seed for the stepladder finals as the highest-seeded loser in the round.

The second PBA Championship Sunday begins at 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT) on The CW.

Match Play Results

Round of 24
No. 17 Hayden Stippich def. No. 16 Richie Teece, 4-2
No. 24 Austin Grammar def. No. 9 Ryan Barnes, 4-3

No. 18 Tom Smallwood def. No. 15 Santtu Tahvanainen, 4-3
No. 10 Graham Fach def. No. 23 Eric Jones, 4-0

No. 20 AJ Chapman def. No. 13 Kris Prather, 4-1
No. 21 Brandon Runk def. No. 12 Matt Sanders, 4-1

No. 14 EJ Tackett def. No. 19 Dom Barrett, 4-0
No. 11 Thomas Larsen def. No. 22 TJ Rock, 4-3

Round of 16
No. 17 Hayden Stippich def. No. 1 Jason Belmonte, 4-2
No. 8 Anthony Neuer def. No. 24 Austin Grammar, 4-3

No. 18 Tom Smallwood def. No. 2 Zach Wilkins, 4-2
No. 10 Graham Fach def. No. 7 Packy Hanrahan, 4-2

No. 4 Justin Knowles def. No. 20 AJ Chapman, 4-1
No. 5 Matt Russo def. No. 21 Brandon Runk, 4-2

No. 14 EJ Tackett def. No. 3 Patrick Dombrowski, 4-2
No. 11 Thomas Larsen def. No. 6 Cameron Crowe, 4-2

Round of 8
No. 4 Justin Knowles def. No. 5 Matt Russo, 4-3
No. 10 Graham Fach def. No. 18 Tom Smallwood, 4-0
No. 11 Thomas Larsen def. No. 14 EJ Tackett, 4-3
No. 17 Hayden Stippich def. No. 8 Anthony Neuer, 4-0

Complete scores are available here.

PBA Pete Weber Classic Schedule

All times Eastern

Saturday, Feb. 28 — BowlTV
8:30 p.m. — PBA Junior National Championship Finals

Sunday, March 1 — The CW
4 p.m. — PBA Pete Weber Classic stepladder finals