Boog Krol, EJ Tackett Headline PBA Indiana Classic Finals

Tensions rose throughout 35 games of qualifying in the PBA Indiana Classic at David Small’s Pro Bowl West in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Heading into the final game before the cut to the show, Ryan Barnes sat in pole position, but held just a four-pin lead over Marshall Kent and a 17-pin lead over Boog Krol.

Timmy Tan, who shot 199 in Game 35, maintained fourth overall. But his advantage over the motivated EJ Tackett and ascending Bill O’Neill dropped to just four and six pins, respectively.

While it felt like two three-player battles were happening simultaneously, the gap between Krol in third and Tan in fourth was only 88 pins.

The final 10 frames transpired quickly, but can be summarized as follows:

• Krol shot 267 to propel himself into the top seed
• Kent grinded out 230 to hold onto second place
• Tan fired 10 consecutive strikes and 279 to leapfrog into third place
• Barnes dropped to fourth with 163
• Tackett closed the door with 255 to O’Neill’s 243

The stepladder finals of the PBA Indiana Classic will air live Sunday, March 22 at 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT) on The CW.

Krol qualified 11th after 24 games were competed on Thursday night, but surged into first place during Friday’s two six-game advancer rounds. 

The two-handed Missouri native finished with a total pinfall of 8,765, bolstering a 243.47 average for 36 games.

Even given the torrid scoring pace, Krol solved the fresh 39-foot Mike Aulby oil pattern better than any other player. He averaged more than 280 with a low game of 269 during the first two games of each round on Friday.

Krol said he committed to using urethane equipment for the entire final round, which featured two players on each pair compared to four players during all five previous rounds.

“It’s pretty special,” Krol said. “I've never been in this position. Usually, I've worked my way into  or snuck onto a show, but leading is a brand new thing for me. I just wanted to make the show, honestly. But halfway through that game, I saw (Barnes and Kent) kind of struggling. I was like, ‘Okay, this is doable.’ If we could get to the No. 1 position, it'd be a lot better for the mental (game).”

Krol decided to commit to bowling the PBA Tour full-time in 2024 and began his season needing to earn a berth in the main field through the pre-tournament qualifier.

He parlayed leading the PBA Delaware Classic PTQ to a PBA Tour title and earned a 10-year exemption on the PBA Tour. Later in the season, he won the PBA Playoffs.

“My life has changed,” Krol said. “This professional bowling thing is my life and my career now. I think I can be one of the best, but it's a long road to be one of the best, and it takes learning event by event out here. It's grueling. It's hard, but I'm very grateful for this decision I made a couple years ago to full-send it.”

The 2024 season was similarly life changing for Kent, who won two titles with a major and finished runner-up in Player of the Year voting. 

In 2025, Kent plummeted to 52nd overall. This season had been much more like 2025 than 2024, as Kent ranked 71st in points through last week’s Groupon PBA Illinois Classic.

Kent spent time after leaving Illinois doing what he always does when he finds himself struggling: He bowled for hours upon hours by himself.

“I needed to throw shot after shot after shot after shot, and feel it out until it clicks,” Kent said. “It was really close when it left. Funny enough, the release portion of it actually clicked during the Pro-Am (on Tuesday). Going into this week, too, I had a different mindset than I had in the past few weeks. I tried to focus more on the good breaks than the bad and try to reset from bad results quicker — and here we are.”

Timmy Tan made his first career finals appearance in last season’s PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic. He advanced to the championship round after defeating Kyle Troup, who left a pocket 5-10 split in the 10th frame of Game 7 in their seven-game match.

The satisfaction of how he earned this finals appearance — shooting 279 to stave off a future Hall of Famer and a current Hall of Famer — is considerably higher.

Tan is hoping to experience an even greater level of satisfaction on Sunday and become the second Malaysian player to win a PBA Tour title.

Tan was his country’s first player to make a finals appearance, then Tun Hakim prevailed in the PBA Chameleon Championship to become Malaysia’s first PBA Tour champion.

“Of course, his win was a great thing for Malaysia,” Tan said, “and I would like to win one.”

Barnes spent almost the entirety of the tournament in a top three seed before dropping to fourth in the final game. He shot 163, a game that feels even lower considering the 240-pace by the finalists.

“Obviously, I want that last game back,” Barnes said. “But it was still good bowling for the other 35 games this week. I’m glad to be on the show.”

The reigning PBA Rookie of the Year will seek to win his first career PBA Tour title on Sunday.

To do so, Barnes will have to win four consecutive matches, starting with the three-time reigning PBA Player of the Year in EJ Tackett.

Tackett is a born and raised native of northeast Indiana. His hometown of Bluffton is 45 minutes south of Fort Wayne. The 33-year-old estimates he has been bowling at Pro Bowl West for more than 25 years.

“I wanted to be in this position so badly,” Tackett said. “Obviously, I wanted to be the No. 1 seed, but maybe my ambition hindered me from being a little bit closer to that. It does feel good to be on the show and have an opportunity to win this championship, being so close to home and being in a bowling center that I spent so much time in throughout my life. To have a chance to win a PBA Tour title in this building is pretty special.”

This week’s format featured 36 games of qualifying with a pair of cuts. There was no elimination match play or bonus pins — just the way Tackett likes it.

“It's my favorite type of format,” he said. “I think it eliminates some of the luck that can happen. You're 100% in control of your own destiny and I do agree that the cream does rise to the top.”

Tackett has yet to win a title this season — a statement only even sort of fair to make four weeks into a season in regards to a three-time reigning Player of the Year — but Tackett will overtake Anthony Simonsen for the lead in the 2026 points race regardless of his finishing position on Sunday.

But that’s an achievement that will ring hollow if anyone else were to hoist the trophy in Tackett’s own backyard.

The stepladder finals of the PBA Indiana Classic will air live Sunday, March 22 at 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT) on The CW.

Standings After 36 Games

1. Boog Krol, 8,765 total pinfall, 243.47 average
2. Marshall Kent, 8,741, 242.81
3. Timmy Tan, 8,689, 241.36
4. Ryan Barnes, 8,678, 241.06
5. EJ Tackett, 8,661, 240.58
6. Bill O'Neill, 8,647, 240.19
7. Zach Wilkins, 8,533, 237.03
8. Tom Daugherty, 8,472, 235.33
9. Dom Barrett, 8,462, 235.06
10. Sean Lavery-Spahr, 8,434, 234.28
11. Mitch Hupé, 8,409, 233.58
12. Thomas Larsen, 8,403, 233.42
13. Nick Pate, 8,370, 232.50
14. AJ Johnson, 8,336, 231.56
15. Darren Ong, 8,293, 230.36
16. Kyle Troup, 8,265, 229.58

Complete standings are available here.

Tournament Schedule

All times Eastern

Sunday, March 22 — The CW
4 p.m. — Finals