March 27, 2026 Nolan Hughes

Match Play Bracket Results

Sixty-four players began Friday with aspirations of claiming the USBC Masters title, the third major championship of the 2026 PBA Tour powered by Go Bowling.

Half of them were sent home by the end of the night.

Sixteen players remain in the winners side of the double-elimination bracket. Among them is Jason Belmonte, the record holder with four USBC Masters titles to his name.

Belmonte defeated Manuel Otalora and Kyle Troup in his first two matches, shooting 785 and 789 in each three-game total pinfall match.

Belmonte, averaging more than 262 in his six games of match play, will face Matt Russo in the third round of the winners bracket.

EJ Tackett, the three-time reigning PBA Player of the Year, also remains in the winners bracket.

Tackett is a Masters title shy of becoming the fourth Grand Slam winner in PBA history, alongside Belmonte, Mike Aulby and Norm Duke.

Tackett, one of nine Triple Crown winners, has previously won the U.S. Open, PBA Tournament of Champions and PBA World Championship.

Two years ago, the Masters ended Tackett’s streak of consecutive championship round appearances at five, which tied the PBA record. Last year, he set the record with six consecutive championship round appearances, then again finished just shy of the Masters finals.

Below are each of the matches in the winners bracket scheduled for 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, livestreaming on BowlTV. The first game of the round will livestream for free on the PBA YouTube channel.

  • EJ Tackett vs. Nate Garcia
  • François Lavoie vs. Zachary Leshikar
  • Boog Krol vs. Trey Brand
  • Spencer Robarge vs. Cam Crowe
  • Deo Benard vs. Matt Sanders
  • Jesper Svensson vs. Nick Pate
  • Matt Russo vs. Jason Belmonte
  • Eric Jones vs. Dylan Bowers

Defending champion Gary Haines is among the 16 players remaining in the contenders bracket.

Haines lost to top seed Jakob Butturff by eight pins in the opening round of match play, then tallied wins against Nicholas Fisher and Zach Wilkins to advance to Saturday’s competition.

“I had a plan against Jakob, and it worked until I didn't throw it well in the 10th frame (of the third game),” Haines said. “I'm getting more comfortable and throwing it better and better, just like last year. When I throw it well, I like my chances.”

Haines, who qualified below 64th place but earned the No. 64 seed as the defending champion, said during qualifying he was looking to make a statement. He did just that on Friday night, firing 300 to start his second match of Friday night against Wilkins.

The match many in attendance were hoping to see on Friday night — Parker Bohn III against his son Brandon Bohn — his didn’t quite come to fruition.

Steve Novak defeated Brandon Bohn in the first round of the contenders bracket, spoiling the father-son match. The 62-year-old PBA Hall of Famer then defeated Novak.

Bohn will face a different Brandon — PBA Players Championship winner Brandon Bonta — in the third round of the contenders bracket at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday.

Additional contenders bracket matches include:

  • Gary Haines vs. Dick Allen
  • Parker Bohn III vs. Brandon Bonta
  • Graham Fach vs. Julian Salinas
  • Alec Keplinger vs. Anthony Neuer
  • Dom Barrett vs. Casey Cohagan
  • Tommy Jones vs. Garrett Meadows
  • Michael Martell vs. Blake Walsh
  • Darren Tang vs. Tomas Käyhkö

The full winners and contenders bracket is available here.

Jakob Butturff, who led qualifying and earned the No. 1 seed for match play, was eliminated following losses to Nate Garcia and Garrett Meadows.

Three-time Masters champion Anthony Simonsen was also eliminated on Friday. He won his first match against Riley Woodard, then lost to Dylan Bowers.

Simonsen withdrew due to injury against Julian Salinas after Game 2 in the second round of the contenders bracket.

All rounds of match play will air live on BowlTV. Select parts of match play will be livestreamed for free on the PBA YouTube channel.

The stepladder finals will air live Sunday, March 29 at 4 p.m. ET on The CW.

Tournament Schedule

All times Eastern

Saturday, March 28 — BowlTV
10 a.m. — Winners and Contenders bracket matches (fresh and burn)
Matches continue 20 minutes after previous round
2 p.m. — Winners and Contenders bracket matches (fresh)
Matches continue until five players advance to championship round

Sunday, March 29 — The CW
4 p.m. — Finals