March 17, 2026 Nolan Hughes

The PBA Indiana Classic is set to begin at David Small’s Pro Bowl West in Fort Wayne, Ind.

This tournament, the fifth title event of the season, will mark the second title event in the Hoosier State this month.

Qualifying rounds will be held at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday through Friday, leading to the live stepladder finals on Sunday, March 22 at 4 p.m. ET on The CW.

If you were to travel 45 minutes directly south of Fort Wayne, you would wind up in Bluffton — the hometown of EJ and Zac Tackett.

Prior to this season’s U.S. Open, Tackett had finished top four in each of the last seven title events in his home state. A 12th place for Tackett, who is still looking for his first title this season, pales only in comparison to his previous track record.

Patrick Dombrowski, of course, won the U.S. Open less than two weeks ago in Indianapolis. He followed up his breakthrough performance with a 23rd place finish in Illinois.

Kyle Troup won the most recent non-major title event in the state of Indiana, prevailing in the 2024 Just Bare PBA Indiana Classic in Anderson.

Troup has not won a title since the Indiana Classic two years ago, so perhaps a return to the Hoosier State is what the native North Carolinian needs to get back in the winner’s circle.

Troup was also a central figure in the first episode of the new HBO docuseries “Born to Bowl,” which aired on Monday night.

New episodes air the next four Monday nights at 9 p.m. ET and are available to watch on HBO Max.

Format

All players will bowl 24 games of qualifying between Wednesday and Thursday. The 39-foot Mike Aulby oil pattern, used in honor of the Indiana born-and-raised legend, will be used for the duration of the tournament.

The top 32 players will move onto Friday morning’s first Advancers Round, where six more games will whittle the field down to the top 16 for the final Advancers Round on Friday night.

Following a three-day total of 36 games, the top five players will secure berths in Sunday’s championship round.

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

Tournament Schedule

All times Eastern

Tuesday, March 17 — BowlTV
8:30 a.m. — Pre-Tournament Qualifier (PTQ)
3 p.m. — Official practice session
6 p.m. — Pro-Am

Wednesday, March 18  — BowlTV
11 a.m. — Qualifying Round 1 (six games)
6 p.m. — Qualifying Round 2 (six games)

Thursday, March 19 — BowlTV
11 a.m. — Qualifying Round 3 (six games)
6 p.m. — Qualifying Round 4 (six games)

Friday, March 20 — BowlTV
11 a.m. — Advancers Round 1 (six games)
6 p.m. — Advancers Round 2 (six games)

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