Alex Horton Wins Second Title of Rookie Season in PBA Shark Championship
For the second time in as many days, a repeat winner emerged in the PBA World Series of Bowling.
Alex Horton won the PBA Shark Championship, the fourth title event of the PBA World Series of Bowling XVII, for his second title of the season.
Horton, one of a record four rookie winners this season, became the first rookie to claim two titles. He won the PBA Tournament of Champions (TOC) on April 26.
The 22-year-old defeated Tobias Börding, Chris Via, Patrick Dombrowski, and Ronnie Russell in the 12-player bracket finals at Lucky Strike Lakeville outside of Minneapolis.
“This journey has been absolutely unreal,” Horton said. “Making out of the PTQ, then winning the Tournament of Champions was life changing, that week itself.. Now to be able to win a second title this year, it's absolutely incredible.”
Three weeks ago, Horton advanced out of the pre-tournament qualifier of the PBA Tournament of Champions.
The rookie said he was happy to compete in the main field, hoping to compile points and secure exempt status for the 2027 season.
He went on to win the TOC and, 16 days later, won again in the Shark Championship.
“I feel like this title means more because I did it again,” Horton said. “I climbed to the mountaintop for the first time winning the TOC. Obviously, that meant a lot to be able to have my first title, but to be able to do it again and the same season, I believe that this means more to me deep down because I know I can consistently be at the top of every tournament.”
Horton is now firmly in Rookie of the Year discussion with Brandon Bonta, who also won a major and has four top-10 major finishes. Bonta ranks third in points, while Horton moved up to 14th with his Shark Championship title.
“Hey, I might have taken over the Rookie of the Year race,” Horton said in jest. “Watching (Bonta) win, obviously, was absolutely incredible. I owe part of this to him, because he really inspired me to come out (and bowl the tour).”
Horton, Bonta, Spencer Robarge and Austin Grammer are the record-setting group of four rookies to have won titles this season. All four have demonstrated elite poise under pressure.
“We've been preparing for this moment our whole lives, really,” Horton said. “A lot of us bowled every single year of Junior Gold. We bowled against each other in college a lot. It's one of those things where iron sharpens iron. When we're all competing against each other, we're all making each other better. You want to practice and beat everyone out here, so it's one of those things where when we all come out here, we're all competing to beat each other as well as beat the best in the world.”
With a second title, Horton has also qualified for the Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year ballot. To qualify for the ballot, a player must win two titles or one title and finish top 10 in PBA Tour season earnings.
“I think it's an absolutely crazy story that I did not bowl the whole year, and I'm going to be on the Player of the Year ballot with two titles,” Horton said. “I mean, that's just absolutely incredible.”
Ronnie Russell led qualifying last week at Bowlero Brooklyn Park to earn a one-round bye in Tuesday’s 12-player bracket finals, which all aired on CBS Sports Network.
Russell said prior to Shark Championship qualifying that he decided to retire from the PBA Tour full-time after this season. He said he still plans to bowl majors and a few other tournaments.
In his swan song as a full-time player, Russell went out in style.
He defeated an active Hall of Famer in Tommy Jones and a future Hall of Famer, and his close friend, in EJ Tackett in his two matches to reach the title match.
Horton won the first game of the Race-to-Two championship match, 221-208.
Russell fought back and held the lead through eight frames of Game 2, which he maintained by making the 4-7-10 split. He left a 10-pin in the ninth frame, ceding control of the game to Horton.
Horton needed three strikes in his final two frames to shut out Russell. He struck in the ninth, then again in the 10th on a left lane that gave him issues throughout the night.
The rookie aced his second shot but left a demoralizing stone 8-pin, dropping to a knee in disbelief.
“I left the door open,” Horton said, “and I truly believed that Ronnie Russell was going to go up there, throw all three (strikes) in the 10th, and we were going to go to roll-off.”
Instead, the veteran left another 10-pin and Horton won on the bench.
While the animal pattern championships of the World Series of Bowling have all concluded in Minneapolis, the major title finale is set for next month near Detroit.
The PBA World Championship finals will air live Sunday, June 13 at 11 a.m ET on CBS Sports Network and 1 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+ from Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich.
EJ Tackett will be the top seed for the nine-player stepladder finals in the major championship.
Tackett will be joined in the championship round by Chris Via, Bill O’Neill and Kris Prather.
The winner of the play-in stepladder, featuring Jason Belmonte, Brandon Bonta, Zach Wilkins, Jason Sterner, and Darren Tang, will advance to the championship round.
More information on the PBA World Championship is available here.
Match Results
Round of 12
No. 5 EJ Tackett def. No. 12 Mitch Hupé, 212-168
No. 9 Tommy Jones def. No. 8 Packy Hanrahan, 213-199
No. 10 Alex Horton def. No. 7 Tobias Börding, 245-206
No. 6 Hayden Stippich def. No. 11 Kyle Sherman, 237-235
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Ronnie Russell def. No. 9 Tommy Jones, 259-201
No. 5 EJ Tackett def. No. 4 Brandon Bonta, 213-190
No. 10 Alex Horton def. No. 2 Chris Via, 257-244
No. 3 Patrick Dombrowski def. No. 6 Hayden Stippich, 214-204
Semifinals
No. 1 Ronnie Russell def. No. 5 EJ Tackett, 254-217
No. 10 Alex Horton def. No. 3 Patrick Dombrowski, 233-223
Championship (Race-to-Two)
No. 10 Alex Horton def. No. 1 Ronnie Russell, 2-0
Game 1: Horton def. Russell, 221-208
Game 2: Horton def. Russell, 214-206
Final Standings
- Alex Horton, $20,000
- Ronnie Russell, $12,000
- Patrick Dombrowski, $9,000
- EJ Tackett, $9,000
- Chris Via, $5,000
- Brandon Bonta, $5,000
- Hayden Stippich, $5,000
- Tommy Jones, $5,000
- Tobias Börding, $3,500
- Packy Hanrahan, $3,500
- Kyle Sherman, $3,500
- Mitch Hupé, $3,500
Complete standings are available here.
More information on the PBA World Series of Bowling XVII is available here.
PBA World Series of Bowling XVII Schedule
Saturday, June 13 — Thunderbowl Lanes — CBS and Paramount+
11 a.m. ET — AMF PBA World Championship semifinals
1 p.m. ET — AMF PBA World Championship finals