19 yr old, Eric Jones advances to the PBA World Championship finals

EJ Tackett successfully defended his PBA World Championship title on Sunday afternoon at Strobl Arena in Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich. (Photo by Montez Miller/Tell Us Detroit)

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	The marathon of the PBA World Series of Bowling XV has reached its final destination as PBA World Championship qualifying has completed at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich.
	EJ Tackett defends his PBA World Championship title, winning the second year By Montez Miller/Photo Journalist tellusdetroit.com ALLEN PARK, MI - EJ Tackett successfully defended his PBA World Championship title on Sunday afternoon at Strobl Arena in Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich. Tackett, the only right-hander in the field, defeated four consecutive southpaws—Eric Jones, Graham Fach, Jesper Svensson, and top seed Matt Russo—to win the title. This victory marked the third World Championship win of his career. Tackett became the seventh player in PBA history to reach 23 titles and five major victories. He joined the likes of Walter Ray Williams Jr., Earl Anthony, Norm Duke, Pete Weber, Jason Belmonte, and Mike Aulby. Tackett, Russo, Svensson, and Fach clinched berths in Sunday’s finals by qualifying in the top four of the PBA World Championship, which consisted of 61 games of qualifying throughout the PBA World Series of Bowling XV. Jones, who qualified sixth, reached the championship round by winning Saturday's play-in stepladder, featuring the fifth through ninth qualifiers. In the opening match, Tackett defeated 19-year-old Eric Jones, 246-205. Tackett fired six consecutive strikes after converting a 4-pin in the opening frame. He left the 4-10 split on the right lane in the ninth, following a shot he thought was good. The reigning Player of the Year rebounded with two strikes to shut out the younger EJ. Over the next three matches, the left-handers dealt with the ramifications of the additional transition. Fach, seeking his first title since his 2016 Players Championship victory, left five consecutive single-pins leading into the final frame. After an open frame and two spare conversions by Tackett, Fach had an opportunity to win the match with two strikes and nine pins in his 10th frame. However, the higher-seeded Fach opted to finish on the right lane, which players have emphatically said all week is the harder of the two lanes. The Canadian southpaw, who decided to add some loft to his shot with a urethane ball, went high and left the 3-10. Tackett advanced with a 213-202 victory. In the semifinal match, Svensson experienced déjà vu from his semifinal loss in the PBA Scorpion Championship finals last Wednesday. The two-handed Swede boasts the highest rev rate on tour but left seven single-pins in 11 shots: three straight 7-pins, followed by three straight 10-pins and a 6-pin for one final kick in the teeth. With the match in hand, Tackett was afforded an opportunity in the 10th frame to try a different ball. The result, a 2-10 split, gave Tackett the conviction to stick with the ball he had been using—the exact same ball with which he won the Shark Championship. Tackett prevailed over top-seeded Russo in the title match. After Russo’s sixth single-pin leave in the 10th frame, Tackett clinched the title—his first win with his four-month-old son, Eddie III (aka Tripp), in the audience.