NOLAN HUGHES – May 5th
The force was with Tom Smallwood on Saturday evening at Angel of the Winds Casino Resort in Arlington, Wash.
Smallwood defeated Andrew Anderson in the all-Michigan final match of the PBA Playoffs Play-in Round.
Smallwood nearly fired 300, shooting 298 on the dual patterns with 39-foot Mike Aulby pattern on the right lane and 45-foot Dick Weber pattern on the left lane.
Smallwood advances to face No. 5 Jason Belmonte in Sunday’s Round of 12, which airs at noon Eastern on FS1.
The PBA Playoffs feature the top 16 players in competition points from the 2024 season. The top four qualifiers earned a bye to the semifinals, while the 12th through 16th qualifiers competed in Saturday’s play-in stepladder for the right to face Belmonte.
PBA Top 6 Going into Playoffs
AJ Johnson, the last qualifier for the Playoffs, whiffed a 9-pin in the opening frame of the first match. He climbed back into the match with Andrew Anderson, striking in the seventh frame to tie the match.
However, Johnson followed that strike up by leaving the Big Four. Anderson responded with a double to put away his Las Vegas High Roller teammate.
Anderson started his next match against Graham Fach with four consecutive spares, followed up with eight consecutive strikes. With a trio of nine-count spares mid-game, Fach was not able to keep up, falling 257-227.
Anderson again started slow in the next match against Packy Hanrahan, leaving a 2-pin in the first frame and the 2-8-10 in the second. Hanrahan, who was unable to strike on the right lane until the eighth frame, wasn’t able to take advantage.
Anderson tripped a 2-pin in the ninth frame, setting himself up to clinch the match in the 10th frame. Instead, he left his second 2-8-10 of the game and opened the door for Hanrahan.
Now only needing a mark and good count to win, Hanrahan left a pocket 6-8. The two-handed southpaw was unable to convert and Anderson escaped with a 191-185 victory.
Anderson could have bowled 100 pins better in the next match and it wouldn’t have been enough.
“If somebody told me I needed 299 to win a game last game, I would have laughed at them,” Anderson said.
Smallwood also expected the scoring pace to be much lower.
“I felt like 225 would be a winner,” Smallwood said after the match. “Then I started with the front-five, he had a 279 pace and I’m like, ‘Well, I might have to shoot 300 to even have a chance to win.”
Belmonte shot 300 in each of the two events previously held at Strikerz at Angel of the Winds, which were the 2022 and 2023 PBA Tour Finals. Kyle Troup, the two-time defending PBA Playoffs champion, also added a 300 of his own in 2022.
Both will compete in Sunday’s Round of 12 at noon ET on FS1.
PLAY-IN STEPLADDER SCORES
Match 1: No. 15 Andrew Anderson def. No. 16 AJ Johnson, 217-193
Match 2: No. 15 Andrew Anderson def. No. 14 Graham Fach, 257-227
Match 3: No. 15 Andrew Anderson def. No. 13 Packy Hanrahan, 191-185
Match 4: No. 12 Tom Smallwood def. No. 15 Andrew Anderson, 298-247
PBA PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
Round 2: Round of 12 | May 5 at noon ET on FS1
No. 8 Zach Wilkins vs. No. 9 David Krol
No. 5 Jason Belmonte vs. No. 12 Tom Smallwood
No. 7 Matt Russo vs. No. 10 Jesper Svensson
No. 6 Kyle Troup vs. No. 11 Chris Via
Round 3: Quarterfinals | May 12 at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1
No. 1 EJ Tackett vs. Wilkins/Krol
No. 4 Bill O’Neill vs. Belmonte/Smallwood
No. 2 Marshall Kent vs. Russo/Svensson
No. 3 Anthony Simonsen vs. Troup/Via
Finals | May 19 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX