PBA Tour Playoffs


The PBA Tour Playoffs is an invitational event on the PBA Tour in North America. The tournament is set up in a 24-player bracket-style format.

Tournament Structure

The 24 participants are chosen and seeded based on points earned in qualifying to-date tournaments of the current season.. PBA Tour points are awarded on a tier system, as follows:
The top eight players in points receive byes into the second round. The #9 through #24 seeds compete in single game elimination matches to determine who advances to the second round.
Round 2 and all subsequent rounds feature double-elimination matches, also known as the "race to two points". Any player winning both games in a match earns two points and advances to the next round. If the match is split one game each, the players bowl a 9th/10th frame roll-off to determine who wins the second point and the right to advance. If the 9th/10th frame roll-off results in a tie, a one-ball, sudden death roll-off is used until a winner is determined.

2019 event

The took place April 8–10 and June 1–2, 2019 at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine. The PBA called it the "spotlight event" for its first year of television coverage on Fox Sports. The tournament had a total prize fund of $276,000 with a $100,000 first place prize. The first three “elimination” rounds were held April 8–10, with broadcasts of these events held on eight consecutive Monday nights on FS1. The final four then competed on live broadcasts held June 1–2 on Fox.
The PBA Players Committee originally voted to make the Playoffs a non-title event, citing the low number of games bowled as the primary reason. However, on December 6, 2019, the PBA announced that the winner of the 2019 PBA Playoffs would retroactively be awarded a PBA Tour title, and that the winner of the 2020 PBA Playoffs and subsequent events will be credited with a PBA title.

Round 1

Single-game, single-elimination matches for #9 through #24 seeds. Held April 8. Winners in bold type. Losers earned $3,000.
Double-elimination matches. Held April 9 & 10. Winners in bold type. Losers earned $5,000.
Double-elimination matches. Held April 10. Winners in bold type. Losers earned $8,000.
Double-elimination matches. Held June 1. Winners in bold type. Losers earned $20,000.
Double-elimination match. Held June 2.
Winner: #9 Kris Prather – $100,000
Runner-up: #7 Bill O'Neill – $40,000

2019 event bracket

2020 event

On June 2, 2019, PBA Commissioner Tom Clark announced that the 2020 PBA Tour Playoffs will take place in multiple cities, as part of a partnership and sponsorship agreement with Bowlero Corporation. The first round was scheduled to take place in Norco, California on April 6. The Round of 16 was scheduled to take place April 20 & 21 in Lone Tree, Colorado. From there, the playoffs were scheduled to move to Euless, Texas on May 10 & 11 for the Round of 8. The Final Four and Championship Finals were scheduled to be held May 16 & 17 in North Brunswick, New Jersey. The 2020 PBA Tour Playoffs are suspended indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.