This article is part of our Betting Advice series.
Eight of the PBA Tour's top bowlers gathered at Steel City Bowl & Brews in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to compete for the final televised title of the 2025 season. These players earned their spots by ranking in the top eight for Tour points during the 2024 and 2025 PBA seasons. The competition began with two groups—Group 1 included EJ Tackett, Bill O'Neill, Kyle Troup and Graham Fach, while Group 2 featured Anthony Simonsen, Jason Belmonte, Andrew Anderson and Marshall Kent. Each group bowled on dual oil patterns (46-foot Petraglia and 40-foot Monacelli), and after two qualifying games, the top two in each group battled in a one-game match to determine stepladder seeding.
In the Group 1 positioning round on Saturday, Tackett posted scores of 266 and 222 for a 488 series, while Fach tallied 460. O'Neill and Troup were close behind with 452 and 450, respectively, creating a tightly contested round. With the top two scores, Tackett and Fach advanced to a one game match, with Tackett defeating Fach 258–211 to secure the top seed. Troup and O'Neill will face off in Sunday's opening stepladder match, with the winner challenging Fach for a chance to take on Tackett in the Group 1 final.
Group 2 saw Andrew Anderson dominate early, starting with a 279 game to take a commanding lead. Kent separated himself with a 235 in Game 2 to advance, while Belmonte and Simonsen struggled. Then Anderson edged Kent 193–191 to become the top seed. Belmonte and Simonsen will face each other in the stepladder opener, followed by a match with Kent. Anderson will await the winner of that match with a spot in the title match on the line.
The Group 1 and Group 2 winners will meet in a Race-to-Two championship match at 9 p.m. ET, all airing live on CBS Sports Network.
2025 PBA Tour Finals Matchups
Bill O'Neill vs. Kyle Troup over 440.5 (-118)
To earn a spot in the PBA Tour Finals, you have to be among the best bowlers in the world for two years. That's going to make it tough to pick a side. If I had to choose a side, I'd go with Troup -9.5 (-103) based on his past success, winning two of these Tour Finals championships. However, I'll go with the over as my best bet for this matchup, as I expect both bowlers to learn from their experience on Saturday and come out and execute from the start. Neither player will fall below 210, which puts us in good position for the over.
Anthony Simonsen -9.5 over Jason Belmonte (+108)
Both Simonsen and Belmonte struggled through the Group 2 positioning round, setting up a showdown between two of the most dominant players of the past several years. I give a slim edge to Simo, who had some poor finishes while battling through injury this season but came on strong at the end with top 13 finishes in the Tournament of Champions, PBA Players Championship and USBC Masters. In what should be considered an even match, we can get some value by taking Simonsen's side, and I'll lay the 9.5 pins for a shot at a bigger payout.
All odds via BetRivers Sportsbook as of June 8th 11:00 am EST
2025 PBA Tour Finals Futures
Graham Fach to win Group 1 (+240)
It's hard to bet against EJ Tackett, but if I had to take anyone to knock him off, it would be a lefty with a urethane bowling ball and some momentum. As the only lefty in the field, Fach will have the left side of the lane all to himself. If he can beat the winner of the O'Neill vs. Troup match, he'll have that momentum and confidence to take on the soon-to-be back-to-back-to-back Player of the Year winner.
Anthony Simonsen to win Group 2 (+360)
It's the last televised PBA Tour title event of the year, and I'm looking to finish off what has been a profitable season of bowling betting with a bang. I don't trust Marshall Kent, who finished 52nd in Tour points this season, to put together 10 strong frames, but I could envision any of the other three in this group making a run to the championship. So why not make a bold prediction and take a longshot?
2025 PBA Tour Finals Winner Bet
EJ Tackett (+175)
If you're tailing my group winner picks and want to go all-in on one of those players, you can get Fach at +500 or Simonsen at +700 to win the championship. However, I'm going to diversify. Obviously, if Fach beats Tackett in the Group 1 final, then we win that bet and lose this one, but that still makes for a profitable combination. If Tackett wins Group 1, then I just can't risk my hard-earned money on anyone to beat him in a Race-to-Two championship. The way I see it, either Tackett loses his Group 1 match, or you can go ahead and add another title to his résumé.
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2025 PBA Tour Finals TV Schedule
All times listed are local (Eastern Time)
Sunday, June 8
Group 1 Stepladder: Sunday at 5 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
Group 2 Stepladder: Sunday at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
Championship match: Sunday at 9 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
