PBA Tour Playoffs

The 24 participants are chosen and seeded based on points earned in qualifying to-date tournaments of the current season. (For 2019 and 2020, this includes 13 events, from the PBA Hall of Fame Classic through the USBC Masters). PBA Tour points are awarded on a tier system, as follows:

• Tier 3: PBA short format or limited field tournaments (2500 points for first, and descending thereafter)
• Tier 2: PBA standard tournaments with a fully open field (double the points of Tier 3 events)
• Tier 1: PBA major tournaments (triple the points of Tier 3 events)

The top eight players in points receive byes into the second round (round of 16). The #9 through #24 seeds compete in single game elimination matches to determine who advances to the second round.[2]

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.

The inaugural PBA Playoffs took place April 8–10 and June 1–2, 2019 at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine.[1] The PBA called it the "spotlight event" for its first year of television coverage on Fox Sports.[3] The tournament had a total prize fund of $276,000 with a $100,000 first place prize.[4] The first three “elimination” rounds were held April 8–10, with broadcasts of these events held on eight consecutive Monday nights (April 8 – May 27) on FS1. The final four then competed on live broadcasts held June 1–2 on Fox.[5]

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.[6] 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. [7]

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.[18] The 2020 PBA Tour Playoffs are suspended indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.