The Professional Bowling Tour’s third major, the Tournament of Champions, began its final stepladder Sunday, April 26, 2026, at AMF Riviera Lanes in Fairlawn, Ohio, to determine a champion, and the lineup was interesting.
Zach Wilkins entered as the first seed, followed by Alex Horton as the second seed, Andrew Anderson as the third seed, Brandon Bonta as the fourth seed, and 15-time major champion and current all-time major champion Jason Belmonte as the fifth seed.
The stepladder format works as follows: The fifth seed faces the fourth seed in a one-game matchup, and the winner advances to face the third seed, then the second seed, and finally the first seed, each in a one-game format.
The first match was an interesting one. Brandon Bonta started the game throwing the 900 Global Zen Gold Label on the left lane and the IQ Tour AI on the right lane. The Gold Label had an overall hook rating of 6.0, and the IQ Tour AI had a rating of 7.0, both fairly standard for their respective balls. Bonta later transitioned to the IQ Tour AI on both lanes.
On the other side, Jason Belmonte was throwing the 900 Global Viking, a considerably higher-end ball.
According to the PBA telecast, the Viking carried an overall hook rating of 9.5, significantly higher than what Bonta was throwing. Belmonte had a very strong start and took the game, 247-213.
In the second match, Jason Belmonte faced Andrew Anderson. Anderson started off throwing the 900 Global Harsh Reality Pearl on the left lane and the Storm Ion Pro on the right lane. Belmonte opened with the 900 Global Viking and then transitioned to the Journey in the third frame.
Anderson went a little high in the pocket in the seventh frame, so, heading into the ninth frame, when he returned to the left lane, he made the switch to the Storm Equinox. Belmonte struggled in this match, posting four open frames throughout and allowing Anderson to take the match, 236-166.
In the third match, Andrew Anderson faced Alex Horton. This was Horton’s first appearance on the PBA telecast, and he came out throwing the Black Hammer 78D, a urethane ball.
Anderson stayed with the Storm Ion Pro on the right lane and returned to the Harsh Reality Pearl on the left lane. Horton was looking for control, and the urethane delivered, with Horton securing the win in the 10th frame, 223-212.
The title match featured Alex Horton against Zach Wilkins, with Wilkins seeking his first PBA singles title. Both players started on the same ball, the Black Hammer 78D. The match opened with a bang as each player led off with a strike. In the second frame, Wilkins clipped the head pin and left the 3-6 combination but converted the spare.
Horton strung together four consecutive strikes before leaving a pocket 8-pin and picking up the spare. In the following frame, he left a light pocket 10-pin and converted that as well.
Wilkins then left a pocket 10-pin, highlighting a trend that would continue throughout the match as urethane began to show its limitations in carrying power, leaving several corner pins, as demonstrated on the telecast. Wilkins answered back with a strike, but at this point, he was trailing by 40 pins.
Horton responded with a strike of his own, then, in the next frame, overcorrected inside, and the ball never recovered off the dry boards, leaving the 2-5-8 combination.
Horton missed the 5-pin, opening the door for Wilkins to chip away at the deficit. Wilkins capitalized by converting a pocket 10-pin spare and then striking on the left lane. Horton then played close to the ideal line, but the ball failed to shape up, leaving a light 7-pin, which he converted.
Needing only a mark in the 10th frame to close out Wilkins, the rookie delivered a strike. Horton defeated Wilkins, 224-176, to claim his first-ever PBA title and major championship.
Alex Horton, the rookie, is the 2026 Tournament of Champions winner. This is not the first time this season that Horton has risen to the occasion on the major stage, and it likely will not be the last.
