2022 Masters, Match Play Day 1

We’re down to 16 players remaining in the USBC Masters bracket, and oh how sweet it is.

We’re down to 16 players remaining in the USBC Masters bracket, and oh how sweet it is.

We’ve got active Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers, rising talents and aging wonders, prototypical strokers and unconventional revolutionaries.

You can check out the full bracket here, but here’s what you need to know.

Winners Bracket

1 Anthony Simonsen vs. 24 Jakob Butturff

12 Martin Larsen vs. 4 Brent Boho

14 DJ Archer vs. 38 Norm Duke

23 Parker Bohn III vs. 18 Brad Miller

What an incredible Elite Eight: Larsen and Miller chasing their first PBA titles; Archer looking for his first singles title since 2014; and Boho still dancing as the Cinderella story that’s way too talented to be called a Cinderella.

But the four former Masters champions headline the group.

Duke and Bohn III, both 58 years old, are showing the kids how it’s done. When the pattern is this difficult, these old dogs don’t need new tricks.

After the two heavyweights, Simonsen and Butturff, battle at high noon (ET), the winner has to be the tournament favorite.

Simonsen earned the top-seed for a reason, and perhaps no player on the planet has as many tools in the toolbox.

But in match-play, Butturff owns two of the four-highest blocks and the highest average by almost 20 pins. Nobody has a better look than him.

Joe Jacquez @Bowling_Writer

.@JButturff follows up a 298 and 290 to end the last round with a 267 game. #USBCMasters

I predict the winner of their match will be the #1 seed for the show.

Three of these eight players are guaranteed to make the show; two of whom will be the top-two seeds.

Elimination Bracket

2 EJ Tackett vs. 33 Tommy Jones

5 Jason Belmonte vs. 25 Brady Stearns

11 AJ Johnson vs. 50 Bill O’Neill

28 Shawn Maldonado vs. 45 David “Boog” Krol

Only two of these players can make the show, and perhaps just one. Considering the talent here, that feels unfathomable.

Stearns leads the group with a 220.3 average in match-play, and Johnson has yet to roll a series below 640. Jones’ last block on fresh was 755, while O’Neills best blocks came on burn.

Belmonte’s 205.67 average ranks the second-lowest of any remaining player. But it goes against my religion to bet against Belmonte or Tackett. For what it’s worth, they are on opposite sides of the bracket, so both can theoretically make the show.

PBA Playoff Race

I wrote yesterday that Jake Peters saved his season by making the cut at the Masters.

But after losing in the Round of 32, Shawn Maldonado and Brad Miller surpassed him in points. Therefore, Peters has been eliminated from playoff contention.

Based on my calculations, the following players have secured berths in the PBA Playoffs: Jason Belmonte, EJ Tackett, Dom Barrett, Anthony Simonsen, Kris Prather, Tommy Jones, Jakob Butturff, Sean Rash, Kyle Troup, Kyle Sherman and Jesper Svensson.

Here are the unofficial playoff standings before Saturday’s competition (based on minimum points at the Masters).

12. Hanrahan 12,423*

13. Johnson 12,175

14. O’Neill 11,760

15. Sterner 11,360*

16. Miller 11,005

17. Maldonado 10,895

Also in contention: Archer 9,418, Duke 7,457.5, Larsen 6,175

*eliminated from the Masters

Miller would pass Sterner with a top-eight finish or a win over Bohn III.

Maldonado needs a top-10 finish to pass Sterner. He would clinch that with a win over Krol, a Jones win over Tackett and an O’Neill win over Johnson. Or he could make our lives easier and win two matches.

If Maldonado beats Krol and Miller falls to Bohn III, the two will square off in the elimination bracket — with the winner all-but clinching a playoff berth.

Archer would need a top-two finish and some help to surpass Sterner, though a win would put him in.

Both Larsen and Duke would need to win the Masters to make the playoffs, and they might need some help, too.

The match between Johnson and O’Neill is pivotal for the playoff race. An O’Neill victory would put him at 12,120 points, so he’ll need to win two matches to pass Johnson.

O’Neill might not need to pass Johnson to make the playoffs. But with five players behind him still alive, and four of them in the winners bracket, he’ll want all the points he can get.

Predictions

Stepladder Finals:

1. Jakob Butturff

2. DJ Archer

3. Anthony Simonsen

4. Parker Bohn III

5. Norm Duke

Title match: Butturff over Simonsen

Butturff has the best look in the building, which is the same building he won the 2019 Masters. I’m not betting against him.