Anthony Simonsen Outwits Stacked Field to Win the 2022 US Open
A key ball change in the semifinal powered Simonsen to the victory, becoming the youngest player in PBA history to win three majors.
It’s easy to take greatness for granted.
Much of this week’s discourse, including and especially from myself, centered around Jason Belmonte’s pursuit of his 15th career major title, Jake Peters’ emotional comeback and AJ Johnson’s quest for his first career title.
All the while EJ Tackett obliterated the field in qualifying all week, and Anthony Simonsen occupied a tier of his own in second place.
I could argue it’s a testament to the strength of the finalists that Tackett and Simonsen’s dominance flew a bit under the radar. In reality, it’s closer to an insult to their talent.
Belmonte’s set an impossible standard over the years, and perhaps we’ve lost track of how consistently great Tacket and Simonsen have been because they only have two major titles.
Since Simonsen joined the tour full-time in 2015, only Belmonte has made more major telecasts than those two. And nobody else is close.
Championship Round Appearances at Majors since 2015:
Jason Belmonte — 21
Anthony Simonsen — 12
EJ Tackett — 11
Jakob Butturff — 6
Six tied — 5
It shouldn’t have been a surprise that the US Open title came down to Belmonte, Simonsen and Tackett. And it shouldn’t have been a surprise to see any one of them win the title.
The surprise, perhaps, is how Simonsen won.
I listened to Dick Allen on KR Strikeforce’s livestream throughout the latter three matches. While Belmonte and Simonsen lost their ball reaction during the semifinal, Allen thought the two were chasing the pattern too far left. He believed the ideal move was to roll the ball a little more, by decreasing axis rotation, to tame the wicked down-lane reaction.
Simonsen, in effect, did exactly that when he balled up from a 900 Global WOLVERINE to a REALITY, which appeared to have some shine. Even if that move was the “correct” decision, it took a massive amount of confidence and courage to make the move when Simonsen did: the 9th frame of a deadlocked semifinal with Belmonte.
After leaving a 10-pin in the 9th, Simonsen buried all three strikes in the tenth. That forced Belmonte to match him strike-for-strike in order to win the match.
Belmonte opted to stick with his Wolverine — it did not work, though his poor execution on his first shot didn’t gave it a chance. “Thought I was going to be clever,” the 14-time major champion later wrote on Facebook. “Turns out I was stupid.”
In the title match, Tackett chose to throw a VENOM SHOCK while playing further left than Simonsen. In the moment, it seemed odd. I really don’t want to play armchair quarterback — he certainly saw something with that motion that he liked in practice — but the strategy forced him to be near-perfect, which he was not.
After the match was mathematically over, Tackett switch to what appeared to be a MYTHIC JACKAL, a stronger ball, and mimicked Simonsen’s line.
The look on Tackett’s face as he struck on his final four shots was one we’ve seen a handful of times over the years, one rife with disappointment and regret.
Simonsen stuck with the REALITY and rolled to victory, 232-165. It cannot be understated how, as Belmonte might say, “bloody brilliant” of a ball change that was, considering the stakes.
At 25 years old, he became the youngest player in PBA history to win three major titles.
After the match, Simonsen shared that his father passed away a few months ago.
“To win another major title in this building,” said Simonsen, who lost his mother before winning the Masters in 2016. “There’s not going to be another place that holds a deeper spot in my heart than Woodland Bowl.”
I wrote yesterday about how incredible this telecast looked on paper. It exceeded all expectations.