BRACKETS

LAS VEGAS – Only 32 players remain in contention for the 2024 USBC Masters title at Suncoast Bowling Center in Las Vegas with one more day of match play to go.

DeeRonn Booker of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is one of those athletes who will continue their quest for the major title.

Booker’s first match on Thursday was not an easy one as he went up against No. 7 seed Giorgio Clinaz of Brigham City, Utah, in a neck-and-neck battle that went down to the final frame of the three-game match.

Clinaz finished first, posting a 623 series for the match, which forced Booker to record a mark and good count on the fill ball to move on. He did just that, picking up a 10 pin and then striking to end with 629 and move on to the Round of 32 of the Winners Bracket.

Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas was his opponent, and the battle between Booker and the defending Masters champion was yet another close one as just two pins separated the pair heading into the final game of the match with Booker holding a slim lead (418-416).

The third game saw Booker miss a single-pin spare early, but Simonsen had two splits of his own that he was unable to convert. Booker, meanwhile, had a little luck on his side as his first strike in the 10th frame went high and tripped the 6-10 out to fully lock up the win and move Booker on to the next round of the Winners Bracket to face Jake Peters of Henderson, Nevada.

Meanwhile, Simonsen’s quest for a third-straight Masters title ended after he fell to Zach Wilkins of Canada (698-640) one round later in the Contenders Bracket.

Among those still alive in the Winners Bracket, only Jason Belmonte of Australia and EJ Tackett of Ossian, Indiana, have experience winning major tournaments, and they will be facing off in the third round Friday morning, which will put yet another major player in the Contenders Bracket no matter what.

Ryan Barnes of Denton, Texas, continues to win as he defeated Ildemaro Ruiz of Venezuela and AJ Chapman of Double Oak, Texas, to earn the right to face off against Sean Lavery-Spahr of Pasadena, Texas, in Round 3. 

The possibility of an all-Barnes Round-3 matchup was on the table and would’ve occurred if Ryan’s father Chris Barnes, also of Denton, Texas, had beaten Lavery-Spahr in Round 2, but Chris fell to the Contenders Bracket after coming up on the short end of a 651-623 decision.

Zac Tackett of Decatur, Indiana, is also still alive in the Winners Bracket, first narrowly besting Maxime Dubois of France by four pins (565-561) before taking down No. 1 seed Markus Jansson of Sweden by 90 pins (712-622) in the Round of 32. 

That sets up the possibility of an all-Tackett match, but that will only be possible if both players make it to the final two in the Winners Bracket as they are on opposite sides of the bracket.

Sam Cooley of Australia, who led the 465-player field during Day 2 of Qualifying on Tuesday, is currently averaging over 247 through two rounds of match play. 

Cooley won matches against Bailey Maverick of Peru, Indiana (778-685), and Zach Weidman of Indianapolis (706-651) to keep himself in the Winners Bracket heading into Friday. Cooley is seeking his first major title.

In the Contenders Bracket, many notable names are still in the hunt, including Justin Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey, AJ Johnson of Kenosha, Wisconsin, Francois Lavoie of Canada, Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio, and Chris Barnes. 

Bohn had one of the most thrilling matches to start the day as he was attempting to upset No. 1 seed Jansson, but a brutal 4-9 split in the 10th frame of the final game sent him to the Contenders Bracket. 

Bohn recovered, however, knocking out Dubois (694-636) and Frank Testa of Massillon, Ohio, to stay alive and earn the right to face Johnson Friday morning.

Lavoie began match play against 2018 Masters winner Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan, and quickly fell behind after Game 1 of the match, down 129 pins. Lavoie refused to give up, however, clawing his way back to win over Anderson (646-639) before falling to Tyler Cortez Schenck of Phoenix in the next round (683-639) to go down to the Contenders Bracket. 

Lavoie won his Contenders match to close out the action Thursday night and will now go up against Weidman.

All bowlers still alive in both brackets will come back Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern to bowl and will dwindle down until the Winners Bracket has the final two bowlers and the Contenders Bracket has the final four remaining. 

The two players in the Winners Bracket will bowl for the No. 1 seed on the television show while the four in the Contenders Bracket will bowl for seeds three through five.

The stepladder finals of the 2024 event will be contested on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Eastern on FOX, with the champion taking home a spot in the tournament’s storied history, a major title on the PBA Tour and the $100,000 top prize. All competition leading up to the televised finals will be streamed live only on BowlTV.

For more information on the USBC Masters, visit BOWL.com/Masters.