David "Boog" Krol of Springfield, Missouri, poses with the trophy shortly after winning the 2026 USBC Masters, which was contested at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Michigan. Krol topped EJ Tackett of Ossian, Indiana, 196-195, at Strobl Arena on Sunday to collect his first career major championship victory.

FULL RESULTS

ALLEN PARK, Michigan – There was a time not all that long ago when David “Boog” Krol of Springfield, Missouri, wasn’t sure he had what it takes to compete on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour.

On Sunday, the 30-year-old two-handed righty proved that he doesn’t just belong; he’s capable of going up against and beating the best in the world on bowling’s biggest stages as he defeated three-time reigning PBA Player of the Year EJ Tackett of Ossian, Indiana, 196-195, to win the 2026 United States Bowling Congress Masters.

The victory earned Krol his third PBA Tour title, first major championship and the Masters’ $100,000 first-place prize. Tackett walked away with $50,000 for placing second.

Sunday’s stepladder finals were broadcast live on The CW and took place at Strobl Arena inside Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Michigan, a hallowed venue that has been the site of some of bowling’s most memorable performances. It seemed fitting then that Krol should author an effort that will be talked about for years to come.

He entered the stepladder finals as the No. 5 seed, which meant having to navigate the longest and most difficult path to the winner’s circle. The task may have seemed daunting to some athletes, but Krol just rolled up his sleeves and went to work.

The afternoon’s first match went relatively smoothly for Krol as he started spare, strike, spare before putting up a four-bagger in frames four through seven to open up a 38-pin lead over No. 4 seed Matt Sanders of Evansville, Indiana, who got into trouble quickly with two opens in the first five frames.

Sanders tried his best to cut into the deficit, but it was to no avail as nine counts in the sixth, eighth and ninth allowed Krol to put the match away prior to the start of the 10th frame. When the final balls had been thrown, Krol was the winner by a final score of 216-197.

Krol’s next opponent was Jesper Svensson of Sweden, a 14-time PBA Tour titlist and two-time major champion.

Svensson beat Krol – as well as Sanders and Brandon Bonta of Wichita, Kansas – during the Elimination Bracket finals on Saturday night, which is why Svensson came to the stepladder as the No. 3 seed while Sanders and Krol were seeded fourth and fifth, respectively.

That all went out the window during Sunday’s stepladder matchup, however, as it was Krol who had his striking shoes on while Svensson struggled to consistently get 10 pins to fall.

After starting Match 2 with a double, Svensson managed just two strikes the rest of the way, one in the sixth frame and the other during his final shot of the match.

Krol, on the other hand, took the lead with a double in the fifth and sixth frames and then proceeded to strike out in the ninth and 10th to close Svensson out, 227-202, and advance to the semifinals.

There, he would face second-seeded Eric Jones of Edmond, Oklahoma, a powerful two-handed lefty whose only match-play loss at this year’s Masters came during Saturday afternoon’s head-to-head bout against Tackett for the stepladder finals’ top seed.

Jones came out swinging during Sunday’s semifinal battle with Krol, starting the match with four strikes in a row to quickly establish a 25-pin lead.

The tide turned shortly thereafter though as Jones opened two of the next three frames, failing to convert a 2-4-6-10 split in the fifth frame and chopping the 1-2-4 in the seventh.

That was all the opportunity Krol needed as he struck on four of his last seven shots to complete the comeback and emerge with a 10-pin victory, 206-196.

Despite having three wins already in his pocket by that point, Krol’s heaviest lifting still lay ahead as the best player in the world was waiting for him in the championship match.

Tackett didn’t just earn the top seed for Sunday’s stepladder finals, he authored a performance for the ages while securing it, setting a new Masters match-play record by averaging 258.4 over the course of six matches at Thunderbowl on Friday and Saturday – Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas was the previous record holder with match-play average of 250.4.

Tackett struck on more than 80 percent of his deliveries during that incredible run, so the capacity crowd inside Strobl Arena likely expected the 33-year-old right-hander to light the scoreboard up early and often during Sunday’s title match.

That wasn’t how things played out though as Tackett began the title tilt against Krol with back-to-back open frames, failing to run down the 3-10 baby split in the first frame and knocking down just two pins of the 3-6-7-10 in the second.
 
Meanwhile, Krol remained steady, alternating between spares and strikes during each of his first five frames to take a 12-pin lead at the halfway point of the match.

Krol’s advantage would diminish shortly thereafter though as he left a 4-9 split in the sixth frame, which he was unable to cover up. That trimmed the Missouri native’s lead to just one pin heading into the final four frames of the match.

Krol bounced back from the split by recording a clutch double in frames seven and eight.

Tackett struck in the seventh frame, but a 10-pin in the eighth halted his momentum and put Krol in charge of his own destiny. If he could strike in the ninth frame and on the first shot in the 10th, he’d shut Tackett out and win the match.

But Krol didn’t strike; instead, he left a 10-pin in the ninth frame, which he promptly picked up.

The chance to shut Tackett out was off the table at that point, but Krol could strike on his last three shots to force Tackett to do the same to tie the match at 206 and force a one-ball roll-off.

Krol delivered the first strike during the final frame, but his second delivery entered the 1-3 pocket light and left the 2-8.

Once again, Krol was up to the challenge when it came to the spare, which he converted to post a final score of 196.

Tackett had a score of 146 in the eighth frame with a strike in the ninth. That meant that if he could double in the 10th, he’d go around Krol to win the match and the Masters title, which would allow him to become just the fourth player in PBA history to complete the career grand slam, joining Mike Aulby of Indianapolis, Norm Duke of Clermont, Florida, and Australia’s Jason Belmonte.

Tackett was distracted by unruly fans prior to his first delivery, which prompted him to set his ball down and restart his pre-shot routine.

After the brief pause, the refocused Tackett stepped up and delivered a no-doubt strike to start his 10th frame, which placed him on the doorstep of PBA history while moving Krol to the brink of elimination.

As the crowd held its collective breath, Tackett glided toward the foul line and unleashed another powerful shot, posting up the finish as his ball raced toward the pins.

The shot hit flush in the 1-3 pocket just as the one before it had, but this time the 10-pin refused to fall. The crowd groaned and Tackett crouched down and stared at the pins in disbelief, but it didn’t matter. The match was over, and Krol was the Masters champion thanks to a heart-stopping 196-195 victory.

It took Krol a moment to come to grips with what he was seeing as he fully expected Tackett to strike and claim the title for himself.

“As I sat there, I was just thinking that I was definitely okay with taking second place for two events in a row,” Krol said, referring to his second-place finish at last week’s PBA Indiana Classic and the runner-up position he’d have been forced to accept had Tackett struck. “Nine times out of 10, he’s going to strike there to beat me. He’s the best in the world, and he’s done things like that inside that very arena. I fully expected him to get that strike and the career grand slam.”

But Tackett’s shot, though stellar, didn’t strike, so instead of having to talk himself into being okay with another near miss, Krol was left to ponder what it means to add his name to the distinguished list of Masters champions.

“This is incredible; it’s something I thought would never happen,” Krol said. “I thought being a titlist was pretty cool, but being a major champion is something I couldn’t even imagine growing up.

“I watch all these guys on TV winning major after major, and some of the best in the world have won this event. I’m just super thankful that the life decisions I’ve made have brought me here.”

In addition to gratitude, Sunday’s victory also served as vindication for Krol.

He was the top seed for the Indiana Classic stepladder finals, but he struggled during the telecast, shooting 136 to lose the title to Marshall Kent of Yakima, Washington, who won the match despite scoring just 152 himself.

Krol not only was forced to endure his own disappointment after that performance, but he was also greeted with countless unkind comments on social media. As such, he came to Detroit for Masters week just hoping to get the bad taste out of his mouth.

“The comments on social media are ruthless, so I stayed away from social media for a bit this week,” Krol said. “Still, I came here with a brand-new mindset and just tried to remember that it was a new event. To come here, run the stepladder and beat the best in the world to get my first major, I don’t think there’s any better feeling. Hopefully some of those commenters were watching.”

What felt even better for Krol than quieting the keyboard warriors was finding success at an event that has traditionally given him trouble.

“I’ve never had much success at the Masters,” Kroll said. “I think it’s simultaneously one of the hardest and easiest tournaments to win because there is so much luck of the draw in the bracket. It’s basically two events in one, and I usually goose-egg it. This event had always haunted me, so breaking though here is definitely the most rewarding win I have in my book.”

Despite falling short on Sunday, Jones, Svensson and Sanders also were rewarded. Jones earned $25,000 for his third-place finish while Svensson and Sanders walked away with $15,000 and $10,000, respectively.

The 2026 USBC Masters kicked off at Thunderbowl Lanes on Tuesday with a sold-out field of 390 athletes. All competitors completed three five-game qualifying blocks on the 41-foot 2026 Masters oil pattern.

At the end of Thursday’s final qualifying block, the top 63 players in the standings joined 2025 champion Gary Haines of Babylon, New York, in the double-elimination bracket for match play. Matches followed a three-game, total-pinfall format and were contested on Friday and Saturday until the five stepladder finalists were determined.

The 2026 USBC Masters marked the return of the traditional five-player stepladder finals format for the live television broadcast, which meant the top seed for the finals needed to be defeated only once during the championship match.

All rounds leading up to the televised finals were streamed live exclusively on BowlTV.

CLICK HERE for more information on the USBC Masters.