In a matchup featuring an established star versus a rising star, No. 2 EJ Tackett will take on No. 7 Kyle Sherman in the opening round of the FloBowling ATX Invite in Austin, Texas.

Tackett and Sherman will face off in the third match of the day when the ATX Invite begins at 2 p.m. Eastern on Saturday live on FloBowling. The winner takes on either No. 3 Anthony Simonsen or No. 6 Bill O’Neill in the semifinals.

Tackett had a solid summer season with six Top-10 finishes, but he failed to win a title during that stretch, which included back-to-back second-place finishes at the PBA Bear Open and PBA Illinois Open.

On the other hand, Sherman was able to win his first career title when he teamed up with girlfriend Amanda Greene to win the PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles.

Surprisingly, Sherman’s average finish in summer events was higher than Tackett’s as he had an average finish of 18^th. Tackett’s average was 20^th but was bogged down by a 102^nd-place finish at the PBA Chesapeake Open.

Here’s how they finished in each event this summer:

Despite not getting a win, Tackett amassed $35,600 in earnings over the past couple months, including a $10,000 bonus for finishing second in the USBC Cup prize list. Sherman earned a respectable $20,037.50, which included $10,000 for winning the Mixed Doubles.

Prediction

Tackett will still be fuming about his title-match losses at the PBA Summer Swing, and he will take his frustrations out on Sherman. Prediction: Tackett by 22.