Smallwood Pulls Off Big Upset As PBA Playoffs Quarters Set
Smallwood Pulls Off Big Upset As PBA Playoffs Quarters Set
Tom Smallwood became the lowest-seeded player to reach the 2020 PBA Playoffs quarterfinals as he upset EJ Tackett in the Round of 16.
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CENTREVILLE, Va. – Tom Smallwood became the lowest-seeded player to reach the 2020 PBA Playoffs quarterfinals as he upset EJ Tackett in the Round of 16 in a show that aired Sunday night.
Smallwood, who entered the event ranked No. 14, took down the third-ranked Tackett, 234-227, to advance into the final eight at Bowlero Centreville.
Also advancing on Sunday’s show were Bill O’Neill, Kyle Troup and Brad Miller. Jason Belmonte, Francois Lavoie, Anthony Simonsen and Kris Prather previously advanced into the quarterfinals.
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Smallwood continued his run at the Playoffs despite trailing by 32 pins after four frames after he left the 2-4-8 for an open.
By the time he threw a strike in the eighth frame, Tackett held a 22-pin lead, but he wouldn’t strike again. Smallwood, meanwhile, needed a strike and six pins in the final frame and got the job done.
After missing the 2-4-8 in the fourth frame, Smallwood struck on his next six shots, including the clincher in the 10th frame, to secure the comeback victory.
Tackett started with the front three but left four 10 pins in the next seven frames in the loss.
Miller, who was seeded No. 11 coming into the event, joined Smallwood as the only other double-digit seed to advance into the quarterfinals.
Miller took down lefty Jesper Svensson, 236-223, in a tense match. In the 10th frame, Miller needed a strike and nine pins to secure the win and popped a clutch double.
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Nick Pate, the No. 23 seed, had a chance for a major upset against Troup. With a double in the final frame, he could have sent the pick packing but a ring 10 ended his hopes as Troup won 223-214.
In the opening match on the show, O’Neill fell behind by a stick halfway through the match but pulled away down the stretch to beat AJ Johnson, 234-190.
O’Neil left the Big Four in the fifth for an open but then rattled off four consecutive strikes, while Johnson only struck once during that stretch. O’Neill just needed count in the 10th frame and a Brooklyn got the job done.
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The quarterfinals will air Sunday at 2 p.m. Eastern on FS1 (U.S.) and FloBowling (international) with the semifinals and final scheduled to air immediately after at 4 p.m. Eastern.
Here are the quarterfinals matchups: Belmonte vs. Lavoie, Simonsen vs. Prather, O’Neill vs. Troup and Miller vs. Smallwood.
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