Tackett tops Belmonte in 3-game final match

EJ Tackett of Huntington, Ind., defeated Australian Jason Belmonte for the first time in a championship match and won the inaugural Main Event PBA Tour Finals on Saturday in Orlando.

Tackett, 24, prevailed against Belmonte by a combined score of 666-628 in the three-game final at the Main Event Entertainment center.

Belmonte is a three-time PBA Player of the Year.

“We’re pretty good friends, but I think there’s going to be a rivalry there,” said Tackett, the reigning PBA Player of the Year. “He’s been bowling really well for a long time, but over the last year or so, I’ve done really well so I look forward to us meeting up in the years to come.’’

Eight bowlers vied for the $30,000 winner’s share in the two-day Main Event PBA Tour Finals. The total purse was $75,000. Tackett, Belmonte and the other bowlers — Dom Barrett, Jesper Svensson, Anthony Simonsen, Ryan Ciminelli, Tommy Jones and Sean Rash — qualified based on their combined PBA earnings from 2015, 2016 and through the U.S. Bowling Congress Masters event in Las Vegas on Feb. 26.

Belmonte, a four-time USBC Masters winner, earned the top seed as he has accumulated $352,967 in earnings over the past 21⁄2 years. Tackett was the second seed with $319,690 earned.

“You’ve always got to learn from your mistakes,” said Belmonte, who has won 14 PBA Tour titles. “I had about 11 of them in that final match. I’ll look at the tape, go back to the drawing board and figure out what happened. EJ is in the form of his life, and I’m sure we’ll see each other in championship matches moving forward.”

In a stepladder final earlier Saturday, Jones defeated Barrett (214-212) and Ciminelli (290-248) to earn a duel with Tackett for a spot in the championship match. After an early deficit, Tackett prevailed 470-396 over three games.

The championship is already the eighth of Tackett’s young career, including two major titles. He joined the PBA Tour in 2012, and this victory pushed him past $500,000 in career earnings. Tackett sits at $508,352. Belmonte beat Svensson in the other stepladder final.

The tournament will be shown by CBS Sports Network on five consecutive Tuesday nights, beginning on May 30.