The first PBA Tour event (and first major) of the season is underway, and I've been watching each round closely for the best betting angles based on odds posted at BetRivers Sportsbook.
Qualifying games for the 2026 PBA Players Championship began on Tuesday with 96 bowlers. After finishing 12 games on the Viper 37-foot oil pattern and 12 games on the Badger 50-foot pattern, the field was cut to 32. The advancers bowled six more games - this time on the dual pattern, with Viper applied to one lane and Badger applied to the other. The top 16 after those games moved on to round robin match play. Ultimately, the top five advanced to this Sunday's stepladder finals.
E.J. Tackett held the top spot after 24 games and has never looked back. Graham Fach grabbed the second spot after 30 games and was able to maintain through the 16 games of match play. Meanwhile, Jesper Svensson, Brandon Bonta and Spencer Robarge used strong match play bowling to climb into the top five to make the first finals show with new TV partner The CW.
As I did last season, I'll analyze every win, spread, total and futures bet available on the BetRivers Sportsbook app and identify my favorite bets heading into the stepladder finals all season long. It was a strong, profitable 2025, and I'm expecting more of the same this season!
2026 PBA Players Championship Matchups
Brandon Bonta (-106) over Spencer Robarge
From college teammates at Wichita State University to early PBA Rookie of the Year award favorites, Bonta and Robarge lit it up this week, as both finished nearly 100 pins ahead of sixth place Tim Foy Jr. to make the cut to the final five. With a bigger position round game, either one could have found himself as high as the second seed.
Now they'll go head-to-head in the first match on Sunday. More often than not, I'm going to take the underdog in the fourth seed vs. fifth seed matchup simply because of the value in the number. Both players are clearly among the best of the best, and neither has a clear edge in this spot. Bonta beat Robarge 243-194 in match play.
Brandon Bonta vs. Spencer Robarge over 435.5 (-117)
The line opened at 440.5. At that number, I would have leaned to the under, knowing that scores often skew lower when we get to the TV Finals. However, that line movement is enough for me to shift to the other side. On Friday, Bonta's matches topped this number exactly 50% of the time, while Robarge's matches hit over 69% of the time. That includes the pair putting up a total of 437 when they faced each other in match play. Although both are PBA rookies, they've performed well in plenty of high pressure matches collegiately and for Team USA, so I doubt either will fold and shoot under 210. That means we just need one to top 225, which is a bet I'm willing to take.
All odds via BetRivers Sportsbook as of February 21st 1:30 pm ET
2026 PBA Players Championship Best Bet
EJ Tackett (-139)
I rarely back the favorite when the odds are juiced to worse than -120, but in this case, I'll pay up to invest in the back-to-back-to-back PBA Player of the Year. I'd also consider waiting until just before the championship match and taking EJ against the spread (which I expect to be set at -9.5) to get a better payout.
Not only did Tackett lead all bowlers with a 229.4 average (with Spencer Robarge a distant second best at 225), but he matched Brandon Bonta for the best match play record (11-5). How did Tackett handle his matchups against the other finalists? He went 5-0, outscoring them 1,246 to 1,031.
In four of the past five seasons, the player who wins the first major has gone on to be named PBA Player of the Year. Tackett, the massive favorite (-335) to win the award again before a single ball was rolled, will take that big step forward toward a record-setting fourth consecutive Player of the Year win when he wins this Sunday.
For more picks be sure to follow @RotowireBowling and @TheSpatula300 on X.
2026 PBA Players Championship TV Schedule
All times listed are local (Central Time)
Sunday, February 22nd
PBA Players Championships Finals (LIVE) on The CW: 3 p.m. (Dual Pattern)
