PBA Tour Playoffs

The 24 participants are chosen and seeded based on points earned in qualifying to-date tournaments of the current season. (For 2019, this included 13 events, from the PBA Hall of Fame Classic through the USBC Masters; for 2020, this included 12 events due to the cancellation of the USBC Masters.) PBA Tour points are awarded on a tier system, as follows:

• Tier 3: PBA short format or limited field tournaments (2500 points for first, and descending thereafter)
• Tier 2: PBA standard tournaments with a fully open field (double the points of Tier 3 events)
• Tier 1: PBA major tournaments (triple the points of Tier 3 events)

The top eight players in points receive byes into the second round (round of 16). The #9 through #24 seeds compete in single-elimination matches (one standard ten-frame game each) to determine who advances to the second round.[2]

For 2019, Round 2 and all subsequent rounds featured double-elimination matches, also known as the "race to two points". Any player winning both games in a match earns two points and advances to the next round. If the match is split one game each, the players bowl a 9th/10th frame roll-off to determine who wins the second point and the right to advance. If the 9th/10th frame roll-off results in a tie, a one-ball, sudden death roll-off is used until a winner is determined. For 2020, only the championship finals used the race to two points format. All other rounds were single-elimination matches.

The PBA Players Committee originally voted to make the Playoffs a non-title event, citing the low number of games bowled as the primary reason.[3] However, on December 6, 2019, the PBA announced that the winner of the 2019 PBA Playoffs would retroactively be awarded a PBA Tour title, and that the winner of the 2020 PBA Playoffs and subsequent events will be credited with a PBA title.[4] As of 2020, winners also receive a WWE championship belt, as part of a cross-promotion with WWE wrestling, which is also broadcast on Fox Sports (current home of the PBA).[5]

The inaugural PBA Playoffs took place April 8–10 and June 1–2, 2019 at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine.[1] The PBA called it the "spotlight event" for its first year of television coverage on Fox Sports.[6] The tournament had a total prize fund of $276,000 with a $100,000 first place prize.[7] The first three “elimination” rounds were held April 8–10, with broadcasts of these events held on eight consecutive Monday nights (April 8 – May 27) on FS1. The final four then competed on live broadcasts held June 1–2 on Fox.[8]

On June 2, 2019, PBA Commissioner Tom Clark announced that the 2020 PBA Tour Playoffs would take place April–May 2020 in four cities, as part of the partnership agreement with Bowlero Corporation (now the parent company of the PBA). However, due to the suspension of the 2020 PBA season in mid-March caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was rescheduled for October 10–12, 2020. All events were held in Centreville, Virginia with no fans in attendance. The opening round on October 10 (Round of 24, Group 1) was broadcast live, with subsequent rounds aired on a tape-delay basis between October 17 and November 8.[10] The overall prize fund was $320,000 (a $44,000 increase over 2019), with a $100,000 winner's share.