Krol runs stepladder to win 2026 USBC Masters in Detroit
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ALLEN PARK, Michigan – Not too long ago, David “Boog” Krol of Springfield, Missouri, wasn’t even sure he belonged on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour.
On Sunday, the 30-year-old two-handed righty proved he doesn’t just belong—he can beat the best in the world on bowling’s biggest stage. Krol edged three-time reigning PBA Player of the Year EJ Tackett of Ossian, Indiana, 196-195, to win the 2026 United States Bowling Congress Masters.
The win gave Krol his third PBA Tour title, his first major championship, and the $100,000 top prize. Tackett earned $50,000 as the runner-up.
Sunday’s stepladder finals aired live on The CW from Strobl Arena inside Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, a legendary venue that’s hosted some of the sport’s most unforgettable moments. It felt only fitting that Krol added another one to the list.
Starting as the No. 5 seed, Krol had the toughest road possible to the title—but he simply went to work.
He opened the stepladder with a strong performance against No. 4 seed Matt Sanders of Evansville, Indiana. After going spare, strike, spare to start, Krol put together a four-bagger in frames four through seven to build a commanding 38-pin lead. Sanders struggled early with two opens in the first five frames and couldn’t recover. Krol cruised to a 216-197 win.
Next up was Jesper Svensson of Sweden, a 14-time PBA Tour winner and two-time major champion. Svensson had gotten the better of Krol earlier in the week, but Sunday was a different story.
After Svensson opened with a double, he managed just two more strikes the rest of the match. Krol took control with a double in the fifth and sixth frames, then shut the door by striking out in the ninth and 10th for a 227-202 victory.
That sent Krol to the semifinal against No. 2 seed Eric Jones of Edmond, Oklahoma.
Jones came out firing with four straight strikes to grab an early 25-pin lead, but things quickly shifted. He opened two of the next three frames, including a missed 2-4-6-10 split and a costly chop on the 1-2-4. Krol took advantage, striking on four of his final seven shots to complete the comeback and win 206-196.
Even after three straight wins, Krol still had one more massive challenge ahead: EJ Tackett.
Tackett didn’t just earn the top seed—he dominated match play, setting a Masters record with a 258.4 average over six matches. With that kind of momentum, most expected him to light up the scoreboard in the title match.
Instead, things got interesting.
Tackett opened with back-to-back misses, failing to convert a 3-10 split in the first frame and leaving just two pins on a 3-6-7-10 in the second. Meanwhile, Krol stayed steady, alternating spares and strikes through his first five frames to take a 12-pin lead.
Krol’s lead shrank after a missed 4-9 split in the sixth, cutting his advantage to just one pin heading into the final frames.
He responded with a clutch double in the seventh and eighth. Tackett struck in the seventh but left a 10-pin in the eighth, giving Krol control.
In the ninth, Krol left a 10-pin but converted it. In the 10th, he struck on his first shot but left a 2-8 on the second. He calmly picked it up and finished with 196.
That left the door open for Tackett.
With a strike in the ninth, Tackett needed two more in the 10th to win and complete the career Grand Slam—something only Mike Aulby, Norm Duke, and Jason Belmonte have done.
After a brief delay due to crowd noise, Tackett reset and delivered a perfect strike on his first shot in the 10th. With everything on the line, he threw another great shot… but the 10-pin stood.
Game over.
Krol had done it.
It took a moment for him to process what had just happened.
“As I sat there, I was thinking I was probably going to finish second again,” Krol said, referencing his runner-up finish the previous week. “Nine times out of 10, he strikes there. He’s the best in the world. I fully expected it.”
But this time, it didn’t fall—and Krol was a major champion.
“This is incredible,” he said. “Winning a title was already amazing, but winning a major? I never even imagined that growing up. I’m just really thankful that everything I’ve done led me here.”
The win also served as redemption.
Just a week earlier, Krol struggled on TV in the Indiana Classic, shooting 136 in the title match and dealing with harsh criticism online. This week, he tuned out the noise.
“Social media can be brutal, so I stayed away from it,” he said. “I came in with a fresh mindset. To run the stepladder and beat the best in the world for my first major… it doesn’t get better than that.”
It was an especially meaningful win at an event that had historically given him trouble.
“I’ve never bowled well at the Masters,” Krol admitted. “It’s one of the toughest events out there. I usually don’t make a run here, so to break through like this—it means everything.”
Jones finished third for $25,000, while Svensson and Sanders earned $15,000 and $10,000, respectively.
The 2026 USBC Masters began earlier in the week with a sold-out field of 390 players. After three five-game qualifying blocks, the top 63 advanced to match play, joining defending champion Gary Haines in a double-elimination bracket. From there, it all led to Sunday’s stepladder finals—and a moment Krol will never forget.
