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Tackett misses third major bowling title by 1 pin recently

Huntington native EJ Tackett narrowly lost the PBA Players Championship on Saturday, Feb. 15, falling to Bill O’Neill, 233-232.

The championship round’s top seed, Tackett took a 135-105 lead on O’Neill through the first five frames of the final round. O’Neill, the third seed, chipped away that deficit, reducing it to just eight pins, 212-204, by the end of the ninth frame. O’Neill then proceeded to fire consecutive strikes in the 10th frame before toppling nine pins to edge Tackett, who logged a spare and a strike in the 10th.

Three rounds of qualifying kicked off the tournament, a PBA major, which started on Sunday, Feb. 9, at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl, in Columbus, OH. Tackett toppled 4,140 pins in those rounds, good for fifth place. Three rounds of match play followed and saw Tackett compile a record of 18-5, with 9,999 pins toppled, elevating him to first place. In the subsequent position round, he defeated Jason Belmonte, 213-201, to secure the top seed in the championship round.

Tackett finished with a 230.33 average. As the tournament’s runner up, he walked away with $38,000 in prize money.

Tackett, 27, has won two majors and 13 tour titles over the course of his PBA career, which started in 2012.

A 2011 graduate of Huntington North High School, Tackett resides in Bluffton.