Kyle Troup Wins First Major Title at PBA Players Championship

Top seed Kyle Troup bowled a 257 game to win the PBA Players Championship for his first career major title, defeating third seed Dick Allen in the championship match. Troup’s seventh overall PBA Tour title earned him a PBA record-tying $250,000 first-place prize.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Troup. “Hard work pays off. I felt very confident in my ball reaction and the angle I was playing. I didn’t really feel nervous at all. I stayed focused and the pressure and the nerves kind of went away.”

Like Troup, Allen was also seeking his first career major title. Allen defeated Tom Smallwood and François Lavoie to get to the championship match, then took an early lead over Troup.

“I had two misses in the first four frames,” said Troup. “There can be some thoughts going through my head like, oh no, what’s going on here? But I just told myself to keep my mind forward and my eyes forward. Keep working, keep pushing, believe in yourself.”

When Allen left a 10-pin in the seventh frame, giving Troup a one-pin advantage, Troup knew the outcome was in his hands.

“I try not to pay attention to the score and just make the best shot I can make,” said Troup. “But I knew once I had that advantage and I could strike out to win, the only thing I was thinking was you don’t hope to win, you expect to win. I expected Dick Allen to strike out and force me to strike out, so I was expecting to have to throw all of them.”

In the ninth frame, Allen left a 7-10 split, easing the burden on Troup. Troup struck in his half of the ninth, then clinched the title with a strike in the 10th frame.

Troup was the top seed throughout every round of the PBA Players Championship. He led all East Region qualifiers through 28 games of qualifying to earn the top seed in the East Region Finals, in which he defeated Michael Davidson to advance to the PBA Players Championship Finals. Then, he led the three-game, total-pinfall seeding round held last night, rolling a 741 series to clinch a spot in the title match.

“After I won the region, I went home and relaxed for a couple days,” said Troup. “Then it was time to buckle down. Keep competing. Keep practicing. A lot of self-talk and self-belief. I knew I had to go to work to take this next step in my career.”

By earning his seventh career title and first major, Troup also qualifies for the first spot in the PBA Super Slam, which will feature all five 2021 major winners and air April 18 on FOX Broadcast Channel.

PBA Players Championship Final Standings

Bowlero Jupiter – Jupiter, Fla.

1. Kyle Troup, earns $250,000
2. Dick Allen, $130,000
3. François Lavoie, $80,000
4. Tom Smallwood, $60,000
5. Anthony Simonsen, $50,000

Match Scores

Match 1 – No. 4 Smallwood def. No. 5 Simonsen, 278-225
Match 2 – No. 3 Allen def. No. 4 Smallwood, 216-195
Match 3 – No. 3 Allen def. No. 2 Lavoie, 244-227
Match 4 – No. 1 Troup def. No. 3 Allen, 257-212

Storm Equinox Hybrid Bowling Ball Review: Solarion A.I. Core + A2S Hybrid Coverstock

By Brian Halstrom, BowlersMart Editorial Team. Specs on this page are verified against Storm’s official [...]

1 Comment

14
Aug

PBA ELITE Regional Tour: A Bigger Prize Pool, a Shorter Schedule, and the Questions Nobody Has Answered Yet

By Brian Halstrom, BowlersMart Editorial Team | Published August 2026 Regional bowling just got its [...]

04
Aug

We Mapped Every Bowling Center in America: Meet Lane Finder, Free for Every Bowler

By Brian Halstrom, BowlersMart Editorial Team | Published July 2026 Try asking the internet a [...]

27
Jul

National Bowling Day 2026: Bowling’s Biggest Day Turns 70 on August 8

By Brian Halstrom, BowlersMart Editorial Team | Published July 2026 Bowling gets one day a [...]

27
Jul

AMF Gets a New Look: What Lucky Strike’s Brand Refresh Means for League Bowlers

By Brian Halstrom, BowlersMart Editorial Team | Published July 2026 The AMF name is not [...]

21
Jul

SWAG Bowling Drops 6 New Balls for July 2026

By Brian Halstrom, BowlersMart Editorial Team | July 2026 SWAG Bowling’s July 2026 drop is [...]

20
Jul

SWAG Insanity Hybrid Bowling Ball Review: A Brand-New Core for the Value Line, in Every Weight

By Brian Halstrom, BowlersMart Editorial Team. Specs on this page are verified against SWAG’s official [...]

20
Jul

SWAG Insanity Pearl Bowling Ball Review: Clean Fronts, Crisp Backend, in Every Weight

By Brian Halstrom, BowlersMart Editorial Team. Specs on this page are verified against SWAG’s official [...]

20
Jul