This article is part of our Betting Advice series.
After a three-week break, the PBA is back with the top 8 bowlers in PBA Tour points earned from 2023 and 2024 competing on a dual pattern for a five-show telecast at Steel City Bowl & Brews in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. To add to the intrigue of this event, DraftKings Sportsbook is offering bowling markets for the first time all season! As has been the case all season long, odds are also available on the BetRivers Sportsbook app.
In this unique format, the bowlers will split into two groups of four for the first two shows on Saturday, June 8th. Each group of four players will bowl two full games. The top two 2-game cumulative scores on each show advance to a one-game match to earn their group's top seed (no carry-over pins in the final match). Second place finishers earn the No. 2 seed, and finishers 3 and 4 from the two full games earn seeds 3 and 4.
Sunday's first two shows on CBS Sports Network will consist of group stepladders with the No. 4 vs. No. 3 seeds competing in single game matches with the winner moving on to face the No. 2 seeds in another single game match. The winners will advance to face the No. 1 seeds in a race to two. Winners advance to the championship show.
The final show of the weekend will be another race to 2 for the championship and a $30,000 top prize. (Tiebreak in a single game: one-ball roll-off. Tiebreak in a 1-1 match: 9th/10th-frame roll-off.)
I've identified my favorite Futures Winner bets. Be sure to follow us on X (@RotoWireBowling & @TheSpatula300) for additional free PBA and PWBA picks throughout the season.
PBA Tour Finals Best Futures Bets and Strategy
EJ Tackett to Win (+350 BetRivers)
Last year I made this same prediction, and it may have paid off if it wasn't for a shocking missed ten-pin by Tackett that gave Kyle Troup a Game 2 win. That forced a 9th/10th-frame roll-off that Troup won to advance to the championship.
Before that errant shot Tackett put together a season-long performance that earned him 2023 Player of the Year honors. Since then, he has set himself up to win the award again in 2024. The +350 odds on the BetRivers Sportsbook app versus this eight-man field are intriguing when you consider that he has consistently had the same opening odds throughout the season while competing against rosters of 60-plus bowlers.
Patrick (Packy) Hanrahan to Win (+850 DraftKings)
EJ Tackett and Anthony Simonsen are certainly deserving of their current status as the favorites to win at both DraftKings and BetRivers, but as we saw in last year's PBA Tour Finals, anything can happen when you bring together eight of the best bowlers in the world to compete in just a handful of games. In that event, Troup, the biggest longshot (+900) heading into the tournament ultimately defeated Kris Prather, the second-biggest longshot (+800) in the championship match.
This year Packy Hanrahan represents a great value play on the DraftKings Sportsbook app. Hanrahan is listed at +550 at BetRivers, trailing only Tackett (+350), Simonsen (+400) and Jason Belmonte (+500), while also opening as a much more attractive +850 longshot at DraftKings Sportsbook. Arguably the top lefty in the sport, he's easily my favorite longshot pick to win.
2024 PBA Tour Finals TV Schedule
All times listed are local (Eastern Time)
June 8, 2024
Group 1 Positioning Round: 3 PM on CBS Sports Network
Group 2 Positioning Round: 5 PM on CBS Sports Network
June 9, 2024
Group 1 Stepladder: 2 PM on CBS Sports Network
Group 2 Stepladder: 4 PM on CBS Sports Network
PBA Tour Finals Championship Match: 6 PM on CBS Sports Network
