X Marks the Playoff Spot

S. Samek

The 13th round of action in the PBA Elite League resulted in the final spot of the playoffs being clinched. The LA X faced the Waco Wonders in a win and in situation.

Well, the X took care of business with a 2-0 win over Waco. That means the X clinch the sixth and final playoff spot. They have one more match on Saturday to determine how they finish the year and their seed to for the playoffs.

The Wonders did win their round 14 match over the Kingpins 2-1, however they finished at 3-11 and in last place. They won’t have a chance to defend their title this season.

The Dallas Strikers went 1-1 during round 13 and 14 beating the Atom Splitters and losing to the Muscle. They finished the season 4-10 and missing the playoffs.

The Muscle and Kingpins both finished the season at 8-6. They await their seeding after Saturdays matches.

The Atom Splitters and Lumberjacks are both 8-5 with each playing a match on Saturday. A win for either of them could put them in the second seed for the playoffs.

The High Rollers with a 2-0 win over the Kingpins got their 10th win of the season. At 10-3 with one match to go they can’t be caught. Clinching them the top seed for the playoffs.

2024 PBA Elite League Heading to Final Round of Season

S. Samek

The PBA Elite League is having its final regular season matches this week. Round 13 takes place Today April 22, 2024, and features four matches. Round 14 will also have two matches take place today. The last two matches of the season will take place on April 27th, 2024.

Seeding for the playoffs is mostly what’s up for grabs during the final two rounds of the season. Five of the six playoff spots have already been clinched after 12 rounds of play.

However, with a three-way tie for second place and all of those teams just a game out of first place it’s anyone’s game heading into the final week of the regular season. The Las Vegas High Rollers have the number one seed for the time being. Cana they maintain it heading into playoffs?

One playoff spot is up for the taking though. The LA X seem to be the best position to take that spot. They have four wins so far and a game lead over the Dallas Strikers and a two-game lead over the Waco Wonders with two matches to go. With a round 13 matchup between the X and Wonders an X victory would pretty much eliminate the Wonders from the playoffs.

The Strikers have three wins with two matches to go for a maximum of five wins. Their best shot at the playoffs means they need to win both matches and hope the LA X lose both matches. If they win one and the X win one, they will tie with five wins forcing a tie breaker.

The Waco Wonders would need to win both matches to get to finish the season with four wins. They would need the X to then lose their next match and hope the Strikers lose at least one of their remaining matches. Though if they defeat the LA X during round 13 that could help in cause of the head-to-head tie breaker. If they lose to the X the season is over.

Which team will be the final team to make the PBA Elite League Playoffs?

PBA Elite League Round 10 Concludes in Team Earning Playoff Spots

S. Samek

The PBA Elite League concluded round 10 yesterday with a pair of matches.

The Kingpins defeated the Strikers to move to 7-3. This win also clinched them a playoff spot as one of the top six teams in the league.

The Lumberjacks and High Rollers are also 7-3 and clinched spots in the playoffs as well.

With four more rounds to go three playoff spots are up for grabs. Round 11 is April 3,2024, while round 12 is April 6th and 7th 2024.

Wonders and Kingpins Make Moves

S. Samek

With The PBA Elite League Roster Transaction Window starting the other day, a couple of teams took advantage of it and made roster moves.

The Waco Wonders dropped Ryan Ciminelli and added Zac Wilkins. Wilkins is currently eighth in the 2024 PBA tour points list. Ciminelli was 2023 PBA League MVP. Could the addition of Wilkins be what the Wonders need to get out of last place and sneak into the playoffs?

The New Jersy Kingpins added Cortez Schenck and dropped Kyle Sherman. Schenck is 58th in pints this year but is the current PBA rookie of the year. With the Kingpins currently in third place in the standings will this move be enough to move them past Portland and Las Vegas?

Now that to teams have made moves will others follow, or will the PBA Elite League look the same as it has throughout the season?

PBA Elite League Roster Transaction Window Opens

S. Samek

The PBA Elite League is in full swing with nine and half rounds of play completed. Now teams will have a chance to add to their rosters for the stretch run of the season as we headed into the playoffs.

Trades can be made, and players dropped, or added from a waiver wire. Each team will have a chance to make an add/drop move from the wire in the reverse order of the league draft, giving the Waco Wonders the first opportunity to do so. After each team has gotten to make move additional ones are first come first serve.

With Waco at the bottom of the standings could this make a difference toward getting them into the playoffs, or will the top teams get even better? The final day for roster moves is March 14th. 2024.

PBA Elite League Rounds 9 and 10

S. Samek

Last Night was the next round of PBA Elite League action. Let’s see what happened on the lanes. Note some teams have played 10 matches and some nine so the standings might seem a bit off.

The team to beat is still the Las Vegas High Rollers. They have a record of 7-2 after a win over Dallas, that included a roll-off that ended in a tie and required another roll-off.

Portland moved up the rankings to second at 7-3. The Lumberjacks won in a roll off against New Jersy then repeated the feat against Akron. I would call them my team on the rise for this round.

Next in the standings are the Kingpins, who lost their lone matchup of the night to fall to 6-3. Akron fell to 6-4 with a pair of losses during round nine and 10.

The Motown Muscle improved to 5-5 with a 2-0 record for the night. While the LA X lost both of their matches to drop to 4-6. However, the X are still in the playoffs with the final spot.

Dallas is the first team out with a 2-7 record. Despite a valiant effort against Las Vegas, it wasn’t enough for them to earn a win. Waco is 1-8 after dropping their only match of the night to Motown. Neither of them seem to be finding their footing this season and it wouldn’t surprise me if both of these teams miss the playoffs.

This round seemed to tighten up the standings a bit at the top. Can the High Rollers keep their first-place spot, or will the Lumberjacks take it from them? stay tuned for the next round.

PBA Elite League Round 7/8

S.Samek

The PBA Elite League held rounds seven and eight yesterday. With each team competing in two matches.

The New Jersey Kingpins were in first place heading into the next two rounds. They went 1-1 with a win over Waco 2-0 to extend their winning streak to six matches in a row. The streak came to an end during round eight where they lost in tie breaker roll off to the Atom Splitters. They are 6-2 and still in first place.

The Las Vegas High Rollers won both of their matches to improve to 6-2. The win over the Atom Splitters went to a roll off with Vegas winning by three pins. The record ties them with New Jersy for first place.

The Portland Lumberjacks and Akron Atom Splitters are tied at 5-3. Akron went 1-1 , while Portland went 2-0 this stop.

The LA X are next at 4-4 after a 1-1 stop. The Motown Muscle fell to 3-5 after going 1-1 as well. They are currently the sixth and final team in the playoffs.

The Dallas Strikers went 0-2 and fell to 2-6 in the standings. Waco matched the 0-2 mark for the round, but sit at 1-7 overall and sit in last place.

Rounds nine and 10 are next week February 27th in Delaware. Can the Kingpins, or High Rollers move into sole position of first place? Will a new team emerge to challenge them?

PBA Elite League Round Five and Six

S. Samek

The PBA Elite League held rounds five and six of play last night. Let’s take a look at what happened during the rounds.

The New Jersey Kingpins took both of their matches to move to 5-1. They have won five matches in a row and have the best match record of any team in the league to this point.

The Las Vegas High Rollers went 1-1 with a win over Portland and a loss to New Jersey. They are tied in the standings with Akron at 4-2. The Atom Splitters also went 1-1 last night.

Portland is 3-3 after an 0-2 night. They are tied with the LA X in the standings after the X went 1-1 during the night.

The Dallas Strikers took both of their matches to improve to 2-4 on the year. They sit tied in the standings with Motown, who went 1-1 during the round. However, thanks to a better pinfall total have the last playoff spot through about half the season.

Waco sits in last place with a 1-5 record. They join Motown as the two teams out of the playoff at the moment. The season still has eight more matches to go before the playoffs.

PBA Elite League Draft Recap

S. Samek

Yesterday I mentioned the PBA was holding their draft. Here’s what went down during the draft.

The LA X had the top pick and selected Dom Barrett with the first overall pick. Tomas Käyhkö, Darren Tang and Keven Williams would then go on to join the X in later rounds.

The Waco Wonders are the defending champions of the event but will have a brand-new team in 2024. Stu Williams, Mitch Hupé, DJ Archer and Tom Hess join Paker Bohn III and Ryan Ciminelli in the quest to defend the title.

Portland on the other hand got to bring back their entire roster. They made the finals of the Elias Cup in 2023 losing to Waco.

PBA Player of the year in 2023 EJ Tackett, who leads the Motown Muscle will be joined by his brother Zac, who will make his PBA League debut this year.

Rosters were extended to six this year, giving each team four picks to go along with two protected players. Trades can also be made until December 23rd. The PBA League starts on January 9th, 2024.

PBA Elite League Draft

S. Samek

Tonight is the draft for the 2024 PBA Elite League. The now eight teams will make selections to round out their teams. Each team was able to protect two players, while the rest go into the draft pool. The LA X will have the top pick in each round. The usual snake draft format is out in favor of the more traditional style draft.

Bowl TV will have the coverage at 8PM est.