INDIANAPOLIS (March 8, 2020) – Sweden’s Jesper Svensson and fellow two-hander Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, North Carolina, defeated EJ Tackett of Bluffton, Indiana and Marshall Kent of Yakima, Washington, 234-205, in the Baker format title match to win the Mark Roth-Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship which aired Sunday on FS1 from Royal Pin Woodland.

For both Svensson and Troup it was their second title of the 2020 Go Bowling PBA Tour season, but for the 25-year-old Svensson, his 10th career title made him title-eligible for eventual election to the PBA Hall of Fame. He is the third youngest player to achieve that feat, behind Anthony Simonsen and Tackett who reached the PBA Hall of Fame minimum titles eligibility criteria at ages 22 and 24, respectively. All three have a lengthy wait ahead in reaching the 20-year PBA membership criteria, however. Tackett will be eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot for induction in 2032, Simonsen in 2033 and Svensson, the first Swedish player to earn HOF eligibility, in 2034.

Svensson won the Go Bowling PBA Indianapolis Open for back-to-back titles while Troup earned his fifth career title after winning the Jonesboro Open earlier this season.

The 2017 Roth-Holman Doubles champions held an eight-pin lead in the eighth frame of the title match but Tackett and Kent, working on a double, could have put the pressure on with at least one more strike in the 10th. Kent couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity, however, pulling his shot slightly, leaving the 3-10 split and failing to convert the spare. Svensson kept it interesting when he left the difficult 2-4-7-8 in the ninth frame, but he converted the spare and Troup then struck on the first ball of the 10th frame to secure the win.

“I suppose it was only fair that I did the work this time,” said the 28-year-old Troup, who is the son of eight-time PBA Tour winner Guppy Troup. “For the rest of the tournament I was just trying to keep up with Jesper because he was striking so much.”

“I think we’re one of the strongest doubles teams out here,” Svensson added. “We established pretty early on that we were going to be the ones to beat. As one of the best teams out here, the other guys know they are going to have to bowl their best to beat us.”

Svensson and Troup dominated the Baker match play rounds, earning the top seed for the finals with a 13-3 record and 11,080 pinfall total for a whopping 582-pin lead over No. 2 qualifiers Tackett and Kent.

The same two teams met in the 2017 title match when Svensson and Troup defeated Tackett and Kent, 279-195, in Portland, Maine.

“I told Jesper after we won in 2017 that we were going to be doubles partners for 25 years and now we have 21 to go,” Troup said. “We’ve been looking forward to this tournament for a long time because we know going in we’re going to be tough to beat.”

Both players stressed the importance of team chemistry in being successful competing in the Baker format competition that requires each player to bowl alternate frames to combine for one score.

“It’s hard to put into words how proud I am of what we did as a unit,” Svensson said. “A match on TV goes by so fast when you bowl 10 frames by yourself, but then when you only have five frames it can be over before you know it, so you have to make the most of the five shots you have to bowl.”

In the semifinal match, Tackett and Kent defeated No. 5 qualifiers Dom Barrett of England and Simonsen of Little Elm, Texas, 263-190, to advance to the title match. The FS1 telecast opened with Simonsen and Barrett beating No. 4 qualifiers Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Arizona and Finland’s Osku Palermaa, 237-236, in the first match when Simonsen converted a 10 pin on his second shot in the 10th frame. Barrett and Simonsen then beat No. 3 qualifiers Kris Prather of Plainfield, Illinois and Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan in the second match, 226-190, to advance to the semifinal match.

The 2020 Go Bowling PBA Tour season continues with the PBA World Series of Bowling which began Sunday at the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas. The finals of all four PBA Tour title events that are part of WSOB XI will air live on FS1 – the Go Bowling PBA Cheetah Championship, March 15 (1:30 p.m. ET); Chameleon Championship, March 16 (8 p.m. ET), Scorpion Championship, March 17 (8 p.m. ET), PBA World Championship, March 18 (8 p.m. ET). The USA vs. The World special team event will conclude the World Series on March 19 (8 p.m. ET).

MARK ROTH-MARSHALL HOLMAN PBA DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP

(a 2020 Go Bowling PBA Tour Tier 3 event)

Royal Pin Woodland, Indianapolis (aired Sunday on FS1)

Final Standings:

1, Jesper Svensson, Sweden/Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., $30,000.

2, EJ Tackett, Bluffton, Ind./Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., $15,000.

3, Dom Barrett, England/Anthony Simonsen, Little Elm, Texas, $13,000

4, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich./Kris Prather, Plainfield, Ill., $12,000.

5, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz./Osku Palermaa, Finland, $11,000.

Stepladder Results:

Match One – Barrett/Simonsen def. Butturff/Palermaa, 237-236.

Match Two – Barrett/Simonsen def. Anderson/Prather, 226-190.

Semifinal Match – Tackett/Kent def. Barrett/Simonsen, 263-190.

Championship – Svensson/Troup def. Tackett/Kent, 234-205.