An intense, season-long competition to qualify for the inaugural PBA Playoffs at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine, beginning on April 8 will reach its conclusion next week in the United States Bowling Congress Masters, the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour’s fourth major championship and a Tier 1 points event in the PBA Playoffs scenario.

With 7,500 points awaiting the Masters champion, and significant points at stake throughout the Masters’ final standings, how players perform at the Gold Coast Bowling Center in Las Vegas next week may prove pivotal in not only earning berths in the 24-player PBA Playoffs field, but in other related competitions:

• The top eight in points at the conclusion of the Masters on April 1 will earn byes for the first round of the single-elimination PBA Playoffs match play competition. Australia’s Jason Belmonte has locked up the No. 1 berth, but the next seven positions are still up for grabs.

• The top 24 in points also earn berths in the PBA Playoffs.

• The top 40 in points will be eligible to participate in the 2019 PBA League draft that will take place on April 8 at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine.

• 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour points through the Masters will be combined with 2018 points to determine the eight players who will compete in the Barbasol PBA Tour Finals July 19-21 at Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa in Las Vegas.

• 2019 points will qualify players for priority entries into future PBA Tour events.

• Points status will be an important factor in consideration for 2019 PBA Player and Rookie of the Year voting at the end of the year.

Heading into the Masters, the top 40 in PBA competition points are listed below. A number of additional players could advance based upon how they finish in the Masters. For the complete 2019 points standings, click here: https://www.pba.com/SeasonStats/PointsList/132?list=1.

The USBC Masters will conclude with a live two-hour telecast on FS1 on Sunday, April 1, at 9 p.m. Eastern.

PBA PLAYOFFS POINTS STANDINGS

(As of Thursday, March 21)

1, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 29,210

2, EJ Tackett, Bluffton, Ind., 17,715

3, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 17,160

4, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 16,960

5, Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas, 15,775

6, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 13,450

7, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 13,065

8, Tom Daugherty, Tampa, Fla., 12,885

9, Kris Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 12,180

10, Dick Allen, Lexington, S.C., 11,985

11, Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 10,640

12, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 10,615

13, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 9,818

14, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 9,658

15, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 9,595

16, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 9,585

17, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 8,600

18, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 8,508

19, Dom Barrett, England, 8,010

20, DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 7,915

21, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 7,420

22, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 7,190

23, Patrick Girard, Canada, 6,870

24, AJ Chapman, Wichita, Kan., 6,865

25, Brad Miller, Lees Summit, Mo., 6,850

26, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 6,830

27, Darren Tang, San Francisco, 6,685

28, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa., 6,398

29, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 6,325

30, Nicholas Pate, Inver Grove Heights, Minn., 6,225

31, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 5,918

32, Stuart Williams, England, 5,900

33, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 5,873

34, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 5,725

35, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 5,440

36, Matthew McNiel, Minneapolis, Minn., 5,310

37, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 5,273

38, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 5,105

39, Matthew Ogle, Louisville, Ky., ,4955

40, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 4,880

41, Zacharay Wilkins, Canada, 4,835

42, Richie Teece, England, 4,623

43, Sam Cooley, Australia, 4,608

44, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 4,353

45, Sean Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 4,095

46, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 4,040

47, Mitch Hupe, Canada, 4,038

48, Francois Lavoie, Canada, 3,938

49, Michael Tang, San Francisco, 3,845

50, Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., 3,660