ATX Invite Countdown: No. 2 EJ Tackett
ATX Invite Countdown: No. 2 EJ Tackett
With six top 10 finishes in nine events, EJ Tackett had a lot of strong showings this summer but came away without a win to show for it.
The inaugural FloBowling ATX Invite will take place Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. Eastern with the top eight players from the FloBowling PBA Summer Tour competing for a top prize of $25,000. To get you prepared for the competition, we are taking a closer look at each of the players in the field.
EJ Tackett
Hometown: Bluffton, Indiana
Age: 27
ATX Seed: No. 2
First-round opponent: No. 7 Kyle Sherman
How he advanced: Second in Summer Tour points with 8,670
Summer Tour recap
With six top 10 finishes in nine events, Tackett had a lot of strong showings this summer but came away without a win to show for it.
At the PBA Summer Swing, Tackett bowled for the title in the PBA Bear Open and the PBA Illinois Open and finished second both times. He lost to Anthony Simonsen in double overtime in the Bear final and then fell to Jason Sterner to close out the Illinois Open.
When asked after the Summer Swing how the two second-place finishes affected his confidence, he said he never has an issue being sure of his abilities.
“It’s going to come off egotistical, but I never really lack confidence in myself,” Tackett said. “Even if I know I’m not bowling my best, I know I can just show up and it can come together that week. You never know until you show up.”
Tackett started the PBA Summer Tour with a third-place finish at the PBA Lubbock Sports Shootout. After finishing a season-worst 102nd at the PBA Chesapeake Open, he rebounded to take sixth at the PBA Wilmington Open and fifth at the PBA Gene Carter’s Pro Shop Classic.
The FloBowling ATX Invite will be broadcast live exclusively on FloBowling. The action begins with the opening round of the bracket at 2 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 21 and the best-of-three final starting at approximately 5 p.m. Eastern.
Here’s a look at the schedule of matches with all times listed in Eastern:
Saturday, Sept. 21
Opening round (one game matches)
2 p.m. - Match 1: #1 Sean Rash vs. #8 Tommy Jones
2:30 p.m. - Match 2: #4 Jason Sterner vs. #5 AJ Johnson
3 p.m. - Match 3: #2 EJ Tackett vs. #7 Kyle Sherman
3:30 p.m. - Match 4: #3 Anthony Simonsen vs. #6 Bill O'Neill
Semifinals (one game matches)
4 p.m. - Semifinal 1: Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner
4:30 p.m. - Semifinal 2: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner
Final (best-of-three match)
5 p.m. - Final: Semifinal 1 winner vs. Semifinal 2 winner