JUPITER, Fla. - For the third straight show, a player without a title made a run into the final match only to be stopped by the top seed at the 2021 PBA Players Championship.

Tom Smallwood continued to success of top seeds as he won the Central Region finals in a show that aired Saturday. Smallwood took down newcomer Zach Weidman, 246-226, and will bowl in the event’s finals on Feb. 21.

Smallwood joins Anthony Simonsen and Francois Lavoie as three of the five players have been determined. The East finals will air Sunday at 2 p.m. Eastern on FS1 (U.S.) and FloBowling (international) and the South finals will air next weekend.

It looked like Smallwood would have his hands full in the final match after Weidman, making his PBA TV debut, shot a blistering 803 in his first three matches.

Smallwood, however, started with the front five to build up a 21-pin lead and never trailed. In the final frame, he needed a mark and tossed a strike to advance.

Weidman looked unstoppable throughout the stepladder but it felt like it was only a matter of time before the transition caught up to him. And it finally did against Smallwood.

The rookie started the match with three consecutive strikes before leaving three straight four pins followed by a seven pin. That was all the cushion Smallwood needed.

In an impressive debut, Weidman defeated three PBA champions as he climbed the ladder. He took down Wes Malott in the first match, 258-237, and then defeated Ronnie Russell, 277-243.

In the third match, Weidman had his closest win, knocking off 2018 PBA Player of the Year Andrew Anderson, 268-265. Needing a strike and nine to close out the win, that’s exactly what Weidman got to advance.