Jesper Svensson will look to continue to the trend of top seeds advancing at the 2021 PBA Players Championship when the South Region finals air Sunday.

Joining Svensson on the show, which will air at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday on FS1 (U.S.) and FloBowling (international), will be Cristian Azcona, Ryan Ciminelli, Tom Daugherty and Dick Allen. All five are PBA Tour champions.

The winner of the South will join the four other regional winners – Anthony Simonsen, Francois Lavoie, Tom Smallwood and Kyle Troup – in the finals of the PBA Players Championship.

The five advancers will bowl a seeding round live exclusively on FloBowling at 4 p.m. Eastern on Feb. 20 with the finals taking place Feb. 21 at 12:30 p.m. Eastern live on FOX (U.S.) and FloBowling (international).

Svensson’s two titles in 2020 brought him to 10 in his career, making him performance-eligible for Hall of Fame consideration. A win in the Players Championship would be his second major title, along with the 2016 PBA Tournament of Champions, when Svensson became the youngest ever to win the event.

Second seed Azcona, the first player from Puerto Rico to win a PBA Tour title when he claimed the 2018 PBA Xtra Frame Wilmington Open, battled with Svensson for the top spot throughout qualifying but ultimately finished 10 pins short. Although Azcona is a PBA Tour champion, his win was not televised, so he will be making his first appearance in a televised finals event.

Eight-time PBA Tour champion Ciminelli announced his retirement from full-time PBA competition in 2020, but that didn’t stop him from entering the Players Championship and qualifying third in the South Region. If Ciminelli can get through the region and into the finals, he’ll have a chance to win his second career major title, which would make him eligible for Hall of Fame consideration.

The No. 4 seed, Tom Daugherty is a two-time PBA Tour champion looking to win his first major title. Daugherty has competed in multiple major championship finals telecasts but has yet to finish higher than third, doing so three times, including the 2015 PBA Players Championship. His other third-place major finishes came in the Tournament of Champions, notably his infamous 100 game in 2011 and a loss to Svensson in 2016.

Facing Daugherty in the opening match is Dick Allen, a seven-time winner on the PBA Tour whose championship victories span 17 years. Allen won his first title in 2002 and earned his sixth and seventh titles during the 2019 season. A win in the PBA Players Championship would be Allen’s first career major title. 

Information from a PBA press release was used in this report.