Rising star E.J. Tackett (pictured left) of Huntington, Ind., earned the top seed for Sunday's stepladder finals at the 2014 United States Bowling Congress Masters by going undefeated in six bracket matches.

Tackett, the Professional Bowlers Association's Rookie of the Year last season, defeated Michael Haugen Jr. (right) of Phoenix, 793-620, in a matchup of the remaining unbeaten players in the winners bracket to earn the top seed at Brunswick Zone Carolier. Haugen will be the No. 2 seed for Sunday's ESPN finals, which will air live at 3 p.m. ET.

In his six matches, Tackett won by an average of almost 90 pins in cruising to an undefeated match-play record. He will be looking for his first PBA Tour title in his third career TV appearance.

"If I were to win, it would be the biggest thing that has happened in my entire life," the 21-year-old Tackett said. "This is what I've dreamed of my entire life, and it's a pretty surreal feeling."

En route to earning the top seed, Tackett defeated Dom Barrett of England, 697-652; Mike Fagan of Fort Worth, Texas, 682-633; Bryan Goebel of Shawnee, Kan., 653-517; John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Fla., 707-610; Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich., 604-569; before defeating Haugen.

Rounding out Sunday's ESPN stepladder field will be Smallwood (left) ; Ryan Ciminelli (right) of Cheektowaga, N.Y., and defending champion Jason Belmonte of Australia.

Smallwood won the four-player final elimination match with a 738 series to earn the No. 3 seed for the finals. Ciminelli was second with 652 and Belmonte was third with 614. Barrett shot 605 and was eliminated.

Barrett (left) needed a spare in the final frame to secure the fifth seed, but left a 4-6-7-10 split and Belmonte threw a clutch double to go around him and take the last spot.

Should Belmonte (right) win the Masters and successfully defend his title, he would become the first player to do so in nearly 50 years. Billy Welu won the event in 1964 and 1965, while Dick Hoover was the first to win consecutive titles in 1956 and 1957.

The last defending champion to get this close to repeating was Hall of Famer Mike Aulby, who after winning in 1995, lost in the championship match the following year.

The Masters, which features a total prize fund of $315,000 including a first-place prize of $50,000, is a major event on the PBA Tour and is part of the World Tenpin Bowling Association World Bowling Tour for the fourth consecutive season.

All qualifying and match play rounds of the Masters are being covered live on Xtra Frame, the PBA's online bowling channel. For live scoring, visit BOWL.com/Masters.

 

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2014 USBC Masters - Match Play Results

Double-elimination, three-game matches decided by total pinfall.

Match Play Bracket (PDF file)

 

Winners Bracket Round Four

Winners remain in winners bracket. Losers move to losers bracket.

Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., def. Jason Belmonte, Australia, 710-651
EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., def. John Janawicz, Winter Haven, Fla., 707-610
Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., def. Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 627-563
Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix def. Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., 679-621

 

Losers Bracket Round Five

Winners remain in losers bracket. Losers eliminated, earn $3,500.

John Szczerbinski, North Tonawanda, N.Y., def. Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 689-585
Dom Barrett, England def. Patrick Girard, Canada, 610-603
Dan MacLelland, Canada, def. Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 683-622
Brian Himmler, Cincinnati def. Jaime Gonzalez, Colombia, 652-605

 

Winners Bracket Round Five

Winners remain in winners bracket. Losers move to losers bracket.

Tackett def. Smallwood, 604-569
Haugen def. Ciminelli, 758-704

 

Losers Bracket Round Six

Winners remain in losers bracket. Losers eliminated, earn $4,000.

Kent def. Szczerbinski, 644-557
Barrett def. Allen, 663-649
Janawicz def. MacLelland, 773-697
Belmonte def. Himmler, 664-621

 

Losers Bracket Round Seven

Winners remain in losers bracket. Losers eliminated, earn $5,000.

Barrett def. Kent, 674-646
Belmonte def. Janawicz, 704-577

 

Winners Bracket Round Six

Winner earns No. 1 seed for Sunday's ESPN finals; loser is No. 2 seed.

Tackett def. Haugen, 793-620

 

Losers Bracket Round Eight

Three highest scores advance to ESPN finals, high score is No. 3 seed, second high is No. 4, third high is No. 5, lowest score is eliminated, earns $6,400.

Smallwood 738, Ciminelli 652, Belmonte 614, Barrett 605.