PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio – Twenty-four players began their journey to the final title of the 2026 Professional Women’s Bowling Association National Tour season Sunday at Yorktown Lanes in Parma Heights, Ohio, as the 2026 PWBA Tour Championship began with the first eight of 24 games of round-robin match play.
Latvia’s Diana Zavjalova won six games while averaging over 231, putting herself in the early lead with a grand total of 2,044 when adding her 30 bonus pins for each win.
“I just kind of leave it behind and move forward one step at a time,” Zavjalova said, referring to her approach after a tough loss in the PWBA Pepsi Open championship round Saturday. “I tell myself under my breath before every single shot, ‘One good shot at a time.’”
Zavjalova also credited her ability to adjust to the tricky 45-foot oil condition laid out for the event, noting that her original game plan changed quickly during practice.
“My game plan actually was to do something completely different and play the gutter,” Zavjalova said. “But six minutes into practice, I saw that it wasn’t as playable, so I moved left. I was very open-minded, and I saw I had a very good ball reaction.”
Behind Zavjalova is Singapore’s New Hui Fen with 1,964, followed by Lauren Russo of Wentzville, Missouri, with 1,901. Alexis Runk of Milton, Pennsylvania, is fourth with 1,890, while Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, and Singapore’s Shayna Ng are tied for fifth with 1,886.
The rest of the top 10 is occupied by Crystal Elliott of Palm Bay, Florida (1,883); Maranda Pattison of Redwood Valley, California (1,878); Colombia’s Maria Jose Bohr (1,859); and Sweden’s Nora Johansson (1,857).
Zavjalova also was able to put last year’s Tour Championship behind her and treat this year’s event as a fresh opportunity.
“I just treat it as a new tournament. New place, new everything,” Zavjalova said. “Just me and the lanes, and to just be open-minded and see what the lanes are doing, and just take it one shot at a time.”
With 16 games remaining in round-robin match play, Zavjalova knows there is still plenty of bowling left before the stepladder field is determined.
“We still have lots of games left to play. Anything can happen,” Zavjalova said. “So just going to stay open-minded once again, because we do know the lanes aren’t going to play exactly the same. I hope they do, but I know they’re not going to.”
All 24 competitors will finish match play Monday with two eight-game blocks starting at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern before the top five advance to the stepladder finals Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. All rounds of competition will be streamed live on BowlTV, with the finals being simulcast on Bowling TV, the 24-hour channel dedicated entirely to bowling, which can be found on Prime Video, LG Channels, Xumo Play, DISH TV, Bonusview, Sling Freestream, Plex, Free Live Sports and Bowling TV’s Roku app.
For more information on the 2026 PWBA Tour Championship, click HERE.
