PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio – After 24 games of round-robin match play over two days at the 2026 Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour Championship, contested at Yorktown Lanes in Parma Heights, Ohio, the five competitors advancing to Tuesday’s stepladder finals have been determined.
The winner of the 2026 PWBA Tour Championship will earn the major title and $30,000 top prize. The stepladder finals begin Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern and will be simulcast on BowlTV and Bowling TV. Bowling TV is the free 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.
Leading the way as the No. 1 seed is Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, who can become eligible for the PWBA Hall of Fame in the Performance category with a fifth overall title and third major with a victory Tuesday evening. Martin is undefeated in stepladder competition since 2024, making three appearances and winning all nine matches.
Martin said she plans to focus on enjoying the opportunity rather than allowing the significance of the moment to overwhelm her.
“I want to have fun. I want to embrace that moment. I want to just be so happy while I’m bowling, because I truly think that’s the best part about bowling,” Martin said. “The fact that I get to come out here and do this and have the opportunity to be able to compete on that stage, I want the joy to come through and for everyone to see that.”
Martin will face one of four other accomplished bowlers in the title match: No. 2 seed Birgit Noreiks of Germany, No. 3 seed Diana Zavjalova of Latvia, No. 4 seed Lauren Russo of Wentzville, Missouri, or No. 5 seed Stefanie Johnson of McKinney, Texas.
Noreiks, who earned her spot in the Tour Championship field as the No. 24 seed thanks to her season point total, climbed into the top five during the final block of match play. The 2022 United States Bowling Congress Queens champion is making her return to the tour after recently becoming a mother.
“I just try to enjoy it because I really just kind of snuck into this event as the 24th seed,” Noreiks said. “It’s hard to be away from home, so I try to really make the most of it, and I’m grateful that my family allows me to be here. I’m just trying to embrace the moment.”
Zavjalova will be making her second major television appearance of the season after reaching the stepladder at the U.S. Women’s Open. After reflecting on that experience, she plans to take a different approach this time.
“I learned that I need to relax and have fun,” Zavjalova said. “I remember saying that I just wanted to have fun in a TV show, so I think I’m going to try to come in tomorrow and just enjoy bowling and have fun. That’s something I haven’t really done on the TV shows recently.”
Zavjalova also is dealing with a leg injury that forced her to fight through the final block of match play.
“I’m just going to try to rest my leg as much as possible so that it can hold up tomorrow,” Zavjalova said.
Russo, who is making her second consecutive Tour Championship stepladder appearance, also will look to draw on the experience from last season. She said a change in mindset has been a key focus throughout the season.
“I feel like I’ve grown as an athlete from last season,” Russo said. “I think it’s just a mindset thing and kind of just getting comfortable faster versus later on in the game, and just really sticking to who I am.”
Johnson, who skipped the first two events of Tour Championship Week after her children started school, will make her return to the PWBA stepladder with a chance to become Hall of Fame eligible with a victory.
“It gives me chills thinking that I could have that opportunity because for so long, we didn’t have a tour,” Johnson said. “And then to now be in a position where there’s a possibility to be in the Hall of Fame for it is crazy to think about.”
Johnson also emphasized that inspiring future generations remains her primary goal.
“That is probably my only goal. Truthfully, winning is the bonus,” Johnson said. “I hope that every day I show up and compete, that it shows the next generation that anything is possible.”
Spots in the stepladder weren’t the only thing determined Monday, as Singapore’s New Hui Fen secured the 2026 PWBA Player of the Year, the first back-to-back winner of the award since Shannon O’Keefe won in 2018 and 2019, and the PWBA High Average award. South Korea’s Seo Yeon Ryu was named the 2026 PWBA Rookie of the Year, the first South Korean to bowl on the PWBA Tour and fifth international player to win the award since 2015. Feature stories on those two award winners will be released in the coming weeks.
For more information on the 2026 PWBA Tour Championship, click HERE.
