Hart and Buckingham reign supreme as National Masters concludes on the Sunshine Coast

The 23rd edition of the TBA21 National Masters came to a thrilling close on Sunday afternoon, capping off four days of elite youth bowling at the AGL National High Performance Centre on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

As the second of four nationally ranked Youth Division events in 2025, the Masters followed the TBA21 National Teams Challenge and delivered a gripping two-day spectacle filled with clutch performances, breakout stars, and two deserving champions in Emily Hart and Jackson Buckingham.

Female Division – Hart writes her name in history

The road to the title was a marathon—not a sprint.

Four All-Stars from the Teams Challenge (Tamika Pettigrew, Emily Starkey, Samantha Clifton, and Brooke Buckingham) were rewarded with automatic entry into Stage 2, leaving Stage 1 to the remaining hopefuls to battle through eight games of high-stakes qualifying.

It was Emily Hart from South Australia who dominated the opening stage, firing an 8-game block of 1,521 (190 avg) to top the field and lead the dozen who advanced.

In Stage 2, bowlers were split into two seeded matchplay groups. Each competed in seven head-to-head matches with bonus points awarded for wins. In Group A, top-seeded Tamika Pettigrew reaffirmed her status, collecting five wins and a draw for 16 points. Emily Hart backed up her hot form with five wins and a group-best 196.7 average to book her place in the next stage.

Group B saw Challenge All-Star Emily Starkey continue her podium-level consistency, topping her group with 13 points. But the final place came down to a rare three-way tie-break between Samantha Clifton, Kayla Piffero, and Tasmania’s Abby George. George rose to the moment with a clutch 216 to edge out Clifton (189) and Piffero (160).

George then upset top seed Pettigrew in the first game of their Stage 3 match, but Tamika found another gear, winning games two and three to punch her ticket to the final.

On the other side, Hart and Starkey went toe-to-toe in a gripping three-game set. After splitting the first two, Hart sealed the deal in the decider 206-174.

That set up a blockbuster final between Hart and Pettigrew, South Australia vs South Queensland. Game one was a high-octane battle, with Hart prevailing 246-227. She closed it out in game two, 194-183, to capture her first TBA21 National Masters title.

The win marked just the third time a South Australian has won the event—and the first since Clair Johnston’s second title in 2007. With a fourth-place finish already on the board from Wyncity earlier in the year, Hart is now poised to climb to the top of the national rankings.

Male Division – Buckingham battles through to the crown

The male field was stacked—and chaotic.

The Challenge All-Stars (Blake Walsh, Connor Raines, Nicholas Rajkovic, and Seth Gray) skipped Stage 1, but it was New Zealand’s Ben Pettit who set the early tone. The 2025 Kegel Queensland Open champ torched the lanes with a stunning 1,779 (222.4 avg), highlighted by a 267 and 257.

Behind him, Justin Dinham (1,638) and Jackson Morgan (1,636) rounded out the top three. But all that mattered was finishing in the top 12—and Queensland’s Jackson Buckingham snuck in as the final qualifier with 1,517. He made it by just a handful of pins. It turned out to be enough.

Stage 2 grouped players into matchplay pools—and that’s when Buckingham came alive.

Group A, quickly dubbed the Group of Death, saw both Pettit and Buckingham dominate with six wins each. Pettit nearly rolled a perfect game (299), while Buckingham quietly built momentum with consistency and grit.

Group B, however, descended into chaos. Five bowlers tied on 12 points for the two advancing spots—Raines, Dinham, Rajkovic, Morgan, and Liam Cochrane. A one-game playoff was needed.

Raines delivered under pressure with a game best 234, while South Australia’s Liam Cochrane surged with a 226 to claim the final slot.

In the semifinals, Ben Pettit remained clinical, defeating Cochrane in straight games (197-184, 193-170), while Buckingham continued his run with back-to-back wins over Raines (203-182, 204-175).

That set the stage for a final showdown: Buckingham vs Pettit, Australia vs New Zealand.

Buckingham struck first with a 216-157 win. Pettit rebounded in game two (197-166) to force a decider, but it was Buckingham who had the last word—grinding out a 159-147 victory to claim the crown.

The Logan Tenpin product becomes the sixth male Queenslander to win the TBA21 National Masters, the first since Connor Renton in 2022. With a strong fourth-place finish at Wyncity already under his belt, Buckingham is now firmly in the 2025 rankings conversation.

Next Stop: Sydney

With two Youth Division events down and two to go, all eyes now shift to the Sydney Youth Cup, part of Sydney BowlFest and hosted at Shellharbour Tenpin Bowl—the home centre of PBA Tour winner Sam Cooley.

The 2025 season will wrap up in Queensland later this year at Caboolture Bowl with the Grand National Youth Eliminator.

Thank You

Tenpin Bowling Australia would like to thank all bowlers, parents, guardians, and supporters for being part of this year’s TBA21 National Masters and National Youth Championships.

A special thanks to Morty Douglass and the team at Suncity Tenpin for hosting a top-class event.

We’ll see you next year for the 24th TBA21 National Masters!

Winners Journey

Emily Hart

Stage 1

180	189	174	192
200	214	149	223

• 1,521 total pinfall
• 190.1 avg
• Top qualifier receiving the 5^th seed in stage 2.

Stage 2

• In Group A with Tamika Pettigrew, Sophie Greaves, Brianna Walsh, Tahlia Corbett, Brooke Hinspeter, Bella Westlake, and Brooke Buckingham

211 (W)

172

212 (W)

170 (W)

187

225 (W)

200 (W)

• Won five of seven matches
• 1,377 total pinfall
• 196.7 avg

Stage 3

• Vs Emily Starkey in a best of three game series

174-223

185-177

206-174

Stage 4 – Title Match

• Vs Tamika Pettigrew in a best of three game series

246-227

194-183

Jackson Buckingham

Stage 1

179	193	156	158
220	154	212	245

• 1,517 total pinfall
• 189.6 avg
• 12 highest qualifier and receives the 16^th seed for Group Matchplay stage 2

Stage 2

• In Group A with Ben Pettit, Seth Gray, Blake Walsh, Lachlan Howse, Zayne Pirlo, William Zaccaria, Oliver Zaccaria, Liam Cochrane

188 (W)

201 (W)

171 (W)

205 (W)

160

236 (W)

246 (W)

• Won six of seven matches
• 1,407 pinfall
• 201 avg

Stage 3

• Vs Connor Raines in a best of 3 series

203-182

204-175

Stage 4 – Title Match

• Vs Ben Pettit in a best of three game series

216-157

166-197

159-147

High Game of the Event

Ben Pettit (NZ) – 299