There is one “greatest player” category every player can’t wait to get out of: “The Greatest Player to Never Win a PBA Tour title.”

A.J. Johnson finally escaped that category on Sunday by winning the 2023 Storm Lucky Larsen Masters at Olympia Bowling in Helsingborg, Sweden for his first PBA Tour title.

And here’s the key thing to know: While the Lucky Larsen wasn’t on U.S. soil, there is nothing unworthy about Johnson’s win.

No one should EVER utter a single word to diminish Johnson’s win.

Consider that the top 16 included PBA Tour champions and stars Kyle Troup, Anthony Simonsen, Jesper Svensson, Kris Prather, Tom Hess, Andrew Anderson, and Francois Lavoie, along with a slew of European stars and possible future PBA Tour star Ryan Barnes.

In match play, Johnson beat Barnes 650-627, overwhelmed Prather 802-681 (with a 300 game), edged Simonsen 193-191, and defeated Svensson 220-174. First was about $13,500.

Prather, Simonsen and Svensson are major champions and combined have 30 PBA Tour titles.

“People always say, ‘If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,’” Johnson told European media entity BowlingLife. “I think I did that today.”

Here is Johnson's winning moment posted by PBA.

In Johnson’s 8-year career, the 31-year-old has finished second six timers, starting with the 2015 USBC Masters at Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley, where he was the top seed but was routed by Jason Belmonte.

PBA reported in this news release that Johnson took advantage of a few breaks in the championship match.

His first frame shot was a Brooklyn strike, while Svensson started with a pocket 7-9 split. In the fourth, Johnson threw another Brooklyn strike, while Svensson left a stone 9-pin.

Johnson then stayed clean, including converting a washout in the sixth to hold off the powerful 2-handed lefty.

In the semifinal, Johnson struck on his final four shots against Simonsen, forcing the 2-handed superstar to double. Simonsen flushed the first shot, but left a 10-pin on his second shot, PBA reported.

Here is video of Johnson in his win on Sunday.

Johnson later made this post on Facebook:
"I’m not sure I even have the words now but I’m gonna try…… After all the dark times, the hard work, the constant persistence, the hard conversations, the work with multiple people, the failures, and the successes…… I AM NOW A PBA NATIONAL TITLEIST! 
There is so much emotion with this and there are so many people to thank ( I tried to get most of them in the video) and those to thank that have been through it all with me, still pushed me and believed in me even when I didn’t and was ready to be done, you all know who you are!! 
My family….. you have been behind me every step of the way and had to listen to everything I’ve gone through to get here, and without my family I wouldn’t be who I am today nor standing where I am! 
My beautiful girlfriend @allie_hedges10 you have stuck by me and been my rock to listen to me say what ever I need to get out of my system and get me back on track, and I tend to do well when you come with me.
There is so much more that has gone in to this that people don’t realize, they don’t know what I’ve been through, but the ones that do know-know how grateful I am to them and what they do for me, so thank you! 
My sponsors, Motiv, Turbo, KR Strikeforce, BowlerX, GenesisTape, H5G, FastTrackPhysio, and the Tennessee Squire Association, thank you all for believing me from the beginning and providing me with the best to reach this point! You all mean so much to me! 
I want to say a big thank you to @lucky_larsen  Daniel, and @patrickbacke for everything they do for the @stormluckylarsenmasters I truly do appreciate what you guys do for this event, and how accommodating you make it for us to come to compete!
Thank you everyone that has reached out to me over the past few days, to hear the things that y’all say means a lot to me and to know how genuine it is, it doesn’t go unnoticed! 
#motivnation #turbogrips #bowlerX #H5G #WEAREKR #genesistape #tennesseesquireassociation #jackdaniels #fasttrackphysio #primalfitnessnutrition #big4socks #gearsay #darcygmc #athlete #teamUSA #UA #pba #briancainpeak #onlythedeterminedsucceed #knowyourpeople"

Johnson also appeared on the Beef and Barnzy Show and the Above180 Storm Collegiate Spotlight Podcast.

Simonsen’s finish made him 17-for-17 in top-10 finishes in the 2023 PBA Tour season — an astounding record without peer in PBA history.

Full results are here.

The Storm Lucky Larsen Masters features a different format than a typical PBA Tour event, as re-entries are allowed.

There were 24 6-game qualifying rounds, with the top 26 earning a bye to Final Step 2. Qualifiers 27-44 as well as a dozen special advancers outlined here, advanced to Final Step 1. Those 30 players bowled a 5-game round, with the top 14 players advancing to join the top 26 seeds in Final Step 2.

Final Step 2 was a 6-game round with the top 16 players qualifying for bracket match play. The first two rounds of match play featured 3-game total pinfall matches. The semifinals and finals were single-game matches.

The 2023 Storm Lucky Larsen Masters lane pattern was 46 feet with a 40-foot drop brush and 33.96 mL of Kegel Ice and Curve oil divided at 23.56 mL forward and 10.4 mL reverse. Left-side ratios were 2.19-1 middle-outside track, 1.54-1 middle-middle track and 1-1 middle-inside track, and right-side ratios are 2.19-1 middle-outside track, 1.46-1 middle-middle track and 1.06-1 middle-inside track.

The PBA League Elias Cup presented by Pabst Blue Ribbon begins Sept. 23 at famed Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine.

PBA STORM LUCKY LARSEN MASTERS
Olympia Bowling, Helsingborg, Sweden
Sunday’s results
MATCH PLAY
Round of 16
No. 1 Kyle Troup def. No. 16 Mik Stampe, 630-518
No. 15 Jesper Svensson def. No. 2 Markus Jansson, 702-627
No. 3 Andrew Anderson def. No. 14 Kim Bolleby, 758-602
No. 13 AJ Johnson def. No. 4 Ryan Barnes, 650-627
No. 5 Kris Prather def. No. 12 Carl Eklund, 724-676
No. 11 William Berggren def. No. 6 Jesper Agerbo, 699-669
No. 7 Tom Hess def. No. 10 François Lavoie, 701-633
No. 9 Anthony Simonsen def. No. 8 Robin Persson, 702-603
Quarterfinals
Simonsen def. Troup, 739-696
Svensson def. Hess, 739-637
Anderson def. Berggren, 740-665
Johnson def. Prather, 802-681
Semifinals
Svensson def. Anderson, 232-191
Johnson def. Simonsen, 193-191
Finals
Johnson def. Svensson, 220-174