Mats Karlsson

Mats Karlsson, born in 1956 in Gothenburg, Sweden, is a ten-pin bowler who competed internationally and on the PBA Tour in the United States. He was the first international player to win a PBA Tour event in the United States, taking the 1986 Southern California Open in Riverside, and went on to win three more PBA titles, with one runner-up finish and ten top-five appearances. In 1987 he won the Greater Los Angeles Open, beating Ricky Corona and John Gant after getting past Pete McCordic, who had bowled a televised 300. Internationally he won the 1991 AMF World Open and 10 medals at the FIQ World Championships. In 2009 he was honored in Stockholm as the best male bowler in a century of organised bowling in Sweden. He coached Norway's national bowling team for ten years, until 2014, and owned and ran Lundby Stadium Bowl in Gothenburg. In 2025 the PBA granted official title status to his 1983 AMF Grand Prix of Ten Pin Bowling win.