Qualifying Updates from the 2026 Storm Lucky Larsen Masters
The Storm Lucky Larsen Masters (SLLM), representing the final title event of the 2026 PBA Tour powered by Go Bowling, is underway at Olympia Bowling in Helsingborg, Sweden.
The tournament features a unique format in which players can bowl in multiple of the 27 qualifying squads, which are held daily through Saturday, Aug. 29. The top 40 players, along with 15 additional advancers outlined here, will advance in the tournament.
A pair of advancer rounds will determine the 16-player field for elimination match play. The advancer rounds and first two rounds of match play will take place Sunday, Aug. 30, while the semifinal and championship matches will be held on Monday, Aug. 31
All qualifying and match play rounds will be livestreamed on the Storm Lucky Larsen Masters YouTube channel.
Overall standings and from each squad are available here.
This story will be updated daily with leaders and notable performances from each squad.
Squad 1 — Friday, Aug. 21
The star countrymen Jesper Svensson led the opening squad of this year’s event, posting a 1,390 total pinfall for his six games. He averaged more than 231, a market improvement after missing the cut in his title defense a year ago.
Svensson led the squad by 80 pins. Singapore’s Mike Ong ranked second with 1,310, followed by Denmark’s Mik Stampe at 1,300.
Squad 2
Tomo Gaber Pinteric totaled a blistering 1,488 with an average of 248. The Slovenian all but secured himself a berth in Final Step 1 — and likely Final Step 2 — with that performance.
Sweden’s Månz Friberg and Martin Paulsson each averaged north of 223 to qualify second and third, respectively, on the squad.
Squad 3 — Saturday, Aug. 22
In the squad exclusive to U21 players, Jakub Sedlacek of Czech Republic paced the field with 1,400. Sofie Kærgaard Nielsen of Denmark ranked second with 1,370.
A trio of Swedes rounded out the top five: Albin Gullstrand with 1,352, Erik Larsson with 1,337, and Lucas Svensson with 1,332.
Squad 4
The Swedes returned to the top of the standings in Squad 4 as Ossian Kinnari led with 1,344. It was a low-scoring squad with just five players averaging more than 211.
Squad 5
The scoring pace ramped up in the fifth squad with five players totaling at least 1,400. Noel Haglund Torgersen of Sweden led the field with 1,474.
Teodor Samuelsson, who finished runner-up to Jesper Svensson in 2024, ranked fifth on the squad with 1,384.
Squad 6
Oliver Dahlgren shot 1,416 to become the third consecutive Swede to lead a squad; in fact, nine of the top 10 players on the squad were Swedish.
Albin Lindberg, Kim Bolleby and Carl Eklund, who finished second through fourth, respectively, on the squad, each averaged at least 225.
Squad 7 — Sunday, Aug. 23
Eklund came back Sunday morning and shot a blistering 1,431 to lead the squad and move well inside the cut number. Emil Svensson also shot 1,413 to finish second and likely secure a berth in Final Step 1.
Squad 8
Kim Bolleby, a former PBA Tour player, led a low-scoring squad with 1,361. That marked the best performance of the left-handed Swedish-and-Thai player’s tournament to date.
A trio of Americans earned top-six scores on the squad: Chase Nadeau, Andrew Hall, and Danielle Urbano (McEwan).
Squad 9
Sweden’s Albin Gullstrand and Markus Jansson put on a show in Sunday’s final squad. Gullstrand shot 1,473 while Jansson tallied 1,449 to move themselves well inside the cut number. Jansson led qualifying in the 2024 USBC Masters.
Raymond Teece, brother of Richie, fired the tournament’s first performance game during this squad.
Squad 10 — Monday, Aug. 24
The Americans began to make their mark in Sweden. Chase Nadeau qualified second on the squad with 1,335. Andrew Hall and Andrew Anderson each snagged a top-10 berth on the squad as well.
Squad 11
Carsten Hansen led the final early bird squad by 101 pins. Hansen shot games of 245, 248, 235, 267, 245, and 243 to tally a 1,483 total pinfall, the second-highest set in the tournament to date.
Hansen is a two-time PBA Tour champion. He won the 2019 Storm Lucky Larsen Masters and the 2020 PBA Scorpion Championship.
Defending champion Sean Rash made his tournament debut, firing 1,297.
The top four players from Squads 1-11 who qualify outside the top 40 overall scores will earn a berth in Final Step 1. The early bird squad standings can be found here.
Squad 12 — Tuesday, Aug. 25
William Berggren rode 260 in his first game to a squad-leading score of 1,422. The Swede ranks ninth overall following Squad 12.
François Lavoie, a six-time PBA Tour champion, competed in his first squad. He started strong with 245 and 257 before finishing with a total of 1,352.
Squad 13
Sweden’s Mathias Otting dominated the second squad on Tuesday, averaging more than 242 for his six games. His total of 1,456 ranks fifth overall through Squad 13.
A handful of American stars officially arrived in Sweden as EJ Tackett, AJ Johnson and Kyle Troup each competed in their first squad.
Tackett, the three-time reigning PBA Player of the Year, shot 1,372 to finish third on the squad.
Troup finished seventh with 1,326, one position ahead of Johnson’s 1,308. Troup won the SLLM in 2018, while Johnson won the tournament in 2023.
Squad 14 — Wednesday, Aug. 26
Italy's Antonino Fiorentino dominated the first of two squads on Wednesday. Fiorentino shot games of 266, 237, 257, 234, 247 and 217 to tally a 1,458 in his first squad of the event.
Norway's Mathias Otting qualified second on the squad with 1,407, while Germany's Paul Purps added 1,392 to finish third.
PBA Tour players TJ Rock and Jake Peters each competed in their first squad of the tournament. The one-handed righties will need to shoe up again to advance to Final Step 1.
Squad 15
Erik Larsson of Sweden tallied 1,432 to lead the squad by nearly 100 pins.
A pair of rising PBA stars also qualified inside the top four. Alex Horton finished second with 1,334, while Brandon Bohn's 1,290 placed fourth.
Horton, who has already won two titles during his rookie season, looks for one more strong performance in hopes of distancing himself from Rookie of the Year candidates Brandon Bonta and Spencer Robarge.
Bohn made his professional debut in the Storm PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles earlier this summer. The son of 35-time champion and Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III will retain rookie status next season.
Squad 16 — Thursday, Aug. 27
Nate Purches, who made the semifinals of last year’s SLLM, kicked off a four-squad day in Sweden with a blistering 1,471 series. The 2024 PBA Rookie of the Year fired games of 233, 238, 269, 247, 216 and 268 to lead a high-scoring squad.
Sweden’s Kevin Melin qualified second with games of 300 and 299, while Germany’s Max Lorenz tallied 1,455 to finish third.
Zach Wilkins, looking for his third title of the season, got off to a promising start in hopes of bolstering his Player of the Year candidacy. The Canadian fired 1,448 to all-but solidify a berth in at least Final Step 1.
Squad 17
In his fourth squad of the event, William Svensson bested his previous best total by 161 pins. The two-handed Swede tallied 1,457 to lead the squad by almost 100 pins.
EJ Tackett and Kyle Troup also competed on the squad, mustering 1,306 and 1,285 respectively.
Squad 18
Tackett immediately returned to the lanes and shot 1,363 in a squad filled with PBA Tour players. He started slow with games of 171 and 194, but dialed in down the stretch with 235, 258, 246, and 259.
Finland’s Tomas Käyhkö and Santtu Tahvanainen each performed well in their debut squads. Käyhkö led the squad with 1,433, while Tahvanainen added 1,424 to finish fourth.
Brandon Bonta, Eric Jones, and Ryan Barnes also joined the festivities on Thursday. Bonta’s 1,395 series placed him within the cut through Thursday’s competition by 24 pins.
Squad 19
Jones competed again in Thursday's final squad and tallied 1,397 to also place himself within the current cut. But the two-handed lefty was out-done by his Roth/Holman Doubles Championship partner.
Deo Benard led the squad, shooting games of 269, 232, 240, 216, 238, and 277 to jump into fifth place overall with 1,472.
Chris Sloan qualified second on the squad with 1,426.
Squad 20 — Friday, Aug. 28
William Berggren led his second squad of the event. This time, the Swede tallied 1,432 to top the first of four squads on the penultimate day of qualifying.
Kyle Troup shot 1,366 and Brandon Bohn added 1,335 to each finish top five on the squad, but beneath the current cutline through 20 squads.
Squad 21
Former SLLM champion Mathias Ankerdal led a high-scoring squad on Friday afternoon local time. The 2022 champion scored 225, 237, 232, 246, 226, and 279 in his six games to reach a 1,445 total pinfall.
Eric Jones (1,438) and Alex Horton (1,436) each cracked the top 16 overall, while Jesper Svensson put up his best performance to-date with 1,420.
Zach Wilkins (1,421) and Santtu Tahvanainen (1,417 with a 300 game) each qualified top six on the squad, but had higher sets in earlier squads.
Squad 22
Germany's Max Lorenz dominated with 1,461 in his six games to lead the squad. Iceland's Isak Birkir Seavarsson added 1,391 to qualify second on the squad and squeak inside the current cut number.
A handful of PBA Tour players made another bid to make the cut, but came up short in this attempt, including Andrew Anderson, Justin Knowles, the 2023 SLLM champion AJ Johnson, Ryan Barnes, and Thomas Larsen.
Squad 23
Sweden's Emil Svensson notched his third series north of 1,400 in three attempts. His 1,473 in Friday's final squad was his best overall of the event. Carl Eklund also improved upon previous strong performances with 1,459 to qualify second on the squad.
EJ Tackett put himself in position to make the SLLM cut with 1,408, good for third on the squad. Tackett, looking to win his second title of the season, aims to secure a record-setting fourth consecutive PBA Player of the Year award.
Squad 24 — Saturday, Aug. 29
Sweden's Emil Holmberg led the squad with 1,408, eclipsing Kyle Troup by one pin.
Troup, a 12-time PBA Tour champion, broke through in his fifth attempt to tally 1,407 and earn a berth inside the cut. Troup won the SLLM in 2018.
Squad 25
Andrew Anderson performed like an "Andersson" in his seventh attempt. Anderson fired games of 278, 258, 215, 265, 215, and 246 to surge into third place overall with 1,477.
Thomas Larsen qualified second on the squad, but his 1,383 score ultimately left the Dane 17 pins shy of the cut.
Squad 26
Justin Knowles, another PBA Tour player from the Detroit area, burst through with a strong performance on the tournament's final day of qualifying. Knowles shot games of 267, 235, 237, 255, 229, and 215 to shoot 1,438 and earn himself a bye into Final Step 2.
Finland's Niko Oksanen also put himself through to the next round with 1,404.
Brandon Bohn finished third on the squad with his tournament-best of 1,389, which placed him 11 pins shy of the eventual cut.
Squad 27
Denmark's Tobias Bryde recovered from a 171 opening game to tally 1,431 and lead the squad. He qualified in 25th place overall to secure the final bye to Final Step 2.
Tom Sorce of Williamsville, N.Y. turned out to be the final player to cement their status in Sunday's advancing field. Sorce shot 1,404 to qualify 38th.
Sorce's performance pushed Brandon Bonta, a contender for the 2026 PBA Rookie and Player of the Year awards, below the cut.
The top 41 qualifiers plus an additional 14 players, including Mika Koivuniemi and Danielle Urbano (McEwan), have advanced to Sunday's competition.
Final Step 1 will begin Sunday, Aug. 29 at 3 a.m. ET (9 a.m. local time). The top 15 players in the five-game round will meet the top 25 qualifiers in Final Step 2.
More information on the 2026 Storm Lucky Larsen Masters is available here.
