March 11, 2026 Nolan Hughes

Standings after Qualifying Round 1

Following the gauntlet of the Go Bowling U.S. Open, the first qualifying round of the Groupon PBA Illinois Classic offered a reprieve for PBA Tour players.

Strikes came in bunches at David Small’s Victory Lanes in Decatur, Ill., especially for tournament leader Boog Krol.

Krol averaged 251 for his eight games on the 43-foot oil pattern, named in honor of Chicago bowling legend Carmen Salvino. His 2,008 (+408) total pinfall bested the 96-player, two-squad field on Tuesday.

Santtu Tahvanainen, who won the PBA Owen’s Illinois Classic in Vernon Hills last year, sits in second place with a pinfall of 1,940.

B-squad leader Shawn Maldonado, Sunday’s U.S. Open runner-up Anthony Simonsen and Michael Davidson round out the top five.

Krol, who had a two-title breakout season in 2024, finished 14th last season in points. Through three events this season, Krol ranked outside the top 70.

“It's a relief,” Krol said after leading A-squad. “The first couple of events I came out here and got my head crushed in. I went back to the drawing board and drilled a lot of bowling balls between the U.S. Open and here. I’m starting to see the picture again, and the confidence is slowly coming back.

“I like to see the boomerang (shape) downlane, the big hook,” Krol added. “We haven't seen that this year. If it's been a short pattern, the gutter doesn't hook. If it's a long pattern, you’ve have to trap the 3-pin. I'm not very good at those things. Here, there's some free friction and I took the most advantage of it that I could.”

Maldonado saw the scoring pace of A-squad, in which 22 players averaged more than 220, and knew he would need to put on his striking shoes for B-squad.

“I don't do it often, but when I do it, it does feel good,” Maldonado said. “I get a little EJ (Tackett) and Simonsen in me. They do it all the time.

“I had a feeling they weren't going to be as (high scoring) for my squad, so I was a little bit worried,” Maldonado added. “I was throwing a new ball and I got real comfortable. That put me in a spot where I could just execute. I got some breaks, and took advantage of those when I could.”

Deo Benard sits in 10th place with a pinfall of 1,872. After only a few frames, the left-hander saw an opportunity on the other side of the lane.

Benard threw a back-up ball, hooking the ball like a righty, and averaged more than 234.

Simonsen is the only player to have won a PBA Tour title utilizing a back-up ball, doing so in the 2018 PBA Xtra Frame Gene Carter's Pro Shop Classic.

 

Qualifying wraps up on Wednesday with B-squad hitting the lanes for their second eight-game round at 12 p.m. ET (11 a.m. CT), followed by A-squad at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT).

The top 32 players will advance to Thursday morning’s advancers round.

After the first round, Eric Wurmnest Jr. occupied 32nd place with a pinfall of 1,765 (+165), an average of 220.63.

Jake Peters (+231), who grew up in Decatur, sits in 16th place.

Complete standings are available here.

Elimination match play begins Thursday night and continues on Friday with rounds at 12 p.m. ET (11 a.m. CT) and 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT). Each match will be the best of seven games.

The winners of each bracket, as well as the highest-seeded loser in the Round of 8, will advance to the stepladder finals.

The stepladder finals will air live Sunday, March 15 at 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT) on The CW.

Tournament Schedule

All times Eastern

Wednesday, March 11 — The CW
12 p.m. — B-squad Qualifying Round 2 (eight games)
7 p.m. — A-squad Qualifying Round 2 (eight games)

Thursday, March 12 — The CW
12 p.m. — Advancers Round (six games)
7 p.m. — Elimination Match Play - Round of 24 (best of seven games)

Friday, March 13 — The CW
12 p.m. — Elimination Match Play - Round of 16 (best of seven games)
7 p.m. — Elimination Match Play - Round of 8 (best of seven games)

Sunday, March 15 — The CW
4 p.m. — Finals