March 9, 2026 Nolan Hughes

The 2026 PBA Tour powered by Go Bowling rolls onto Decatur, Ill. for the Groupon PBA Illinois Classic. 

The fourth title event of the season will take place this week at David Small’s Victory Lanes.

Qualifying begins Tuesday with match play starting on Thursday evening.

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

 
Players to Watch

This marks the third straight season with a PBA Illinois Classic on the calendar, as well as the third different host venue of the tournament.

Marshall Kent won two years ago in Mount Prospect, while Santtu Tahvanainen claimed his first career title in Vernon Hills last season.

This year’s tournament marks a homecoming event for Jake Peters, who grew up in Decatur.

Patrick Dombrowski won the Go Bowling U.S. Open on Sunday, marking his first career PBA Tour title.

The 47-year-old veteran is eager to chase title No. 2, though he may still be trying to process the dramatic ending to his match against Anthony Simonsen.

 

Bill O’Neill, who missed the past two tournaments with a quad injury, is set to make his return this week. 

O'Neill said he isn’t quite at 100%, but is good enough to compete for the Groupon PBA Illinois Classic title.

This week's tournament is a two-squad event and B-squad is about as star-studded a group as there could be with Simonsen, Jason Belmonte, EJ Tackett and Kyle Troup.

Those four future PBA Hall of Famers are each featured in the upcoming HBO Original docuseries “Born to Bowl.”

The first episode airs Monday, March 16 on HBO and streams on HBO Max.

 
Format

All players will bowl 16 games of qualifying between Tuesday and Wednesday. The 43-foot Carmen Salvino oil pattern will be used for the duration of the tournament.

The top third of the field will move onto Thursday morning’s Advancers Round. Those six games will determine the 24 players who will advance to elimination match play, starting on Thursday night. Each match will be the best of seven games.

Match play continues on Friday with rounds at 12 p.m. ET (11 a.m. CT) and 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT). 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

Monday, March 9 — The CW
9:30 a.m. — Pre-Tournament Qualifier (PTQ)
3 p.m. — Official practice session
6 p.m. — Pro-Am

Tuesday, March 10  — The CW
12 p.m. — A-squad Qualifying Round 1 (eight games)
7 p.m. — B-squad Qualifying Round 1 (eight games)

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