The Round of 16 is complete at the 2026 Groupon PBA Illinois Classic, and only eight players remain in the hunt for the fourth title of the season.

You know how history loves to repeat itself. The same man who led the field to Round of 8 at the U.S. Open, now leads the field at the PBA Illinois Classic. Anthony Simonsen delivered the most dominant performance of the round, sweeping Brandon Runk 4-0, highlighted by almost two perfect games (299 and 300) to secure his place in the final eight.

With his win against Runk, Simonsen also secured a place in the stepladder finals. In the Round of 8, he will face Bill O'Neill, was just as efficient, shutting out Zach Wilkins 4-0 to move on. Even if Simonsen loses, he will advance to the stepladder finals as the highest-seeded eliminated qualifier.

Meanwhile, Matt Ogle advanced with a 4-2 victory over Kevin McCune, while Shawn Maldonado eliminated Ethan Fiore 4-1.

Defending champion Santtu Tahvanainen kept his title defense on track with a convincing 4-0 win over Deo Benard, not allowing his opponent much room to build momentum.

In the Round of 8, Tahvanainen will face Tomas Kayhkö in all Finnish duel, after Kayhkö survived a tight battle against AJ Chapman, winning 4-3.

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EJ Tackett controlled his match against Ryan Barnes, taking a 4-1 victory, and Boog Krol overwhelmed Alec Keplinger 4-0 to close out the round.

The remaining eight players will return to the lanes for the final round of match play at 6 p.m. CST.

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

Round of 8 Matchups

• Anthony Simonsen vs. Bill O’Neill
• Boog Krol vs. EJ Tackett
• Santtu Tahvanainen vs. Tomas Kayhkö
• Shawn Maldonado vs. Matt Ogle
  
  The stepladder finals will air live Sunday, March 15 at 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT) on The CW.