The six-game Advancers Round is complete at the 2026 Groupon PBA Illinois Classic, and the field has now been reduced to 24 players who will compete in elimination match play.

The top eight players after 22 total games earned first-round byes.

Anthony Simonsen leads the field with 5,284 total pins. Matt Ogle sits second with 5,245, followed by defending champion Santtu Tahvanainen in third with 5,237. EJ Tackett holds fourth at 5,156, while Boog Krol advances in fifth with 5,114.

AJ Chapman secured sixth with 5,095, Ethan Fiore claimed seventh with 5,091, and Bill O’Neill locked up the eighth and final bye position with 5,089.

Advancing alongside them are Zach Wilkins, Shawn Maldonado, Tomas Kayhko, Alec Keplinger, Michael Davidson, Deo Benard, Kevin McCune, Kyle Troup, Brandon Runk, Jake Peters, Matt Russo, Ryan Barnes, Jason Belmonte, Darren Tang, Patrick Dombrowski, and Julian Salinas.

Salinas captured the final advancing position with 4,880 total pins.

Brad Miller finished just outside the cut line in 25th place with 4,877, missing advancement by only three pins.

Elimination match play begins Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT), with each match contested in a best-of-seven format.

The winners of each bracket, along with 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.