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Anthony Simonsen shakes off tough U.S. Open loss to earn top seed of 2026 Groupon PBA Illinois Classic; Santtu Tahvanainen, E.J. Tackett, Shawn Maldonado, Matt Ogle join him in power-laden stepladder finals
JEFF RICHGELS | Posted: Friday, March 13, 2026 11:00 pm
The stepladder finalists for the 2025 Group PBA Illinois Classic, left to right and in order from first to fifth: Anthony Simonsen, Santtu Tahvanainen, E.J. Tackett, Shawn Maldonado, and Matt Ogle. Photo by PBA.
Continuing an impressive display of mental toughness in this week’s 2026 Groupon PBA Illinois Classic, Anthony Simonsen shook off a tough loss in Sunday’s title match of the 2026 U.S. Open to earn the top seed for Sunday’s stepladder finals with two dominating match wins on Friday.
Simonsen led the field that started with 96 players through the cashers round, then swept Brandon Runk 4-0 and beat Hall of Famer Bill O’Neill 4-1, averaging 242.38 for 31 games on the...