\n Gene J. Kanak
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FULL RESULTS<\/a><\/p>\n LAS VEGAS \u2013 Qualifying came to an end at Gold Coast Bowling Center in Las Vegas on Saturday, and now a 2026 United States Bowling Congress Queens field that started with 199 athletes has been whittled down to the top 64.<\/p>\n Those athletes will now face two days of three-game, total-pinfall bracket match-play competition on Sunday and Monday, at the conclusion of which five players will advance to the stepladder finals.<\/p>\n The stepladder will begin Tuesday at 6 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Network<\/a>, where the winner will receive the coveted tiara and top prize of $60,000.<\/p>\n Because of the five-player stepladder format and live TV broadcast, the top seed will only have to be defeated once during the stepladder finals in order to be denied the 2026 Queens title.<\/p>\n While the No. 1 position for the TV finals is yet to be determined, the top seed for match play went to Erin McCarthy of Elkhorn, Nebraska.<\/p>\n The 2015 Queens runner-up and 2022 U.S. Women\u2019s Open champ earned the top spot by leading this year\u2019s field with a three-day, 15-game qualifying total of 3,561 (a 237.4 average), the third-highest 15-game score in Queens history \u2013 Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of North Richland Hills, Texas, holds the record with 3,636.<\/p>\n After posting block totals of 1,180 and 1,166 during Rounds 1 and 2, respectively, McCarthy saved her best for last, using games of 236, 238, 300, 247 and 194 during third-round action on Saturday to tally 1,215 on the day and finish as this year\u2019s qualifying leader.<\/p>\n Valerie Bercier of Muskegon, Michigan, and 2023 third-place finisher Carlene Beyer of Ogdensburg, Wisconsin, tied for second at 3,553. Second-round leader Jordan Snodgrass of Adrian, Michigan, was fourth with 3,550 while Malaysia\u2019s Syazwani Sahar grabbed the final spot in the qualifying top five with a three-day, 15-game total of 3,513.<\/p>\n Defending champion Josie Barnes of Hermitage, Tennessee, shot 1,190 during Round 3 on Saturday to qualify in 39th place with 3,327. Because Acuff\u2019s highest single-day qualifying block total (1,129) was higher than Smith\u2019s (1,124), Acuff earned the No. 63 seed for match play, and Smith was seeded 64th.<\/p>\n That means Smith, the 2023 PWBA Regional Showdown winner, will draw McCarthy in Round 1 of match play, which is scheduled to begin at noon Eastern on Sunday.<\/p>\n Despite being the favorite on paper, McCarthy won\u2019t be taking anything for granted once bracket play commences.<\/p>\n \u201cMatch play is a different ballgame,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cIt\u2019s head-to-head, the lanes are going to break down a little bit differently and the pattern will have been run a few more times. You never really know what you\u2019re going to get once you get to match play, so it\u2019s a whole new tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n McCarthy is hoping that allows her to turn over a new leaf and have a bit more success during this year\u2019s Queens bracket than she\u2019s enjoyed in years past.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve made the show once during the Queens, but I normally tend to struggle during match play,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what it is, mental or physical. That\u2019s why I\u2019m just going to try to take it literally one game and match at a time and see where it ends up.\u201d<\/p>\n But even though she\u2019ll do her best to stay focused on the task at hand, like her 63 fellow match-play competitors, McCarthy will be hoping it all ends with the tiara on her head and the check in her hand come Tuesday night.<\/p>\n McCarthy was matter-of-fact when asked how it would feel to become the 2026 Queens champion.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would definitely mean a lot to me,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cStill, I just need to take it one shot at a time and stay in the moment.\u201d The final two undefeated bowlers in this year\u2019s field will square off for the No. 1 seed for Tuesday\u2019s live TV finals show while the final four in the Elimination Bracket will bowl for the last three spots in the stepladder finals.<\/p>\n All rounds leading up to the stepladder finals at this year\u2019s tournament will be streamed live exclusively on BowlTV<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nKerry Smith of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Correen Acuff of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, secured the final two spots in the match-play bracket after tying for 63rd place with 3,270 (a 218 average).<\/p>\n
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\nMatch play at the 2026 Queens will take place on Sunday and Monday until two athletes are left in the Winners Bracket and four bowlers remain in the Elimination Bracket.<\/p>\n