With the conclusion of the Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year Championship over the weekend, the field for the still-to-come and newly-expanded Bassmaster Classic Bracket came more into focus. But it’s not quite set.
The Bassmaster Opens Championship, scheduled for Oct. 18-20 at Table Rock Lake, will determine whether Bobby Lane and Wesley Strader will be double qualifiers for the Classic. Lane finished 11th in Elite Series points and is a lock to stay in the top 3 in points in the Eastern Division of the Opens following the Open Championship. He’s currently the leader by one point, but cannot fall past 3rd regardless of his finish at Table Rock.
Strader finished 35th in Elite Series points and will need a win at the Open Championship to earn double-qualifier status. The fate of Strader will impact the field for the Classic Bracket, which will be held Oct. 23-26 at Carters Lake in Georgia.
Originally slated to be an 8-man bracket with the winner advancing to the 2019 Bassmaster Classic, the Classic Bracket was augmented in the wake of the cancellation of the Upper Chesapeake Bay Elite Series. B.A.S.S. expanded the Bracket field to 16 and now three Classic berths are up for grabs. The entire 16-man field will get one day of practice and one full day of competition. After day 1, the top 12 will be broken up into three four-man brackets with the winner of each foursome earning a trip to next year’s Classic in Knoxville, Tenn., on the Tennessee River.
Here's a look at the 16-man Bracket field if Lane and Strader are double-qualifiers (Under this scenario, Greg Vinson in 37th gets into the Classic based on points and the bracket field reaches down to Ray Hanselman, Jr., who finished 55th in points as a rookie. Jordan Lee (reigning Classic champion) finished 46th in points and won’t participate in the Bracket. Same goes for Drew Benton, who finished 54th. He earned a Classic berth by winning Texas Fest):
Chris Lane
Greg Hackney
Bill Lowen
Jared Lintner
Gerald Swindle
Keith Combs
Chad Pipkens
Scott Rook
Shin Fukae
Adrian Avena
Takahiro Omori
Dustin Connell
Brandon Lester
Marty Robinson
Mike McClelland
Ray Hanselman Jr.
If Lane double qualifies and Strader does not, Vinson then becomes part of the bracket field and Hanselman gets knocked out.
