EQs

Who’s in the first Bassmaster EQ event?

Check out photos of the 106 Elite Qualifier anglers fighting for the Top 10 and an Elite Series invitation. The field is made up of the Top 50 anglers from the two Opens divisions and any Elite Series angler trying to qualify for the Classic, next Elite season or just to fish. Stay tuned as the first of three EQ events kicks off at the Nitro Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Champlain presented by Bass Pro Shops!

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Matt Adams – Qualified by placing 3rd in the points in Opens Division 1.
Dylan Akins – Fished both Opens divisions and qualified by finishing 47th in Division 1.
Fisher Anaya – Finished second in the points in Opens Division 2. Just missed the top spot by two points.
Yui Aoki – Quailified via 16th-place finish in Opens Division 2 points. Claimed Classic spot by winning on Kentucky Lake.
Tai Au – Finished 35th in points in Division 2.
Kyle Austin – Qualified via 11th-place finish in points in Division 1.
Matt Baker – Ended 37th in points in Opens Division 2.
Bobby Bakewell – Qualified with 632 points in Division 1 for 21st-place finish.
Chris Beaudrie – Qualified via 24th-place finish in Opens Division 2.
Andrew Behnke – Fished Opens Division 2 and just made it in the Top 50 by accumulating 501 points to finish 48th.
Buddy Benson – Fished both divisions and qualified via 30th-place finish in points in Division 2.
Chris Blanchette – Qualified via 10th-place finish in points in Opens Division 1.
Bailey Bleser – 518 points in Division 2 landed 41st-place finish.
Ryan Broughman – Just squeezed in by finishing 49th in Division 1 points.
Beau Browning – Elite Series pro joined the EQs for a shot at the Classic and to join his dad.
Stephen Browning – Fished both Opens Divisions and while just barely falling short with 55th in Division 1, Browning clinch his EQ spot with 29th-place finish in Division 2.
Erik Brztowski – Qualified via 35th-place finish in points in Division 1.
Grae Buck – While Division 2 was tough on Buck, he qualified for EQs with 26th-place finish in Division 1.
Blaine Bunney – Qualified with 33rd place in Opens Divsion 1 with 593 total points.
Tyler Campbell – Fished both Opens Divisions and qualified for the EQs in both. Campbell placed 4th in Division 1 and 46th in Division 2.
James Chandler – 563 points were enough for 43rd-place finish in Division 1.
Chase Clarke – Winner of the first Opens event of the season, Clark ended the season in 8th in points in Division 1.
Michael Corbishley – Qualified via 36th-place finish in Opens Division 2.
Brandon Coulter – Qualified via 38th-place finish in points in Opens Division 1.
Evan Cox-VanVliet – Qualified via 23rd-place finish in Opens Division 2.
Austin Cranford – Secured EQ spot by finishing 7th in points in Opens Division 2.
Colby Dark – Qualified via 38th-place finish in points in Division 2.
Jack Dice – Fished Opens Division 2 and finished 18th in points.
Cole Drummond – Qualified via 45th-place finish in points in Opens Division 1.
Tim Dube – Elite Series pro looking to requalify for 2026 season.
John Duvall – Qualified via 32nd-place finish in Division 1 with 596 points.
Ty Faber – Clinched EQ spot with 11th-place finish in points in Division 2.
Dillon Falardeau – Winner of Upper Chesapeake Bay Open, Falardeau claimed EQ spot with 12th-place finish in Division 1.
Seth Feider – Elite Series angler, already qualified for the Classic.
Austin Felix – Elite Series angler, already qualified for the Classic.
Ethan Fields – Qualified via Division 2 after accumulating 678 points for 6th place.
Hayden Gaddis – Qualified via 9th-place finish in Opens Division 1.
Bailey Gay – Qualified by 25th-place finish in points in Division 2.
Robert Gee – Elite Series angler, qualified for next season but is looking to qualify for Classic in his hometown of Knoxville, Tenn.
Billy Gilbert – Qualified via 37th-place finish in points in Opens Division 1.
Zach Goutremout – Claimed EQ spot with 39th-place finish in points in Division 1.
Parker Guy- Qualified via 19th-place finish in Division 1 points.
Tanner Hadden – Qualified through both divisions finishing 3rd in Division 2 and 48th in Division 1.
Sam Hanggi – Also qualified through both divisions. Finished 10th in Division 2 and 28th in Division 1.
Dillon Harrell – Harrell’s 17th-place finish in Division 2 points clinched a spot in EQs.
Chris Hellebuyck – Qualified via 20th-place finish in points in Opens Division 2.
Laker Howell – Winner of Leech Lake Open, qualified through both divisions, placing 4th in Division 2 and 31st in Division 1.
Caleb Hudson – Qualified via 40th-place finish in points in Division 1.
Connor Jacob – Qualified via 5th-place finish in points in Division 1.
Aaron Jagdfeld – Qualified via 42nd-place finish in Division 2.
Brad Jelinek – Qualified by finishing 31st in Division 2 points.
Clint Knight – Qualified via 15th-place finish in Division 2 points.
Evan Kung – Elite Series angler looking to qualify for the 2026 Classic.
Ryan Lachniet – Finished runner-up in Opens Division 1 points.
Russ Lane – Fished both divisions but qualified through 6th-place finish in points in Division 1.
River Lee – Qualified via 22nd-place finish in Division 1 points.
Jace Lindsay – Qualified via 12th-place finish in Division 2 points.
Lucas Lindsay – Punched his ticket by winning the Opens Division 1 points race.
Andrew Loberg – Elite Series angler, already qualified for the Classic.
Ed Loughran III – Elite Series angler trying to requalify for 2026 season.
Paul Marks – Elite Series angler, already qualified for 2026 Classic.
Wyatt Marler – Finished 32nd in points in Division 2.
Cameron Mattison – Finished 21st in Division 2 points.
Tristan McCormick – Accumulated 640 points to finish 15th in Division 1.
Danny McGarry – Finished 45th in Division 2 points.
Brandon McMillan – Finished 44th in Division 1 points.
Mark Menendez – Elite Series angler, looking to requalify for 2026 Elite season.
Matt Messer – Qualified via 16th-place finish in Division 1 points.
Alec Morrison – Qualified via finishing 34th in Division 1 points.
Paul Mueller – Elite Series angler looking for Classic qualification.
Lucas Murphy – Qualified via 24th-place finish in Division 1 points.
Joey Nania – Finished 28th in Division 2 points.
Christian Nash – Fished both divisions and qualified with 42nd-place finish in Division 1 points.
Michael Neal – The Dayton, Tenn., pro claimed his EQ spot by finishing 7th in Division 1 with 673 points.
Riley Nielsen – Qualified via Division 2 by finishing 9th in the points.
Lane Olson – Last man in on the Division 2 side. Ended up 50th in points with 494.
Bryson O’Steen – Finished 46th in Division 1 points to claim EQ spot.
Christian Ostrander – Qualified via 34th-place finish in Division 2 points.
Garrett Paquette – Former Elite Series angler claimed EQ spot with 33rd-place finish in Division 2 points.
Jaden Parrish – Qualified via 26th-place finish in Division 2 points.
Bryan Partak – Claimed EQ spot by finishing 22nd in Division 2 points.
Chad Pipkins – Elite Series angler looking to requalify for the 2026 Elites.
Brian Post – Qualified via 43rd-place finish in Division 2 points.
Nic Rand – Rand’s 684 points in Division 2 claimed 5th place and an EQ qualification.
Adam Rasmussen – Qualified via 27th-place finish in Division 1 points.
Brock Reinkemeyer – Qualified via 19th-place finish in Division 2 points.
Ryan Salzman – The Guntersville guide claimed 30th-place in Division 1 points to claim EQ spot.
Casey Scanlon – Winner of the one-day shootout on Norfork Lake, 27th in Division 2 points qualified Scanlon for the EQs.
Bryan Schmitt – Elite Series angler, already qualified for 2026 Classic.
Trey Schroeder – Qualified through both divisions, claiming 14th in Division 2 and 25th in Division 1.
Blake Smith – Qualified via 44th-place finish in Division 2 points.
Casey Smith – Qualified via 36th-place finish in Division 1 points.
Tucker Smith – Elite Series angler and 2025 Rookie of the Year, already qualified for 2026 Classic.
Pake South – Claimed 1st in Division 2 points with total of 751, beating out Fisher Anaya by 2 points.
Cody Stahl – Qualified via 13th-place finish in Division 1 points.
Trey Swindle – Qualified via 23rd-place finish in Division 1 points.
Bo Thomas – Fished both Opens divisions and claimed EQ spot via 29th-place finish in Division 1.
Brady Vernon – Claimed 17th place in Division 1 points.
Emil Wagner – Elite Series angler, already qualified for 2026 Classic.
Jimmy Washam – Qualified via 8th-place finish in Division 2 points.
Ian Waterer – Qualified via 47th-place finish in Division 2 points.
Alex Wetherell – Elite Series angler, looking to requalify for 2026 season.
Joe Wieberg – Claimed 39th in Division 2 points.
Tommy Wood – Qualified through both Opens divisions, claiming 41st in Division 1 and 40th in Division 2.
Aaron Yavorsky – Claimed 18th in points for Division 1.
Jack York – Qualified via 13th-place finish in Division 2 points.

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