Bracket contenders announced

The first eight Elite anglers outside the Classic cut have one more chance to get in. Beginning Tuesday here on Bassmaster.com, you can watch a special event where they face off against each other in bracketed matchups to decide who will claim one spot into the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. 

The pairings are Steve Kennedy vs. Jacob Powroznik, Adrian Avena vs. Michael Iaconelli, Kelly Jaye vs. Dave Lefebre and Jonathon VanDam vs. Ish Monroe. The entire event, which created drama last year, will air on Bassmaster LIVE beginning Tuesday at 8:15 a.m. ET.

That’s when the first part of the two-day first-round matches will be held. Two matches, with a camera on each angler’s boat, will be held from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. ET and the other two matches will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. On Wednesday, the anglers will complete their six-hour matches in the other time slot, morning to afternoon and vice versa.

On Thursday, there will be two full-day matches simultaneously, and the final will be on Friday.