During the first Elimination Round of the Phoenix Boats Stage Five Presented by Mercury, it came down to the final moments and a tiebreaker. MLF pros Scott Suggs and Brandon Palaniuk both ended the day with 48 pounds, 10 ounces, putting both in 20th place. However, Palaniuk is the angler who will move on to the Knockout Round because he caught one more scorable bass than Suggs.
Terry Scroggins was also very close to making the cut, but wasn’t able to move above the Elimination Line at the end of the day. Gerald Swindle caught a bass at the last minute, which was just enough to put him in Saturday’s Knockout Round. We spoke with Swindle, Palaniuk, Suggs and Scroggins when they got off the water after Elimination Round 1.