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LOL News: Cloud9 remains unbeaten in Week 3 opener of LCS Spring

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April 19, 2026

LOL News: Cloud9 remains unbeaten in Week 3 opener of LCS Spring

Cloud9 improved to 3-0 and Sentinels earned their first win to kick off Week 3 of the regular season of the LCS Spring event on Saturday.

Cloud9, one of just two unbeaten teams left, swept Disguised 2-0 as Sentinels came away with a 2-1 win over FlyQuest.

Eight teams will compete in best-of-three matches in the round-robin regular season before advancing to the playoffs of the League of Legends event, which will be contested in best-of-five matches in a double-elimination format. The top two teams will qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational.

Cloud9 didn’t face much interference in its third straight victory, winning both games in 25 minutes over Disguised, which fell to 1-2. Robert “Blaber” Huang and Denmark’s Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen led the victory with very similar kill-death-assist ratios of 12-1-18 and 12-2-18, respectively.

Sentinels won the opener vs. FlyQuest in 30 minutes, lost the second game in 31 minutes and won the deciding third matchup in 39 minutes. Cho “Rahel” Min-seong of South Korea led the victory with a 20-4-13 K-D-A ratio.

Week 3 concludes Sunday with LYON facing Shopify Rebellion and Dignitas versus Team Liquid.

Regular season standings (Win-loss total, map differential)

1. Cloud9, 3-0, 6-2
2. Team Liquid, 2-0, 4-1
3. LYON, 1-1, 3-3
4. Shopify Rebellion, 1-1, 2-2
5. FlyQuest, 1-2, 4-4
6. Sentinels, 1-2, 4-5
7. Disguised, 1-2, 2-5
8. Dignitas, 0-2, 1-4

–Field Level Media

ATP News: ATP roundup: Ben Shelton seeks second title of year in Munich

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April 19, 2026

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ATP News: ATP roundup: Ben Shelton seeks second title of year in Munich

Second-seeded Ben Shelton halted the stunning run by unseeded Slovakian qualifier Alex Molcan, 6-3, 6-4, on Saturday to advance to the finals at the BMW Open in Munich, Germany.

Shelton will face fourth-seeded Italian Flavio Cobolli, who stunned top-seeded and defending champion Alexander Zverev of Germany, 6-3, 6-3.

Shelton, who lost to Zverev in the 2025 title match, did not produce his usual superior services, but only faced one break point in the match. He managed to break Molcan late in each set to advance to his seventh ATP Tour final.

Cobolli blistered 32 winners on the clay and lost only eight points on his serve against his good friend Zverev. It was the Italian’s first-ever win over a Top-5 opponent. He broke the big-serving German four times, including in the final game of the match.

Shelton leads the all-time series, 3-2, winning all three matchups in 2025.

Barcelona Open

Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia and ninth-seeded Frenchman Arthur Fils each needed three sets to advance to the finals of the ATP 500 clay-court event.

Rublev rallied to knock off Serbian qualifier Hamad Medjedovic, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, while Fils came from behind to outlast Spain’s Rafael Jodar, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Rublev reached his 29th ATP final by capturing the final four games of the match. He converted 4-of-9 break point chances, while Medjedovic was 1-of-6.

Fils halted Jodar’s eight match winning streak by cracking 28 winners to only 11 for the 19-year old upstart. With the third set knotted at 3-3, Fils staved off four break points, broke Jodar’s serve and turned back two more break chances in the final game to prevail.

They have split two previous on-court matches, with Fils winning on clay, capturing a two-set decision in the 2025 event in Monte-Carlo.

–Field Level Media

DOTA News: Team Falcons, BetBoom Team start fast at Wallachia Season 8

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April 19, 2026

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Xtreme Gaming, PARIVISION, Team Falcons and BetBoom Team won in sweeps as the PGL Wallachia Season 8 group stage opened on Saturday in Bucharest, Romania.

Other winners, by 2-1 scores, were Team Spirit, Team Liquid Aurora Gaming and HEROIC.

The $1 million Dota 2 tournament began Saturday with the 16-team group stage, which concludes Wednesday. Eight teams advance to the double-elimination playoffs on April 23-26. All matches are best-of-three until the best-of-five grand final.

Xtreme Gaming knocked off Natus Vincere in 44 and 34 minutes, both on green. PARIVISION took down MOUZ in 26 and 43 minutes, both on green.

BetBoom Team swept Virtus.pro in 34 and 40 minutes, both on green. Team Falcons dispatched Team Yandex in 49 minutes on green and 36 minutes on red.

Team Spirit dropped its opening map on green in 33 minutes to Vici Gaming, then rallied with wins in 58 minutes on red and 38 minutes on green.

Team Liquid won in 46 minutes, fell to GamerLegion in 39 minutes, then won the deciding map in 48 minutes — all winning teams on red.

Aurora Gaming took the opener in 41 minutes on red, then South America Rejects drew even with a 24-minute victory on green before Aurora triumphed in 32 minutes on red.

HEROIC started fast in 32 minutes on green, then Tundra Esports won a marathon of 65 minutes on green before HEROIC won in 39 minutes on red.

Sunday’s Round 2 schedule for 1-0 teams:

–Xtreme Gaming vs. Aurora Gaming
–Team Liquid vs. BetBoom Team
–Team Spirit vs. Team Falcons
–PARIVISION vs. HEROIC

Round 2 for 0-1 teams

–Vici Gaming vs. Natus Vincere
–MOUZ vs. GamerLegion
–Team Yandex vs. South America Rejects
–Tundra Esports vs. Virtus.pro

PGL Wallachia Season 8 prize pool:

1. $300,000 — TBD
2. $175,000 — TBD
3. $120,000 — TBD
4. $80,000 — TBDt
5-6. $60,000 — TBD
7-8. $40,000 — TBD
9-11. $20,000 — TBD
12-14. $15,000 — TBD
15-16. $10,000 — TBD

–Field Level Media

LPGA News: Sei Young Kim rides ups, downs to hold lead at LA Championship

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April 19, 2026

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LPGA News: Sei Young Kim rides ups, downs to hold lead at LA Championship

South Korea’s Sei Young Kim endured a rough back nine with four consecutive bogeys on Saturday but retained her lead after three rounds at the JM Eagle LA Championship in Tarzana, Calif.

Ranked No. 10 in the world, Kim had a one-shot lead entering the day and expanded that to two strokes with a 1-under-par 71 to move to 15-under 201 at El Caballero Country Club.

“Oh, wow, it’s feel like, yeah, roller coaster,” Kim said of her round. “I didn’t know still two-shot lead until the last hole. Yeah, after finish I look at the scoreboard and I still (hold a) two-shot lead. OK, one more day. Yeah, I’m going better tomorrow.”

Four players are tied for second at 13 under: Australia’s Hannah Green (5-under 67 on Saturday), Thailand’s Suvichaya Vinijchaitham (67), South Korea’s Ina Yoon (71) and Jessica Porvasnik (68).

Kim shot a blistering 31 on the front nine with five birdies (Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9) and four pars to get to 19 under for the tournament. The back nine, however, was a different story with four pars followed by bogeys at Nos. 14, 15, 16 and 17 before a par on No. 18 for 40.

Kim had carded one bogey in a first-round 65 and followed with a bogey-free 65 on Friday.

She hit seven of 14 fairways on Saturday and 13 of 18 greens in regulation while totaling 28 putts.

“I don’t know forget about (the third round) because I want to keep thinking and then I want to why, why, why, why. I don’t want to make (it) happen again,” Kim said. “But it’s golf. It can be happen again. It’s learn and then learn and learn. Mistake and then learn, yeah. Hopefully, success (at the) end of the day tomorrow.”

Green’s adventurous 67 featured seven birdies and two bogeys. Vinijchaitham made eagle on the par-5 16th hole, and also have five birdies and two bogeys.

Yoon recorded four birdies and three bogeys, while Porvasnik carded seven birdies — including each of the last three holes — to counter a double bogey on the par-3 No. 9 and a bogey at the par-3 No. 15.

“I felt like I was playing pretty well,” Porvasnik said. “Had a hiccup on nine and just kind of kept grinding. Knew that just stay patient out there. It’s playing tough. To have the three birdies to close was just really nice.”

Kim, 33, owns 13 career LPGA victories, but just one in the past six years, at the BMW Ladies Championship last October.

Japan’s Chizzy Iwai had led after a course-record-tying 63 on Thursday, then carded a 68 on Friday to get to 13 under. She carded a 3-over 75 on Saturday to fall to 10 under and a tie for 10th.

Iwai made just one birdie, at the par-4 No. 13, and lost ground with bogeys at Nos. 2, 7, 17 and 18.

–Field Level Media

CSGO News: Team Vitality, Team Spirit to clash in IEM Rio grand final

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April 19, 2026

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CSGO News: Team Vitality, Team Spirit to clash in IEM Rio grand final

Team Vitality and Team Spirit advanced to the grand final with semifinal victories Saturday at the $300,000 Intel Extreme Masters Rio event in Brazil.

Vitality blanked FURIA and Spirit did the same to Team Falcons. FURIA and Team Falcons will meet in the third-place match on Sunday before Vitality and Spirit face off in the grand final.

Sixteen Counter-Strike 2 teams have been competing this week for a top prize of $125,000.

The double-elimination group stage began with two groups of eight teams, with all matches best-of-three. The group winners advanced to the playoff semifinals, with the group runners-up entering the quarterfinals as high seeds and the third-place teams entering the quarterfinals as low seeds.

In the single-elimination playoffs, all matches have been best-of-three until Sunday’s best-of-five grand final.

On Saturday, Vitality took out FURIA 13-10 on both Overpass and Ancient. Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut of France paced the winning side with a 49-27 kill-death differential. For FURIA, Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato of Brazil posted a 36-28 K-D differential.

Spirit cruised past Team Falcons 13-7 on Dust II and 13-4 on Mirage, led by Russian Boris “magixx” Vorobiev’s K-D differential of 31-17. Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov of Russia led Falcons with a 28-27 K-D differential.

Play continues Sunday with the final two matches:
–Team Vitality vs. Team Spirit (grand final)
–FURIA vs. Team Falcons (third-place match)

IEM Rio prize pool:
1. $125,000
2. $50,000
3. $30,000
4. $20,000
5-6. $12,500 — MOUZ, Natus Vincere
7-8. $7,000 — G2 Esports, Aurora Gaming
9-12. $5,000 — RED Canids, 3DMAX, B8, HOTU
13-16. $4,000 — Gentle Mates, Team Liquid, Passion UA, Legacy

–Field Level Media

OAP News: Taylor Gray fends off Sheldon Creed, wins eventful race in Kansas

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April 19, 2026

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OAP News: Taylor Gray fends off Sheldon Creed, wins eventful race in Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The early bird got the victory on Saturday night.

The first of the frontrunners to pit during the final 95-lap green-flag run in the Kansas Lottery 300, Taylor Gray grabbed the lead during the cycle and held off charging Sheldon Creed to score the second NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory of his career.

Crew chief Jason Ratcliff, who won at Kansas with driver David Green in 2003, called Gray into the pits on Lap 143 of 200. Creed and Brandon Jones, running first and second on Lap 146, emerged from pit road after stops on Lap 147 roughly three seconds behind Gray.

Jones, winner of the first two stages, had to serve a pass-through penalty for a tire violation during his stop and lost the chance to win. But Creed, with Justin Allgaier behind him in third, began a methodical pursuit of Gray that ultimately came up 0.718 seconds short.

“How about Jason Ratcliff?” Gray exclaimed after climbing from his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “That pit call was awesome. We had a car capable of winning. I thought the 20 (Jones) was a little better than us before the green-flag cycle started, but we just had to stay locked in, and we had to be a little bit freer.

“Jason made a really good adjustment on the car and a really good pit call and got us in clean air. It’s been a long start to the year, man — not that we’re not bringing speed to the race track. It’s just that things haven’t really gone our way. So it’s nice to finally be able to close one out.”

Gray gained three positions to ninth in the series standings.

As it turned out, Creed also had plenty of reasons to celebrate. By finishing first among four eligible drivers, he earned a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for the first time in his career. It was Creed’s fifth attempt to win the Dash 4 Cash prize money.

“It was a great day for us after starting in the back,” said Creed who dropped to the rear of the field at the beginning of the race after his No. 00 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet failed pre-race inspection. “I kind of knew right away my car was really fast, and I was able to drive to the front, and I just had a lot of fun today…

“It’s just really cool to be able to bring a hundred grand back to the Haas Factory Team. I definitely wanted to win and add to it, but the 54 (Gray) did a really good job short-pitting us. He ran a really good last 40 laps there and got through traffic quick and made it where I never really got close enough.”

Allgaier came home third, followed by defending series champion Jesse Love and Brent Crews. William Byron, Cole Custer, Jones, Sam Mayer and Ryan Sieg completed the top 10 in a race that featured 11 lead changes among eight drivers.

Allgaier finished third in both stages and added one point to his series lead over second-place Creed. The margin is now 131 points.

Long before Gray took the checkered flag, there was plenty of action in the first stage.

The race wasn’t two laps old when an accident on the backstretch launched the No.1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet of Carson Kvapil into the air and sent it flipping down the backstretch.

Contact from Byron’s Chevy turned Kvapil’s car sideways near the front of the field. Parker Retzlaff piled into Kvapil’s car near the outside wall. The impact knocked the rear of Kvapil’s Camaro airborne, and the car proceeded to barrel-roll down the backstretch, coming to rest on its roof.

With the use of tethers and a tow truck, safety workers righted the car, and Kvapil climbed out before a mandatory trip to the infield care center.

“Maybe on dirt, I’ve flipped a few of them, but definitely never asphalt racing or a big stock car race,” Kvapil said after being evaluated and released from the care center. “It was actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be, once I realized I was going over, but it just sucks.”

On Lap 38, Jesse Love crowded Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Hill down toward the apron as the two raced side-by-side in Turn 4. Hill spun sideways, and as he fought to control his No. 21 Chevrolet, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of William Sawalich plowed into Hill’s car.

“I’ll remember this,” Hill promised on his radio, referring to racing from his teammate he thought was unnecessarily close.

Hill fell out of the race in 34th place. Corey Day saw his streak of eight straight top 10s end with a 12th-place finish after rallying from an accident on Lap 101 and subsequent flat tire.

Gray, Creed, Allgaier and Love qualified for the third Dash 4 Cash race of the season, Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway (4 p.m. ET on CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race – Kansas Lottery 300
Kansas Speedway
Kansas City, Kansas
Saturday, April 18, 2026
1. (10) Taylor Gray, Toyota, 200.
2. (4) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 200.
3. (3) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
4. (9) Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 200.
5. (5) Brent Crews #, Toyota, 200.
6. (2) William Byron(i), Chevrolet, 200.
7. (36) Cole Custer(i), Chevrolet, 200.
8. (14) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 200.
9. (19) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 200.
10. (12) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 200.
11. (22) Dean Thompson, Toyota, 199.
12. (6) Corey Day, Chevrolet, 199.
13. (16) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 199.
14. (24) Patrick Staropoli #, Chevrolet, 199.
15. (18) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 199.
16. (11) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 199.
17. (30) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 199.
18. (27) Lavar Scott #, Chevrolet, 198.
19. (17) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 198.
20. (7) William Sawalich, Toyota, 198.
21. (13) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 198.
22. (29) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 198.
23. (21) Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 198.
24. (32) Nathan Byrd, Chevrolet, 197.
25. (25) Kyle Sieg, Chevrolet, 197.
26. (23) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 196.
27. (33) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 194.
28. (20) Harrison Burton, Toyota, 190.
29. (28) Dawson Cram, Chevrolet, Engine, 120.
30. (31) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, Accident, 65.
31. (37) Blake Lothian, Chevrolet, Brakes, 62.
32. (35) Austin Green, Chevrolet, Engine, 61.
33. (34) Mason Maggio, Chevrolet, Engine, 51.
34. (15) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, Accident, 37.
35. (26) Luke Baldwin(i), Ford, Suspension, 4.
36. (8) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, Accident, 2.
37. (1) Carson Kvapil, Chevrolet, Accident, 1.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 116.946 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 33 Mins, 55 Secs. Margin of Victory: .718 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 7 for 37 laps.
Lead Changes: 11 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders: C. Kvapil 0;C. Day 1-23;B. Jones 24-48;A. Alfredo 49-54;W. Byron(i) 55;B. Jones 56-70;J. Love 71;B. Jones 72-98;S. Creed 99-146;C. Day 147-149;R. Sieg 150-152;T. Gray 153-200.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Brandon Jones 3 times for 67 laps; Sheldon Creed 1 time for 48 laps; Taylor Gray 1 time for 48 laps; Corey Day 2 times for 26 laps; Anthony Alfredo 1 time for 6 laps; Ryan Sieg 1 time for 3 laps; Jesse Love 1 time for 1 lap; William Byron(i) 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 20,17,7,2,96,54,00,19,27,88
Stage #2 Top Ten: 20,00,7,2,17,8,54,24,41,26

–By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.

ATP News: French Open purse climbs nearly 10% to $72.1M

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April 19, 2026

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ATP News: French Open purse climbs nearly 10% to $72.1M

The total prize money for next month’s French Open is climbing nearly 10 percent to $72.1 million, tournament organizers announced on Thursday.

The men’s and women’s champions for the May 24-June 7 clay-court grand slam at Roland Garros will each pocket $3.25 million, with the runners-up in Paris each taking home $1.6 million. Losers of first-round matches will earn $100,000.

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, 22, is the two-time defending men’s champion and will be looking for his eighth grand slam title.

Coco Gauff, 22, is the reigning women’s champion and will be seeking her third grand slam trophy.

Men’s and women’s doubles winners will earn $700,000, with $140,000 going to the mixed-doubles champions.

The purse for this year’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, was $75 million, a 16% increase from the previous year.

–Field Level Media

MMA News: Mike Malott TKOs Gilbert Burns, forces abrupt retirement

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April 19, 2026

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MMA News: Mike Malott TKOs Gilbert Burns, forces abrupt retirement

The UFC Winnipeg main event on Saturday night featured Canada’s headliner Mike Malott stopping former UFC welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns of Brazil to cap off an entertaining UFC Fight Night card.

A left hook in the third round was the beginning of the end, securing the TKO at 2:08. Malott (14-2-1) extended his winning streak to four, improving his UFC stint to 7-1.

“I’m on top of the world right now,” Malott said following the win.

Malott paid respect to Burns (22-10), calling him a “legend” as the Canada Life Centre crowd cheered.

As for what’s next, Malott kept it simple. He has no preferences regarding an opponent, just enjoying the journey as it comes.

Burns, meanwhile, took his gloves off while holding back his emotions and opted to retire after his fifth straight loss.

“I worked so hard,” the 39-year-old said, praising the UFC. “I think that’s it. But I am content.”

UFC CEO Dana White praised Burns at the post-fight press conference as more than a “tough, durable guy.”

“Great human being,” White said. “(He has) done some big things (in the UFC). He was right there (in a February 2021 title fight vs. Kamaru Usman). And yeah, he has had a good run. He has had a good career. He has had a good run here.”

White also had a follow-up question from a reporter regarding a favorite moment of Burns’ career.

“He burst onto the scene and worked his way right up,” White said. “(Burns) had some wars, some incredible fights. But, at this stage in my career with all the fights that I see every weekend, one of the things that stands out to me — the only thing that really matters — is that he’s a really good person.”

A bantamweight co-headliner saw Canadian fan favorite Charles Jourdain win a unanimous decision over Kyler Phillips of the United States in an entertaining, back-and-forth affair. Jourdain (18-8-1) is 3-0 since moving to bantamweight, defeating Phillips (12-5), who has lost his last three. Jourdain swept the cards by scores of 29-28, nearly securing a kimura submission from his back in the closing minutes of Round 3.

Lightweight veteran Jai Herbert of England survived an early flurry from UFC newcomer Mandel Nallo of Canada, silencing the pro-Canadian crowd with a first-round TKO at 2:05.

Herbert initially dropped Nallo just a minute before the final sequence, securing his second UFC KO/TKO to move a step closer to .500 in the Octagon. Herbert (14-6-1) made it clear he wants to be more “active,” praising Nallo’s toughness and resolve. Nallo (14-4) had won five straight entering his promotional debut.

Women’s flyweights Jasmine Jasudavicius and Karine Silva got the better of each other in a grappling-heavy affair, with Canada’s Jasudavicius earning a unanimous decision win over her Brazilian opponent.

Jasudavicius (15-4) took the scorecards 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, sending Silva (19-7) back to the drawing board. Jasudavicius has won five of her last six, while Silva fell to 1-3 in her last four after starting her UFC run 4-0 dating to June 2022.

Lightweights Gauge Young and Thiago Moises entertained the crowd in a 15-minute slugfest, with Young (11-3) earning a split decision victory (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Young stole the last two rounds, knocking Moises down and nearly finishing him in Round 3 to open the five-fight main card. Young earned his third UFC win, whereas the loss for Moises (19-10) marked his 17th Octagon appearance.

–Field Level Media

NAS News: Tyler Reddick rules AdventHealth 400 qualifying, collects another pole

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April 19, 2026

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NAS News: Tyler Reddick rules AdventHealth 400 qualifying, collects another pole

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A fourth victory from the pole position would suit Tyler Reddick just fine after the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota prevailed in Saturday’s highly competitive qualifying session at Kansas Speedway.

Reddick toured the 1.5-mile speedway in 29.142 seconds (185.300 mph) to claim his third pole of the season, his second at Kansas and the 14th of his career.

In doing so, Reddick edged his car owner, Denny Hamlin (185.179 mph), by 0.019 seconds for the top starting spot in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400, the ninth NASCAR Cup Series race of the year.

The pole was the fifth in the last six Kansas races for Toyota drivers.

The 2026 season already has been a remarkable one for Reddick, who won the first three races and added a fourth victory March 22 at Darlington Raceway. Reddick’s last three wins have come from the pole position: at EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta (starting on metrics after a qualifying rainout), Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and at Darlington.

Should Reddick win on Sunday, he would become the fourth driver in Cup Series history –and the first since Dale Earnhardt in 1987 — to win five of the first nine events of a season. Reddick tops the series standings with a 62-point edge over second-place Ryan Blaney.

“We had a lot of good handling in our car for Atlanta,” Reddick said of his and his team’s ability to convert qualifying speed into race wins. “COTA, obviously I felt like the 12 (Blaney) and Shane (van Gisbergen) were really strong. I think just good handling, handling that you can trust, handling that stays with you in the long run (really helps). So, Darlington, same thing.

“Here, the speeds were a bit higher, and I didn’t know if we’d be able to get the pole, but it was really nice to see that the handling that we have, the short-run speed that we have, appears to be all there today.”

Bristol winner Ty Gibbs and defending series champion Kyle Larson posted identical times (29.192 seconds for 184.982 mph) and will start third and fourth, respectively, with Gibbs getting the nod on owner points. Larson is the two-time defending winner of the spring race at Kansas.

Chase Briscoe qualified fifth at 184.938 mph as Toyotas claimed four of the top five starting positions. Carson Hocevar was sixth, followed by Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Blaney and Bubba Wallace.

–NASCAR Wire Service

CHAMP News: Keith Horne surprise leader of Senior PGA Championship

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April 19, 2026

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CHAMP News: Keith Horne surprise leader of Senior PGA Championship

Keith Horne finds himself in an unexpected position — leading the Senior PGA Championship with 18 holes to go.

Horne, 54, fired a 5-under 66 during Saturday’s third round to seize a one-shot lead over four players at Concession Golf Club at Bradenton, Fla.

Sitting at 11-under 205 is a surreal feeling for Horne, who carded seven birdies against one bogey in his stellar third round.

The South Africa native has one Top 5 finish and $327,937 in earnings to show for his 14 previous PGA Tour Champions events. If he finishes on top Sunday, he’ll add $540,000 and a major to the top of his resume.

“Of course, I’m surprised,” Horne said. “It’s such a strong field, such a quality field that’s playing this week. It’s not something we get to play in that often against the guys of this stature and quality. A lot of them are my idols. I watched a lot of them on TV.

“… It’s not something I sort of planned or played for. I just try to stick to my own game, and I think that helped me today without looking around too much at what I’m leading.”

Thailand’s Thammanoon Sriroj (66), Stewart Cink (70) and the Australian combo of Steve Allan (68) and Scott Hend (72) are the foursome tied at 10 under. Ben Crane (71) sits two shots back in sixth place.

Horne has spent most of his career playing overseas. He appeared in five Champions events in 2025, including tying for 28th at the Senior PGA Championship.

His best finish was a tie for 11th at the Principal Charity Classic. He made four of five cuts.

On Saturday, he had a bogey on his first hole before gaining the stroke back with a birdie on No. 3. Back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 gave him momentum and he scored back-to-back birdies twice on the back nine during a five-hole stretch.

One thing Horne said he won’t do on Sunday: track who’s chasing him.

“No, I’m not a scoreboard-watcher,” Horne said. “I think you get two types of people. I’m not the most confrontational person so, you know, I’d rather just stay away and just stick to my own game.

“I think if I look up and I feel like I need to chase or push or beat somebody specific, it doesn’t help me. It only hinders me. I maybe just try too hard or put too much pressure on myself.”

Hend shared the second-round lead after rounds of 69 and 65, but he took a step backward Saturday with three bogeys over the first 11 holes. He rebounded with three birdies down the stretch to finish just one shot back.

He is well-aware the final round will feature a bunched-up leaderboard.

“Just stick to my game plan, play to my ability,” Hend said. “If I play to my ability, then I’ve got a chance to win. If I don’t win, then as long as I finish as hard as I possibly can, that’s fine.”

Brian Gay, who shared the second-round lead with Hend, shot 2-over 74 shares seventh at 208. Also part of that tie are Fiji’s Vijay Singh (67), Canada’s Greg Owen (68) and Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez (68).

–Field Level Media

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LOL News: Cloud9 remains unbeaten in Week 3 opener of LCS Spring

ATP News: ATP roundup: Ben Shelton seeks second title of year in Munich

DOTA News: Team Falcons, BetBoom Team start fast at Wallachia Season 8

LPGA News: Sei Young Kim rides ups, downs to hold lead at LA Championship

CSGO News: Team Vitality, Team Spirit to clash in IEM Rio grand final

OAP News: Taylor Gray fends off Sheldon Creed, wins eventful race in Kansas

ATP News: French Open purse climbs nearly 10% to $72.1M

MMA News: Mike Malott TKOs Gilbert Burns, forces abrupt retirement

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