RENO, Nev. – At the USBC Masters, staying in the winners bracket for as long as possible is always the goal but doing so early can be key to making a run at the show.

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After the dust settled Friday afternoon at the National Bowling Stadium, 16 players found themselves still alive without a loss after going 2-0 in matches. They will be back on the lanes at Noon ET on Saturday to continue double elimination bracket play.

Among those who won two matches was PBA Hall of Famer Chris Barnes, who barely stayed in the winners bracket with a 625-622 win over fellow Hall of Famer Norm Duke.

Needing a double for the shutout in the three-games, total-pins match, Barnes pured the first one but on his second strike took advantage of a fortunate break. He went high and tripped out the six pin for a strike.

Barnes will take on AJ Johnson, who beat Tyler Cortez Schenck in his second match of the day 658-651. Schenck missed a 10 pin in the final frame to take the pressure off Johnson.

Other matchups in the next winners bracket round include: Tim Foy Jr. vs. Sam Cooley, AJ Chapman vs. Stu Williams,  Kris Prather vs. Thomas Larsen, Mitch Hupe vs. Spencer Robarge, Kim Bolleby vs. Zeke Bayt, EJ Tackett vs. Toby Sambueno and Jesper Svensson vs. Anthony Simonsen.

Foy was able to survive a pair of tough matches to stay in the winners bracket, taking down four-time Masters champion Jason Belmonte, 588-585, and Chris Via, 679-662.

Foy caught a break when Belmonte made a critical error in the final frame of their match. Needing just eight pins on his first shot for the shutout, Belmonte left the super washout and missed it. Foy stepped up and buried three strikes to steal the win.

In the losers bracket, 16 players will remain heading into Saturday’s final day of bracket play. Those players have a long road ahead, needing to win six matches to make the show.