PBA Regional Players Invitational Begins Monday
Las Vegas—The 2022 PBA Regional Players Invitational (RPI) will feature the top 120 PBA regional players based on competition points earned during the 2021 season and take place January 3-5 at South Point Bowling Plaza. Every round of competition will be streamed live on pba.com and the PBA Facebook page.
Here are some of the storylines heading into the RPI:
The Best 120 PBA Regional Players
Based on competition points earned over the course of the 2021 PBA Regional season, the top 54 players (eight each from the West, Southwest, Midwest, Central, East and South regions and six from the Northwest region) earned automatic berths into the RPI. The top 26 PBA50 players (two from the Northwest and four from each of the other regions) also earned spots in the RPI. The remaining 40 spots were earned through tournament qualifiers held in each region.
Players who are in the top 50 in national PBA Tour points are ineligible to compete in the RPI.
With a $100,000 total prize fund and $20,000 to the winner, the RPI is specifically designed to showcase and reward PBA regional competitors.
Fathers and Sons
Two father-son combinations will be competing in the RPI: 28-time regional champion Eugene McCune and his son, Kevin, and Craig Tuholski and his son, Chris. Kevin McCune recently won his first PBA Regional title to make the McCunes (along with Eugene’s father, Don) the first three-generation champions in PBA history. The Tuholskis are both regional champions as well, with Craig holding 11 titles and Chris three, including two earned in 2021.
Hall of Famers
Five members of the PBA Hall of Fame earned their way into the field: Tom Baker, Parker Bohn III, Ron Mohr, Pete Weber and Mark Williams. USBC Hall of Famer Lennie Boresch Jr. will also be competing.
Walter Ray Williams Jr. Trophy
The winner of the RPI will receive a $20,000 first prize and the Walter Ray Williams Jr. trophy, named in honor of the player with the most victories in PBA history. Williams has 47 PBA Tour titles, 15 PBA50 titles and 59 regional titles (35 standard, 23 PBA50 and one PBA60).
RPI Competition Schedule
South Point Bowling Plaza – Las Vegas
Monday, January 3
3 p.m. ET – Qualifying (8 games)
Tuesday, January 4
1 p.m. ET – Qualifying (8 games)
8 p.m. ET – Round of 32 match play (best of five)
10 p.m. ET – Round of 24 match play (best of five)
Wednesday, January 5
11:30 a.m. ET – Round of 16 match play (best of three)
1 p.m. ET – Round of 8 match play (best of three)
3 p.m. ET – Semifinals (one game)
3:30 p.m. ET – Championship (one game)
About the PBA
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the world’s preeminent organization dedicated to the sport of bowling and its professional competition, with thousands of members and millions of fans throughout the world. The PBA plays host to bowling’s biggest tournaments from the PBA Tour, PBA Regional Tour, and PBA50 Tour. In 2020, the PBA launched PBA Jr., a club for elite youth bowlers under the age of 17 and the PBA Pinsiders, a membership for fans of the sport. For more information, please visit PBA.com.