December 30, 2022 Chase Kaufman

After countless tournaments over the past 12 months, the granddaddy of them all, the Regional Players Invitational, is next. Enduring missed advancer rounds by single digits, 300-290 bracket match losses, and falling as the No. 1 seed in the stepladder, these competitors have emerged. Over 100 bowlers from all over the country, representing their respective PBA and PBA50 regions, will compete for a five-digit payout at the RPI.

But first, for the last time in 2022, check out the winners from the past three weeks.

PBA FireLake Southwest Invitational

The Southwest region had three more events over the month of December, beginning with the FireLake Southwest Invitational. Thirty-two individuals set out for two six-game qualifying blocks on the Earl Anthony pattern. Dylan Macon of Lubbock, Texas, led the way at +357, but the top 16 bowlers hit an even playing field as they advanced to the single-elimination bracket.

Macon fell in the second round to Deo Bernard, and then Bernard lost to François Lavoie in the semis. In the other half, Anthony Simonsen advanced after defeating Sean Lavery-Spahr in two games to move onto the finals. There, in the battle of multi-time PBA Tour major champions, Lavoie did the job taking down Simonsen 2-1 to earn himself a $4,000 check.

PBA FireLake Southwest Invitational Final Standings

  1. François Lavoie, $4,000
  2. Anthony Simonsen, $2,500
  3. Sean Lavery-Spahr, $1,500
  4. Deo Bernard, $1,500

Full tournament standings are available here.

PBA Timmy See Memorial Yulee Member/Non-Member Doubles

 

Staying in the warm states, Florida hosted a member/non-member doubles tournament. Sixteen of the 40 teams moved onto 12 games of match play, where it was winner-take-all after the position round.

Luckily for the fans, the position round remained meaningful as the duo of Chris Pollizzi and Matthew Tuckfield led at +371, with the team of Tom Daugherty and Shawn Naumann close behind at +358. With one head-to-head game remaining, Polizzi and Tuckfield shot 211 to Daugherty and Naumann’s 148, giving Polizzi and Tuckfield the title.

PBA Timmy See Memorial Yulee Member/Non-Member Doubles Final Standings

  1. Chris Polizzi and Matthew Tuckfield, $4,700
  2. Patrick Dombrowski and Sean Riccardi, $2,400
  3. Tom Daughtery and Shawn Naumann, $2,000
  4. Ryan Lane and Anthony Richmond, $1,800

Full tournament standings are available here.

PBA Lubbock Sports Southwest Open 

Back to Texas and the popular PBA Tour stop in Lubbock, 56 bowlers came together to bowl on the Dragon pattern, 18 of whom moved onto the advancers round. After 13 games, the top eight moved onto match play.

Ildemaro Ruiz Jr. claimed the top spot with just the position round left, but three bowlers sat within striking distance, waiting for their chance to take the crown. Ruiz fell in his position round to Cody Meiers 191-175 to open the door and Shawn Maldonado burst through it. Maldonado defeated Sean Lavery-Spahr 218-192 to jump three spots and claim the title by just five pins.

PBA Lubbock Sports Southwest Open Final Standings

  1. Shawn Maldonado, 2,500 points, $3,200
  2. Ildemaro Ruiz Jr., 1,500, $2,200
  3. Cody Meiers, 1,150, $1,600
  4. Sean Lavery-Spahr, 950, $1,300

Full tournament standings are available here.

PBA Ripic's Carousel Lanes Open

It’s not often you see wire-to-wire wins on the PBA Regional Tour, but Jason Cornog did just that in Binghamton, N.Y. A frequent face in the East Region, Cornog started his weekend by qualifying first at +394 for eight games and never looked back. His lead slowly decreased throughout the three advancer rounds, but it was enough to claim the No. 1 seed for the stepladder.

Alex Cavagnaro took down Anthony Scaccia 268-243 in the first match and defeated Ryan Graywacz 238-235 in the second. But in the end, the fight from Cornog was too much as he completed his run with a 221-214 victory. 

PBA Ripic's Carousel Lanes Open Final Standings

  1. Jason Cornog, 2,500 points, $3,000
  2. Alex Cavagnaro, 1,500, $1,600
  3. Ryan Graywacz, 1,150, $1,125
  4. Anthony Scaccia, 950, $1,000

Full tournament standings are available here.

PBA/PBA50 Select Key Motors Bristol Baker Doubles 

 

The final two tournaments of the season both used the PBA/PBA50 doubles format, this one coming out of Bristol, Va. Seventy teams filled the lanes for 12 qualifying baker games and one pairing stood out from the rest. Tim Foy Jr. and Chuck Richey Jr. ran over the field, shooting +467 for their 12 games. The second place duo finished at +262, more than 17 pins per game behind Foy and Richey.

The top duo held onto those pins as they continued their trek to the top seed through match play. But in the stepladder finals, they ran into the monster team of Anthony Neuer and Troy Lint, who smashed the leaders 267-172 to take the title. 

PBA/PBA50 Select Key Motors Bristol Baker Doubles Final Standings

  1. Anthony Neuer and Troy Lint, 2,500 points, $4,500
  2. Tim Foy Jr. and Chuck Richey Jr. 1,500, $2,500
  3. Mark Tarkington and Bill Vannoy, 1,150, $2,100
  4. Ethan Fiore Dan Knowlton, 950, $1,900

Full tournament standings are available here.

PBA/PBA50 Houston Emerald Doubles

Houston also held a PBA/PBA50 doubles tournament at Emerald Bowl. Out of the 40 teams, Anthony Lavery-Spahr and Paul Fleming grabbed the lead at +470 after eight individual games, totaling 16 games of qualifying. But in match play, the story changed. Mykel Holliman and Walter Ray Williams Jr. cruised through the day and accumulated a 241-pin lead, with just the position round remaining.

With little to no chance for the competition to make up that ground, the Holliman/Williams Jr. duo earned themselves a title, marking regional title No. 62 for Deadeye. He now sits four titles ahead of Chris Warren on the all-time list.

​​PBA/PBA50 Houston Emerald Doubles Final Standings

  1. Mykel Holliman and Walter Ray Williams Jr., 2,500 points, $7,000
  2. Eric Jones and Mike Bailey, 1,500, $3,900
  3. Sean Lavery-Spahr and Tom Hess, 1,150, $2,500
  4. Stuart Williams and Chris Barnes, 950, $2,000

Full tournament standings are available here.

The next stop for many of these bowlers will be in Vegas for the grand finale at the RPI.

RPI action will be streamed live on BowlTV for the entirety of the tournament, from PBA50 qualifying all the way to the championship of the PBA division. Subscribe to BowlTV before Jan. 1, 2023 to take advantage of a discounted price.