December 13, 2024 Nolan Hughes

The 2024 BowlTV PBA Regional Players Invitational is set to begin on Friday at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev.

The tournament caps off the 2024 PBA Regional Tour season with almost 150 of the nation’s top regional players in the field, including 98 players competing in the PBA division and 47 aged-50-and-over talents in the PBA50 division.

Players were invited to the RPI based on their performances throughout the 2024 PBA Regional Tour season.

At stake are first-place prizes of $15,000 in the PBA division and $10,000 in the PBA50 division, as well as an automatic entry into their respective 2025 PBA Tournament of Champions field. If the RPI champion has previously qualified for the TOC, the automatic TOC entry will not carry over to the runner-up.

All qualifying and match play rounds will be livestreamed on BowlTV.

The PBA and PBA50 divisions will compete concurrently with qualifying beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern on Friday, Dec. 13.

Match play will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in both divisions and continues into Sunday. The championship matches are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET in the PBA50 division and 4:30 p.m. ET in the PBA division.

PBA East Region

RPI Qualifier: Andrew Suscreba, Tim Foy Jr., Andrew Hall
Points List: Jake Rollins, Sam DeWitt III, Will Vidulich, Anthony Neuer, Philip Drumm, Michael Mirable, Tom Sorce, Billy McGaffin, Mike Ruben, Andrew Lazarchick

The East will send two players who earned 2025 PBA Tour exemptions to Reno — Tim Foy Jr. and Andrew Hall — and one of whom may be the man to beat, full stop.

Here is where Foy, who was selected as the region’s Player of the Year, finished in each of his nine events in the East Region: eighth, first, second, third, second, first, second, first and first. That reads more like the scorecard of an elite mini-golfer who severely struggled with the windmill on the first hole.

(Did I steal that paragraph from my awards article? Of course, an analogy that good can be used twice.)

PBA Central Region

RPI Qualifier: Zach Weidman, Zac Tackett, Trevor Perov, Ryan Speer
Points List: Ryan Liederbach, Bailey Mavrick, Michael Schlabach, Dean Vargo, Andrew Halvorson, Trenton Holz, Casey Cohagan, Joe Bailey, Kevin Plyley

That sound you hear is the collective sigh of relief by all RPI qualifiers: Two-time defending RPI champion Patrick Dombrowski earned his big break on the PBA Tour, which makes him ineligible to attempt a threepeat.

But Ryan Liederbach fears not the rollercoaster-loving man, nor anyone else. The two-handed lefty tallied four titles in 12 regional events this season. From July 21 to Aug. 8, a span of four weeks, Liederbach won three titles.

PBA Midwest Region

RPI Qualifier: Kevin McCune, Alex Acosta, Brent Boho, Ryan Lopano
Points List: Nate Purches, Ryan Burton, Darin Bloomquist, Evan Genz, Ben Sobel, Phillip Watson, Jace Meyer, Brandon Runk, Benjy Martinez, Collin Howe

There’s a massive youth movement underway in the Midwest. 

Purches, the 21-year-old reigning Midwest Region Player and Rookie of the Year and recently announced PBA Rookie of the Year, led the region in points once again. Three rookies — Ryan Burton, Darin Bloomquist and Ryan Speer — each ranked within the top six in points.

PBA Tour major champion Kevin McCune, only 25, is somehow the grizzled veteran in this region.

PBA South Region

RPI Qualifier: Nate Garcia, Colin Champion, Zachary Dwyer, David Lance
Points List: Zachary Tackett, Nick Pate, Ethan Fiore, Alex Glinski, Trevor Roberts, Matt Taylor, Mathew Woodall, Nick Christy, Ethan McDonald, Garrett Thompson

Zachary Tackett’s domination in the South Region over the past two years is comparable to that of, well, the unrelated EJ Tackett on the PBA Tour. The two-handed southpaw tallied two wins and two runner-up finishes this season.

The region will also send 2022 RPI runner-up Colin Champion and a PBA Tour runner-up in Nick Pate to Reno.

PBA Southwest Region

RPI Qualifier: Ryan Barnes, Shawn Maldonado, Trey Ford III, Alex George
Points List: François Lavoie, Dallas Leong, Joshua Green, Brian Lake, Riley Patton, Andres Villarreyna, Dylan Macon, Johnny Quach, TJ Rock, Brent Dowell

Familiar names steal the headlines in the Southwest Region. François Lavoie and Shawn Maldonado may have struggled on the PBA Tour this season, hence their eligibility for the RPI, but they had no such issues in the Southwest Region. Neither did rookie Ryan Barnes, who cashed in all six of his regional events.

Two-handed lefties Deo Benard and Eric Jones, who won a combined five titles, won’t be representing the Southwest Region in Reno; they each finished in the top 43 in points on the PBA Tour.

PBA West Region

RPI Qualifier: Tim Cagle II, Ramsey Basurto, Darren Tang, Chase Nadeau
Points List: Brandon Kring, PJ Haggerty, Ronnie Fujita, Matt Murtishaw, Nickolas Freiberg, Manny Ferrell, Timothy Jacob, Tim Ursillo, Anthony Santos, Carson Ferreira

Superman himself, Tim Cagle II, topped the West Region in points. The Californian’s unique delivery made waves during August’s PBA Tour Trials. Cagle and Brandon Kring each won twice in the region.

PBA Tour veteran Darren Tang and Chase Nadeau, who finished 11th in PBA Tour Trials, have proven to be threats anytime they take the lanes. PJ Haggerty, who notched a win and three top-five finishes this regional season, could be a contender as well… if he’s a little more careful on the end pairs.

PBA Northwest Region

RPI Qualifier: Cameron Weier, Lanndyn Carnate, Michael Fitzgerald, Riley Woodard
Points List: Michael Marmolejo, Zack Stone, Austin Gratzer, Nick Borgaro, Thomas McNeal, Duke Knudsen, Evan Nash, Johnny Leggett, Christopher Tuholski, Payden Stumpf

The gap between Michael Marmolejo’s region-high 7,000 points and Lanndyn Carnate in seventh place was just 850 points, a testament to the Northwest Region’s depth.

Marmolejo, Michael Fitzgerald, Austin Gratzer, Nick Borgaro, Carnate, and Payden Stumpf each captured titles this regional season.

PBA Japan Region

Yuta Saito

The PBA and Japan Bowling Promotions relaunched the PBA Japan regional program this summer. Saito was the first beneficiary, winning the PBA Japan Chameleon Open in July and securing his berth in the RPI.

PBA50 East Region

RPI Qualifier: Andy Rettig
Points List: Rick Graham, Darryl Bower, David Handlowich Jr., Jeff Ripic

Ryan Shafer, who had to withdraw due to a knee injury, and Rick Graham each brought home a pair of titles in the East Region, with Shafer leading the way in points and earnings. Graham and Darryl Bower each earned a 100% cash rate in eight and nine events, respectively.

PBA50 Central Region

RPI Qualifier: Tom Adcock, Mark Sullivan, John Shreve Jr.
Points List: Michael Haggitt, Ron Hurt, Michael Clark Jr., Charles Ferrell

The Central Region saw a season-long duel between Tom Adcock and Michael Haggitt, who each claimed two titles. Haggitt finished with more points and earnings, but Adcock collected seven top-five finishes in eight events.

PBA50 Midwest Region

RPI Qualifier: Eugene McCune, Steve Jaros, Anthony Jovanovich
Points List: Jeff Johnson, Kevin Rothove, Bryan Schmidt, Cory Rockteschel

Steve Jaros, a member of the 2024 PBA Hall of Fame class, headlines the Midwest Region’s exports to Reno. Jaros won a title and earned three top-five finishes this regional season, as did three-time PBA Tour champ Eugene McCune.

PBA50 South Region

RPI Qualifier: Richard Blackmon, Ken Foy, Ed Oakes
Points List: Randy Weiss, Lee Robison, Bill Vannoy, James Winterfeld

Randy Weiss, the PBA50 Rookie of the Year, will be among the favorites in Reno. The South Carolina native led a loaded South Region in points and won two titles. He cashed in 12 of 13 events, proving to be competitive on any lane condition.

PBA50 Southwest Region

RPI Qualifier: Chris Warren, Mike Bailey, Jeff Atkins
Points List: Clint Dacy, Paul McCordic, Pete McCordic, Chris Hibbitts II

Each of the 49 PBA50 players will be competing in pursuit of the Chris Warren RPI trophy… including Chris Warren himself. Title No. 60 for the 59-time regional champion could be one for the ages.

PBA50 West Region

RPI Qualifier: Rick Benard, David Leverage, Michael Hartter
Points List: Rich Corwin, Eric Adolphson, John Gould, Darren Wong

David Leverage narrowly got the best of Rich Corwin in their annual West Region duel. Leverage bested Corwin in points (12,550-12,240), earnings ($9,925-$8,290), average (218.15-215.77), top-five finishes (9-7) and cashes (12-11).

The real John Wayne of the West Region was Robby Porter, but he’s apparently trying to preserve his perfect four-titles-in-four-events season and won’t be competing in the RPI.

PBA50 Northwest Region

RPI Qualifier: Michael Kennedy, Clay Rees, Blaine Weninger
Points List: Shawn Horenberger, Russell Hunt, Aaron Hendren, Clyde DeLoach

Based on the regular season, Blaine Weninger and Michael Kennedy will be the Northwest Region’s strongest candidates. The duo each won two titles, though Weninger brought home the win in the region’s lone double-points event.

Tournament details: PBA division | PBA50 division