January 5, 2024 Nolan Hughes

Bo Goergen tallied four consecutive match victories to claim the 2023 BowlTV PBA50 Regional Players Invitational at South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas.

He defeated Chris Warren, 230-190, in the final match to earn the $10,000 top-prize and his third career PBA Regional Tour title.

Goergen’s march through the 12-player bracket, which included wins over Jeff Johnson, top seed Dan Knowlton, Rich Corwin and Chris Warren, paled in comparison to his journey over the past 14 months.

On Nov. 11, 2022, Goergen said he was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Six weeks later, he said he had knee replacement surgery, leaving him almost completely bedridden for two months.

“I've been in the gym and kind of working my tail off to get to this point,” Goergen said. “Each day that I kept working out trying to gain strength in my legs and I could see it was coming.

“This is a very special win for me."

Goergen qualified in eighth place among the 48-player PBA50 RPI field. Players were invited to the RPI based on their achievements during the 2023 season.

He tallied games of 267 and 224 to sweep his first-round match against Jeff Johnson. In the Round of Eight against Dan Knowlton, who led all players during qualifying with a 240.17 average for 18 games, Goergen rallied to overcome a 1-0 deficit.

Goergen said he drew motivation from his long and grueling recovery process each game throughout match play.

In the single-game semifinals, Goergen delivered a needed strike to dispatch Rich Corwin, setting up a championship match against 58-time regional champion Chris Warren.

Because of Warren’s accomplishments on the PBA Regional Tour, PBA Commissioner Tom Clark announced the RPI trophy will bear Warren’s name beginning next year.

But that's next year. This year, the trophy is all Goergen's.

Match Play Results

Championship Match
Bo Goergen def. Chris Warren, 230-190

Semifinals
Goergen def. Rich Corwin, 221-207
Warren def. Shawn Horenberger, 224-223

Round of Eight
Goergen def. Dan Knowlton, 2-1 (220-244, 234-213, 253-239)
Corwin def. Charles Ferrell, 2-0 (223-182, 255-248)
Warren def. Tony Franklin, 2-0 (220-211, 223-199)
Horenberger def. Steven Smith, 2-0 (268-203, 236-208)

Round of 12
Goergen def. Jeff Johnson, 2-0 (267-237, 224-210)
Ferrell def. Eddie Graham, 2-0 (215-168, 211-200)
Franklin def. James Campbell, 2-0 (183-169, 235-204)
Horenberger def. Eugene McCune, 2-0 (252-171, 279-234)

Final Standings

  1. Bo Goergen, $10,000
  2. Chris Warren, $5,000
  3. Rich Corwin, $3,000
  4. Shawn Horenberger, $3,000
  5. Dan Knowlton, $2,000
  6. Steven Smith, $2,000
  7. Tony Franklin, $2,000
  8. Charles Ferrell, $2,000

More information is available here.