One Final ELITE Qualifying Weekend
One Final ELITE Qualifying Weekend
The last chance for bowlers to qualify to compete at this year’s Regional Players Invitational (RPI) is here. This weekend is the ninth straight weekend of competition for the new PBA ELITE Regional Tour. With 21 more invitations to give out, every pin will mean even more at events taking place in Texas, Missouri and Washington state.
SOUTHWEST
Close to a dozen priority status PBA bowlers are on the roster for Southwest Regional 3 in Lubbock, TX. This includes 2025 PBA Rookie of the Years Ryan Barnes, Andrew Anderson, Deo Benard, Packy Hanrahan, Eric Jones, Sean Lavery-Spahr, Francois Lavoie and Stu Williams, along with ELITE champions Ben Robinson and Dallas Leong in the standard division.
Chris Barnes, Rick Benard, Robert Lawrence and ELITE champ, Dino Castillo are a few of the players to watch in the senior division. All competitors will bowl on 43 feet of oil inside Whitewood Lanes.
There are two squads with seven games of qualifying starting at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. The top third in each division return at 9 a.m. ET on Sunday for four games in the advancers round. The top 8 from each group will move into round-robin match play scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET. This regional will be streamed live only on BowlTV.
WEST
The next region on the lanes is Northwest 3 inside Bowlero Lanes of Lakewood in Lakewood, WA. Cameron Weier and Nick Freiberg have already won ELITE titles in the standard division, while Blaine Weninger and Shawn Horenberger have earned ELITE titles within the senior division. They are all looking to become two-time ELITE Regional champions.
Weier and Freiberg will be challenged by 2026 PBA Player of the Year nominee, Marshall Kent, Darren Tang, Nate Purches, Chase Nadeau, and the wife -and-husband combo of Alexis and Brandon Runk. Four Washington players to keep your eyes on are 17-year-old Dohoon Kwon, who is a junior in high school, Chris Tuholski, the reigning Northwest Region Player of the Year, Evan Nash, who has won six regional titles, and Thomas McNeal, a three-time Junior Team USA member.
In addition to Weninger and Horenberger, Clay Rees, Craig Tuholski, Richard Corwin, Ron Hurt and current Northwest Region senior points leader, Michael Kennedy, will be in the senior division. The field will be challenged on a short 37-foot oil pattern.
There are two qualifying squads starting at 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The top third in each division return at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday for four games in the advancers round. The top 8 from each group will move into round-robin match play scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET. Watch the West Regional only on BowlTV.
MIDWEST
Midwest Regional 3 action will feature 2026 PBA Player of the Year nominees, Spencer Robarge and Zach Wilkins. ELITE champion Ryan Burton has enjoyed a lot of success so far during this tour, so too has Trae Henrichsmeyer. Also on the standard roster is Justin Bohn, Brandon Kreyer, Nick Kruml, Kevin McCune, Brad Miller, Brian Robinson, TJ Rock, Matt Russo, Zach Weidman and Keven Williams.
Within the senior division is two-time ELITE champion Tom Hess and Parker Bohn III, who has one ELITE win. The legendary Pete Weber and his close friend, John Marsala, will be competing in their home state of Missouri at St. Charles Lanes. Along with Steve Jaros and Anthony Crews. They will bowl on a 43-foot oil pattern.
Seven games of qualifying for these bowlers will begin at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. After a cut to the top third of the field in the standard and senior division, those players will return to the lanes at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday for four games in the advancers round. From there, the top 8 in each division bowl round-robin match play, scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET.
Overall, the bowler with the highest pinfall total in each region will win their division. There is no stepladder final. Midwest Regional 3 will be exclusively available to watch only on Bowling TV.
The top 5 non-PBA Tour priority finishers and top 2 senior division bowlers in each of these three PBA ELITE Regional Tour events, who have yet to qualify for the RPI, will earn an automatic berth to the final tournament on this year’s schedule. At the Regional Players Invitational, three priority status positions on the 2027 PBA Tour will be rewarded. Finishers 4-15 will be invited to the inaugural PBA Combine happening next month, where four more priority status positions for the PBA Tour will be given out.
To follow the continuous coverage of the PBA ELITE Regional Tour, click here.
