October 19, 2026 Jill Winters

It all came down to the final game to name the first-ever champions in the Midwest Region of the PBA ELITE Regional Tour. The two players who had led the majority of the event inside Sun Valley Lanes & Games in Lincoln, NE, finished the job.

Ryan Burton earned his fourth regional title in the standard division, while Tom Hess fought back to win his 24th career regional title in the senior division. With the wins, Burton and Hess extended their overall regional points leads, as well.

Click here to view scores from the PBA ELITE Midwest Regional 1.

Burton, a two-handed lefty, led the tournament wire-to-wire. In the final game, the 26-year-old held just a 13-pin lead over a surging Trey Brand and 47-pins ahead of Jacob Bockstie. Burton, who started his Sunday with a perfect game in the advancers round, stayed in the moment and focused on what he could control relying on his urethane equipment and the launch angle he wanted. He finished with 236 over Brand’s 194 and Bockstie’s 197.

“I was getting a little emotional those last couple of shots. It has been over a year since I have won. I’ve been the runner-up three times this year and third once," Burton said. "Most of it was me making mistakes in crucial situations, so to kind of buck that trend and get it done was really special. I did a really good job this weekend staying in the moment with whatever shot I was throwing and I think it really helped. I was very happy to get it done and to execute at the end and finish with a good game.”

With the win, Burton also earns his way to the Regional Players Invitational in December. That event also gives the 2024 Purdue University graduate the opportunity to seek a priority status position on the 2027 PBA Tour.

“The national tour is the end goal, so getting into the RPI is a solidified path to get there if I can bowl well at the RPI. To be in is really awesome,” Burton said. “I have had the confidence that I could bowl professionally. I figured there was no better time than right after college to start that process before kids and family come into the picture. It seemed like the right decision at the time, and it has been beneficial the last couple of years.”

Burton won the 2024 Midwest Region Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year, and he holds a commanding lead in the race to Player of the Year. He will be in the field for the two remaining Midwest Regionals. He earned $7,000 and posted a 5-3 match play record. Finishing in second was Brand, Bockstie was third, Ryan Powers finished in fourth and Boog Krol was fifth.

On the senior side, there were several lead changes over the final few games as Hess dropped out of the lead for the first time all tournament after game six. Tom Adcock took the lead then Rudy Kasimakis held just a five-pin lead going into the last game. Hess, who was 57 pins out of first, came out firing strikes just to the right of Kasimakis and Adcock. As Hess buried his ninth straight strike, he slapped it out.

“I got the one in the ninth and kind of let out a little scream like, ‘Hey, I am still here,’ Hess said. “Even though it looks like it on the outside, inside I never give up. I always fight for it.”

To his left, Kasimakis then stepped up and missed a spare. Hess finished with 279 to earn the win over Jeff Johnson’s 269 game.

“Jeff didn’t give me any breathing room. I knew I needed the 30 bonus pins. Once I made the spare there was no big elation because I didn’t know if I won,” Hess said. “At that point, I had quit looking at what Rudy and Tom were doing and just focused on me. Telling myself to go make shots because they were thinking about me now."

Kasimakis ended the tournament in second by 12-pins finishing with 210. Adcock was third followed by Johnson and Ricky Schissler was fifth. This was the 12th senior regional title for Hess to match his 12 standard regional wins. He is the defending Midwest senior Player of the Year. Hess won $3,000 and plans to bowl a few more PBA ELITE Regionals. Ultimately, he said it was the three minute practice session prior to the final game that led to his big comeback win. He was sorting out his bowling bag and ended up trying a ball he had not thrown up to that point.

“I literally struck every shot I threw with it in practice and then threw the front nine. It was a good, educated guess,” Hess said. “Two years ago I was down a hundred going into the last game and bowled 299 to win in this same building. I knew I could do it.”

Next up for the PBA ELITE Regional Tour is Midwest Region 2 in Lockport, IL, South Regional 2 in Raleigh, NC, and Northwest Regional 2 in Arlington, WA. For more details on the PBA ELITE Regional Tour, click here.

The top 5 non-PBA Tour priority finishers and top two seniors in every PBA ELITE Regional Tour event earn an automatic berth into the PBA RPI. At that prestigious tournament, three priority status positions on the 2027 PBA Tour will be rewarded.