snieronbowling.com
The revamped PBA ELITE Regional Tour, the next chapter of the PBA Regional Tour, begins this weekend.
The first of 21 events is taking place Sept. 12-13 at Steel City Bowl and Brews in Bethlehem, Pa.
Eleven PBA Tour players with priority status for 2027 are scheduled to compete, including Pennsylvania natives Alex Horton, BJ Moore, Anthony Neuer and Hayden Stippich.
Brandon Bohn, the 22-year-old son of PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III, also is scheduled to compete.
These elevated events will feature larger prize funds, broader livestreaming coverage, and offer a path to qualify for the PBA Tour.
All PBA ELITE Regional Tour qualifying rounds will be livestreamed on BowlTV or Bowling TV, a new free, ad-supported channel.
The Central Region will have three of the new events on its schedule:
- Oct. 2-4 at EZ Bowl in Bluffton, Ind.;
- Oct. 9-11 at David Small’s JAX 60 in Jackson, Mich.; and
- Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at David Small’s Pro Bowl West in Fort Wayne, Ind.
FORMAT
All PBA ELITE Regional Tour events will feature the same format in both the PBA and PBA50 divisions.
Players will bowl seven games of qualifying on Saturday (squad size and number of players per pair may vary) with the top third of the field advancing.
Sunday’s competition will begin with a four-game advancers round, leading to an eight-player round-robin match play field.
The player with the highest pinfall after 19 games will win the tournament; there will be no stepladder finals.
PATH TO THE PBA TOUR
The top five players without PBA Tour priority status (outlined below) in each PBA ELITE Regional Tour event will qualify for the PBA Regional Players Invitational presented by USBC (RPI), which will take place in December.
The 119 RPI qualifiers will compete for the most prestigious PBA Regional Tour title of the season and three priority status positions on the 2027 PBA Tour.
2027 PBA Tour Priority Status Qualifications
- Finished the 2026 season in the top 75 on the PBA Tour points list (if status is decline, spot does not move down the point list)
- Won any PBA national Tour title within the past 10 years (2017–2026)
- Elected to the PBA Hall of Fame (Performance category only)
- Top three from Collegiate Bowling PBA Points List (Brandon Bohn, Bryce Oliver, Carter Street)
- Medical exception (Matt Taylor)
- Top three who qualify via Regional Players Invitational (RPI)
- Top four who qualify via PBA Combine
Players who meet any of the above criteria can enter up to three PBA ELITE Regional Tour events and are limited to two in their home region and one outside of their home region.
Players who meet any of the above criteria are not eligible to compete in the RPI.
OIL PATTERNS
Three new oil patterns — one short, one medium, and one long pattern — were designed to be used specifically for PBA ELITE Regional Tour events.
With three tournaments per region, players will be able to compete once on each pattern within their home region.
The oil patterns were selected based on a variety of factors within the host center: lane panels, oil machine, ball return placement, etc. They are pictured below.