EAST REGION
TV: Sat., Jan. 22, 4 pm EST/3 pm CST

1. Graham Fach
2. Brandon Runk
3. Bill O'Neill
4. Kyle Troup
5. Patrick Dombrowski

Comments: Fach has been throwing it well lately ... know nothing of Runk ... Dombrowski had to fight to get back in the number late, taking out Paul Smith in the 28th game.

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SOUTH REGION
TV: Sat., Jan. 22, 6 pm EST/5 pm CST

1. Tommy Jones
2. Norm Duke
3. David Stouffer
4. Toby Sambueno
5. D.J. Archer

Comments: Almost had Dick Allen in this one, too (Archer overtook him in game 28), which would have really given us an old-guy show. Don't know much about Stouffer or Sambueno. This was a lower-scoring region except for Jones, who blew everyone away.

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MIDWEST REGION
TV: Sun., Jan. 23, 4 pm EST/3 pm CST

1. Sean Rash
2. A.J. Johnson
3. E.J. Tackett
4. Matt Russo
5. Bailey Mavrick

Comments: Johnson led most of the way; Tackett and Russo had to come from way back in the field to get in. Don't know Mavrick.

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SOUTHWEST REGION
TV: Sun., Jan. 23, 6 pm EST/5 pm CST

1. Dom Barrett
2. Arturo Quintero
3. Francois Lavoie
4. Brad Miller
5. Kyle Sherman

Comments: It's the Brad & Kyle show for real in the first match. Quintero made a big jump late to get in.

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WEST REGION
TV: Monday, Jan. 24. 7 pm EST/6 pm CST

1. Jakob Butturff
2. Jake Peters
3. Wesley Low, Jr.
4. Jason Belmonte
5. Tyler Cortez Schenk

Comments: Lowest-scoring of the regions. Schenk (Cortez-Schenk? I don't know him) beat Sam Cooley by 9 pins for the final spot, had to come from like 15 down at the start of that game. Welcome back, Belmo.

I am not sure I would call it a complete waste.  Kyle just set the record for earnings in a season with over $300,000 and I believe that was just for the National side.  That doesnt include regionals or any other tournaments he bowled.  Secondly, a lot of these guys do have sponsors.  There are plenty of guys out there that rarely make a show and yet still seemingly make it to every tournament (guys like Kyle Sherman).  Some of the prize funds have increased with stops like the playoffs paying $100,000 to win.  While not everyone can be Troup or Belmo; there are guys like Prather that didnt do much his first year but then won a major and the playoffs the next for a nice chunk of change that season.  None of us really knew who Buttruff was and then all of a sudden he comes out and seems like he was making almost every show a few years back.  Every year there are  handful of guys like Koeltzow and Crowell IV that sneak up on your and make a show. 

$250K of Kyle Troup's winnings was from a single tournament.  That was a one-time windfall due to some pandemic related circumstances.  There aren't any huge prize funds like that this season.  The largest prize this season is $100K, and that is for each off the 5 major titles and the Playoffs.  The only way someone is going to have another $500K season is if they win 5 majors,  or win 5 or 6 regular tour stops plus 3 or 4 majors.  Those are pretty slim odds considering there are only 13 stops.

With 3000 PBA members, a pretty consistent "elite" top 24 leaderboard in each national stop, and entry fees ranging from $250-$500 you have to be able to pay to play.  Throw in travel expenses and you stand to take a financial loss if you don't cash.  Sponsors will only support you for so long until you don't make it worth their while to keep funding you.