I'm a left handed bowler who averages right around 230 on THS. I've also had great success in local tournaments over the last few years. Due to having 2 sets of twins 6 and 3 years ago respectively, Nationals has not been an option for me. I've always wanted to bowl at the stadium and I got permission to go this year. I watch guys online and have a vague game plan going in, in regards to what part of the lane I want to try to play. Here's my conundrum. I have a decent arsenal of equipment for a house shot. Most of my balls are drilled pin up, right above the bridge cg in the palm. I have more revs than most lefties i know so that layout gets the ball down the lane and makes a strong move in the back end.  I'm afraid that reaction will be hard to control on the NATS patterns. I've considered getting a couple matte finished balls and drilling them pin down for more control and area. I just don't have the OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP experience  to know what to expect.  Please help especially if left handed.

your missing the key points here.
The advice pointed out is solid as there are no shortcuts to scoring
the only way you can even possibly think about posting any scores is to get out on the lanes and put in the work.
Being LH and wanting to get better, i did watch some of the vids of Matt, but very few cant repeat shots like that wit hte same motion, ball speed, rotation, etc
so what specific ball he uses is not relevant

i would be curious for you to come back on here after you go to Reno and tell us what you did to prepare and what your results are.
what you learned and what you will do different next time

And that was the main point of my original post was to learn HOW to prepare.  (I have found a local center that will put down the 2013 pattern but the days and times will be very intermittent) that will be somewhat helpful assuming it plays relatively close.  Maybe asking the question what balls and layouts are these guys throwing would better be worded this way; WHY are these guys throwing what they are throwing?  What are they trying to accomplish in terms of controlling the lane?  A few have mentioned controlling mid-lane, smooth breakpoints, avoid flippy reactions, being very careful on how you break down the lanes, etc.  And that's kind of what I'm looking for.  I know I can't physically become as good as the guys on the featured pairs in the short amount of time between when I found out I can do this tourney and when we leave.  Because of my unique family life, I don't know when it will be in the cards to go to this tourney again.  However, there are certain things I can toy with between now and then that just may boost me from 1550 to 1650. 

I'm not arguing with you btw...  Just trying to better explain my request for help.  The equipment is just kind of where the topic went.

You ended your quote with a very interesting line.  "What you learned and what you will do different next time" 

This may be my "next time" because I truly don't know when I will get to go again.  It's only by an alignment of stars I get to go this time.  I'm hoping to gain insight from others experiences on what worked well or what was a total disaster in hopes of being able to recognize if something is going o.k. or if it is about to become a nightmare.  I'm not banking on these tips guaranteeing me a certain number.  I just want to avoid a nightmare.