The PBA announce Friday the Regional Players Invitational (RPI) will return for the 2021 season with the finals being held after the first of the year.

The RPI, which is only for PBA Regional players, will offer an overall prize fund of $100,000 with $20,000 going to the winner. The event will take place in January 2022 at South Point in Las Vegas with 120 of the top players from the seven PBA regions.

In a news release Friday, the PBA reported the following details:

From January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021, PBA members can earn points in all open field regional events to earn entry into the RPI. The top eight players in points from the South, East, Midwest, West, Central, and Southwest, plus the top six players from the Northwest will automatically earn a spot.

In addition to the top 54 regional players, 26 senior bowlers will also earn spots in the RPI, including the top four seniors in points from the South, East, Midwest, West, Central, and Southwest, and the top two seniors from the Northwest.

To complete the 120-member field, each region will hold a special RPI Tournament Qualifier to fill the remaining 40 spots. More details on the format and date of the qualifiers to be announced.

The field will be filled as follows:

RPI Qualifiers Field Per Region

The RPI is tentatively scheduled to take place in in January 2022 at South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Bowlers will compete in a three-day event starting with 16 games of qualifying, followed by a 32-player elimination bracket. The top 40 players after qualifying will cash.

Players in the top 50 PBA National Tour Points List after the completion of the 2021 PBA Summer Tour will not be eligible to bowl in the RPI Finals.