A contingent of 29 Professional Bowlers Association competitors, including 20 invitees and nine PTQ hopefuls, are headed to Tokyo for the start of the 28th Round1 Japan Cup at Minami Suna Round 1 in Tokyo, hoping to return the prestigious Japan Cup to PBA hands.

The Round1 Japan Cup field includes 16 PBA Tour players who qualified based upon competition points, four players invited by the hosts, and nine players who will bowl in a “pre tournament qualifier” on Wednesday in hopes of joining the 20 invited players in the tournament field.

Players who are exempt from the PTQ include Dom Barrett, England; Jason Belmonte, Australia; Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J.; Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y.; Mike Fagan, Ft. Worth, Texas; Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C.; Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich.; Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio; Dan MacLelland, Canada; Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas; Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa.; Osku Palermaa, Finland; Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill.; Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind.; Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich.; E.J. Tackett, Huntington, Ind.; Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo.; Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo.; Stuart Williams, England, and Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla.

Yuya Katoh won his 2013 Japan Cup title in the event's first-ever all-Japan title match.

Players entered in the PTQ are Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz.; Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa.; Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla.; Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash.; Thomas Larsen, Denmark; Brad Miller, St. Charles, Mo.; Craig Nidiffer, Trenton, Mich.; Scott Norton, Mission Viejo, Calif., and Jason Sterner, Covington, Ga.

The Japan Cup is currently in the hands of Japan’s Yuya Katoh who defeated countryman Kazuaki Watanabe, 243-235, in the first all-Japan title match in the entry’s 27-year history. In doing so, Katoh became the first Japanese player to win the Cup in 25 years.

Competition begins Thursday when all players will be divided into A and B squads to bowl two five-game qualifying rounds to determine the 64 match play finalists. The 20 invited PBA players will be divided equally with 10 players assigned to each squad. After qualifying, the top 32 from each squad will advance to Friday’s best-of-five-game, single-elimination match play finals which will cull the field to the top eight for Saturday’s finals.

The Round1 Japan Cup is a PBA Tour title event, but it is not part of the World Bowling Tour.