The PBA Tournament of Champions is one of the five major PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) bowling events. It is an invitational event and the only PBA Tour major that does not have any open field. All participants must meet qualifications to be invited. History The inaugural event, held by the PBA in 1962, featured all 25 PBA Tour title-holders to date, and was won by PBA Hall of Famer Joe Joseph, who had qualified for the tournament only four events prior. In 1965, the tournament featured all champions since the 1962 event, before officially becoming an annual event in 1966 (at that time featuring the most recent 48 tour champions). From 1965 to 1993, Firestone Tire sponsored the Tournament of Champions. Since 1994, the Tournament of Champions has had a variety of sponsors, including General Tire, Brunswick, Dexter, H&R Block, Barbasol, Fire Lake Casino & Resort, and most recently Kia. From 1965 until 1994, the tournament was contested at Riviera Lanes (now AMF Riviera Lanes) in Fairlawn, Ohio near the long-time Firestone World Headquarters in Akron, Ohio. From 2002 to 2007, the Tournament of Champions was contested in an arena setting at Mohegan Sun Arena, in Uncasville, Connecticut. The event was moved to Las Vegas, Nevada for the 2007–08 season, and was contested there through the 2011–12 season. The tournament returned to Riviera Lanes again in 2018. The TOC is the only PBA major that is an "invitational" event. Prior to 2007–08, a bowler qualified for the Tournament of Champions by being one of the 32 most recent title winners on the regular PBA Tour. The list was expanded in 2008 to include some past winners of the TOC itself, even if they were no longer in the Top 32 most recent PBA winners. The 2009–10 TOC saw its first-ever female competitor, as a spot in the 2010 tournament was given to Kelly Kulick, winner of the inaugural PBA Women's World Championship in 2009. Kulick made sports history on January 24, 2010 as she defeated Mika Koivuniemi and Chris Barnes to become the first woman to win a title against men on the PBA Tour. In 2011–12, the tournament allowed PBA Regional Tour winners for the first time, even if they had no titles on the PBA Tour, as long as they were PBA members at the time of their Regional title. These players participated in the initial "Champions" field