Three titles will be on the line next week in one of the most important weeks of the 2018 PBA Tour season.

A stacked field of the best bowlers in the world will compete in the FloBowling PBA Fall Swing at The Lanes at Coffee Creek in Owasso, Oklahoma, and all the action will be broadcast LIVE on FloBowling.

Three-time PBA champion Josh Blanchard helps us break down what to look for in each of the three events:

FloBowling PBA Wolf Open

The week will kick off with the shorter of the two patterns being used as a title will be awarded in the FloBowling PBA Wolf Open. The Wolf pattern is not only the shortest at 33 feet, it’s also the flattest with a pattern ratio of 1.21 to 1 but that shouldn’t make it too difficult.

The field will bowl six games Monday and six games Tuesday with the top five players after 12 games making the stepladder finals, which begin Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Central.

Blanchard said he expects the Wolf pattern to be relatively easy to master because the part of the lane the players will need to play will be clearly defined.

“The Wolf pattern has historically been one of the easiest patterns we play on because there is really only one place to play on the lane,” Blanchard said. “I expect everyone to be playing between first and second arrow with their break points being between one and three board. With 28 feet of dry, you want your ball as far away from the head pin as possible when it starts hooking.”

FloBowling PBA Bear Open

Competition in the FloBowling Bear Open begins on Wednesday with six games and concludes on Thursday with another six games. Just like the Wolf Open, the 12-game pinfall will determine the five players in the stepladder finals on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Central.

The Bear pattern is 39 feet long with a pattern ratio of 2.10 to 1 and may provide a tricky challenge for the players.

Blanchard said there are many variables that will impact how the pattern plays and what angles the players use to attack the lanes.

“The Bear pattern is tricky because it can play many different ways depending on the surface we are bowling on and who the players are that you are following,” Blanchard said. “For example, if we bowl on Pro-Anvil Lane, you usually see it playing slicker and some stronger balls can be used to start with more extreme angles at the end of the block. On SPL lane surface, you could see urethane being used for the entire block by most competitors. That is the hardest pattern to plan for because it could end up using many different angles and bowling balls depending these variables.”

FloBowling PBA Tulsa Open

The 18 players who master both patterns will use their 24-game pinfall from the Wolf Open and Bear Open combined to advance to the main event of the week – the FloBowling PBA Tulsa Open.

An extra layer of complexity will be added to the tournament as both patterns will be used in round robin match play. The Bear pattern will be on the left lane and the Wolf pattern will be on the right lane for all 18 games of match play and for the stepladder finals.

Match play begins Friday with two six-game blocks and wraps up with a final six-game block Saturday morning. The top five after 42 total games will advance to the stepladder finals.

“I was unaware of the dual patterns being used next week in Oklahoma because it isn’t my job to decide what we bowl on,” Blanchard said. “It is my job to understand what the pattern is and do my best to tackle it in the manner that it requires that frame, game and day. It should be interesting for some players to have to finish the game on a pattern they might not feel the most comfortable on.”

Blanchard also offered some final thoughts on the two patterns being used.

“Through the five years we have been using these patterns, they have all played very different from center to center we bowl in,” Blanchard said. “The center characteristics seem to stand out more on these patterns than the actual length. With the surge of power players and two-handers who have dominated the tour for the past five years, I would expect there will be a lot of urethane going down the lane next week causing pair to pair to play tricky.”

What the schedule looks like

The FloBowling PBA Fall Swing starts on Monday and concludes on Saturday (all times Central):

Monday, Oct. 15
9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – FloBowling PBA Wolf Open Qualifying Round 1, Squad A (six games)
3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. – FloBowling PBA Wolf Open Qualifying Round 1, Squad B (six games)

Tuesday, Oct. 16
9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – FloBowling PBA Wolf Open Qualifying Round 2, Squad B (six games)
3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. – FloBowling PBA Wolf Open Qualifying Round 2, Squad A (six games)
7:30 p.m.-9 p.m. – FloBowling PBA Wolf Open Stepladder Finals (top five)

Wednesday, Oct. 17
9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – FloBowling PBA Bear Open Qualifying Round 1, Squad B (six games)
3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. – FloBowling PBA Bear Open Qualifying Round 1, Squad A (six games)

Thursday, Oct. 18
9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – FloBowling PBA Bear Open Qualifying Round 2, Squad A (six games)
3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. – FloBowling PBA Bear Open Qualifying Round 2, Squad B (six games)
7:30 p.m.-9 p.m. – FloBowling PBA Bear Open Stepladder Finals (top five)

Friday, Oct. 19
9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. – FloBowling PBA Tulsa Open Match Play Round 1 (six games)
2:30 p.m.-5 p.m. – FloBowling PBA Tulsa Open Match Play Round 2 (six games)

Saturday, Oct. 20
9 a.m.-11 a.m. – FloBowling PBA Tulsa Open Match Play Round 3 (five games)
11 a.m.-11:30 a.m. – FloBowling PBA Tulsa Open Match Play Position Round (one game)
12:30 p.m.-2 p.m. – FloBowling PBA Tulsa Open Stepladder Finals (top five)