WICHITA, Kan. - In a near carbon copy of last year’s event, left-hander Jakob Butturff dominated the match play portion of the 2018 U.S. Open and earned the top seed for Wednesday’s stepladder finals.

Butturff finished match play Tuesday with a 19-5 record and a total pinfall of 13,452, including 30 bonus pins for match wins. He averaged 230.04 for the 56 total games and led the next closest player, Kristopher Prather, by 552 pins.

At the 2017 U.S. Open, Butturff went 20-4 in match play and had a total pinfall of 13,101, leading the field by 617 pins. He went on to lose in the title match to Rhino Page, 256-222.

"I'm speechless," said Butturff, who is a four-time champion on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. "Kris had bowled so well, and I knew I had a lot of work to do. I worked as hard as I could to repeat shots and keep it going, and now I only have one more game to go."

Joining Butturff and Prather in the stepladder finals, which will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m. ET, will be EJ Tackett, Dom Barrett and Marshall Kent.

Prather earned the No. 2 seed with a 14-8-2 match-play record and total pinfall of 12,900, an average of 222.32. Tackett, meanwhile, went 17-7 in matches and finished with 12,644.

Each of the top three seeds were locked into their position early in the final round of match play Tuesday night with all the drama focused on who would advance in the No. 4 and No. 5 spots.

Barrett ended up with an even 12-12 record and pinfall of 12,402 to earn the No. 4 seed, while Kent finished 19-5 with 12,363 for fifth.

In the final game of match play, Barrett defeated Jason Sterner 278-188, while Kent defeated Tackett, 237-234. Sterner had a chance to make the show simply by beating Barrett but fell behind early and never had a chance in the match.

There will also be PBA Player of the Year implications from Wednesday’s stepladder finals. With two titles this season, Butturff could add a major to his resume and make a very strong case to win the honor.

Tackett, meanwhile, is the only player this season with three PBA Tour victories and adding a fourth that’s a major would almost certainly lock up PBA Player of the Year for him. Tackett was also the PBA Player of the Year in 2016.