Norm Duke said earlier this week that bowling on mixed patterns was to his advantage over time. He proved that theory correct once again Friday night as he earned the top seed for the 2019 PBA Jonesboro Open stepladder finals.

Duke, a 54-year-old PBA Hall of Famer, will look to become just the third player in the history of the PBA Tour to win 40 titles on Sunday at Hijinx Family Entertainment in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

The finals will be broadcast live on FS1 at 5 p.m. Eastern for audiences in the United States. International fans can watch live on FloBowling.

Results: PBA Jonesboro Open Match Play Round 2

Finishing match play with a 9-7 record, Duke earned the top seed with a 30-game total of 6,846, a 219.20 average, and will try to win back-to-back titles on the PBA Tour after taking the victory last week at the PBA Indianapolis Open.

For the second straight week, the field is facing mixed lane conditions with the 48-foot Shark pattern on the left lane and the 36-foot Viper pattern on the right lane. Duke, known as one of the most versatile players in the history of the PBA Tour, said he feels like the mixed patterns are an advantage for him.

“Once I figured out how to play the lanes, I was able to settle down and bowl," Duke said earlier this week. "It’s just a left and right lane. They were very different, but that’s what mixed patterns are and that’s to my advantage over time.”

After leading qualifying and squeaking back into the lead after the first round of match play, Duke was in second place heading into the position round game Friday night, trailing EJ Tackett by just a few pins.

In the final match, Duke took a 227-210 victory over Tackett to earn the top seed. Duke left and converted the 6-10 combination in the 10^th frame and struck on his fill ball, which was more than enough to shut out Tackett.

Tackett finished match play with a 10-6 record and a total of 6,803. Anthony Simonsen, who won the PBA Players Championship two weeks ago, earned the third seed with 6,794 and a 10-6 record, while Kris Prather took the fourth seed with a record of 7-9 and total of 6,715.

The battle for the final spot on the show came down to the final frame in the position round. Tom Daugherty had a chance to lock up the fifth seed with a strike and count in the last frame but instead pulled the ball through the face and left the 3-6.

That allowed Japan’s Shota Kawazoe to win the match, 226-222, and take the last spot on the show. Kawazoe, who trailed Daugherty by 32 entering the match, was down by 40 pins halfway through the last game but threw the last six strikes to put the pressure on Daugherty.