ARLINGTON, Texas – Darren Tang will bowl for a singles title for the first time since 2016 after he jumped from fourth to first in the final game of match play Friday night at the 2020 PBA Hall of Fame Classic.

Tang had a 10-4 record in matches and totaled 6,299 for 26 games, a 230.73 average, to claim the top seed for Sunday’s stepladder finals at the International Training and Research Center. The show will be live at 1 p.m. Eastern on FS1 (United States) and FloBowling (international).

Joining Tang on the show is second seed Tommy Jones, third seed Osku Palermaa, fourth seed Jakob Butturff and fifth seed Chris Barnes.

RESULTS: PBA Hall of Fame Classic Match Play Round 2

Heading into the position round Friday night, Tang was in fourth place, 55 pins off the lead, but managed to jump three players in the final game. He struck out in the ninth and 10^th frames, beating Butturff, 246-202, to move into the top spot.

“I really stuck to my process,” said Tang, who bowled two 300 games in the final round of match play. “At the beginning of the week, I wanted to commit to it the entire season. Stay in my own lane, as cliché as that sounds. I think that’s the key to most people’s success out here.”

Tang hung around the top of the leaderboard all week long. He was second after the first round of qualifying and third as qualifying ended. After the first round of match play, he jumped back up to second place.

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“I matched up pretty well to start the week,” said Tang, who is seeking his first career PBA Tour title. “I was in second after the first day and (my look) didn’t really go away. I kept with it, stuck with the process and here we are.”

Tang, 26, had his best career singles finish on the PBA Tour when he took second at the 2016 PBA Cheetah Championship, losing to Mike Wolfe, 279-143. Along with his brother, Michael, he finished second at the 2018 Mark Roth-Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship.

While Tang will be looking for his first win, Jones will be looking for his 20^th career title Sunday. And it comes at an extra special time as he will be inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame on Saturday night live on FloBowling starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.

“It’s pretty special,” Jones said. “It’s already an unbelievable weekend getting inducted into the Hall of Fame but it has a chance to eclipse a lot of expectations.”

Palermaa, a five-time champion, is looking for his for his first title since he won the Bowling World Open in Japan in 2015, while Butturff will look to avenge a runner-up finish last year at the PBA Hall of Fame Classic.

Barnes, who lives in nearby Double Oak, is also looking to join the 20-title club with a win this weekend.