June 21, 2026 Nolan Hughes

With ingenious spare shooting and clutch shot making, Marshall Kent prevailed in The Magnum Ice Cream Company PBA Norm Duke Open to earn his ninth career PBA Tour title.

Kent defeated Richie Teece in his first match, then prevailed in two roll-offs against Deo Benard and Anthony Simonsen to win his second title of the season, the $40,000 top prize, and the iconic Duke trophy.

“What an absolute honor it is to not only win a title, but a title again named after the legendary Norm Duke,” Kent said. “I've been honored to be able to call him a friend for a long time now. To take the Duke home means the absolute world to me.”

Kent lost the first game of the Race-to-Two championship match to Simonsen, who defeated Kent in the 2024 PBA Tour Finals title match also held at Steel City.

After starting with a strike in the must-win second game, Kent left a 4-9 split. He made it. Kent left the 4-10 in the fourth frame. He made it. Kent’s errant shot in the 10th frame left the 3-10 split standing. He converted that split, too.

In the ninth and 10th frame roll-off, Kent put the pressure on Simonsen with a strike. Simonsen left and converted a pair of single pins, then struck on his fill ball.

Kent, needing at least a spare to win, delivered a strike to claim the title on Father’s Day. Kent dedicated the win to his late father, Jim.

With nine titles, the 33-year-old is one victory away from title eligibility for the PBA Hall of Fame.

“Someone was looking out for me today,” Kent said, pointing to his father’s dog tags around his neck. “To win on Father's Day, it's unbelievable.”

Group 1 Stepladder Recap

For the second straight year at Steel City, Pennsylvania native Bill O’Neill struggled to get going. The PBA Hall of Famer fell to England’s Richie Teece in the opening match of the first group stepladder, 246-204.

Kent, playing straight up the lane to the right of the first arrow, took down Teece in the second match. Kent fired five strikes to start the match and stayed clean to keep Teece at bay.

Kent threw a very weak reactive ball, which most players use exclusively for spare shots, on the right lane and rotated between two different urethane balls on the left lane.

Kent continued to roll in the Group 1 final against top seed Deo Benard. He took the first game in convincing fashion as the two-handed lefty, who led qualifying by nearly 200 pins, struggled to find any consistency in the different bowling center.

After three straight open frames, Benard rebounded by firing strikes in his last four shots of Game 2. After Kent was unable to strike on his first shot in the 10th, the match went into a ninth and 10th frame roll-off.

Benard elected to start the roll-off on the left lane, forcing Kent to finish on that same lane which had given him fits all afternoon. Benard converted a single-pin spare.

Kent struck on the right lane then, when he needed it most, found a way to bury a double on the left lane and clinch the match.

Group 2 Stepladder Recap

Eric Jones stayed clean to defeat AJ Johnson in the first match of Group 2’s stepladder finals.

Johnson struck in the third, fourth and seventh frames. His other six first-ball attempts prior to the 10th frame netted less than nine pins.

Jones converted single-pin spares in the fourth through seventh frames, then tallied three strikes in a row to put away Johnson.

The 21-year-old lefty lost control of the pocket in the second match against 17-time champion Anthony Simonsen.

The veteran sprinted to an early lead with four strikes and two spares, but opened the door for Jones with back-to-back open frames in the seventh and eighth.

Jones, much like his Roth/Holman Doubles counterpart Benard, could not strike enough to take advantage of the opportunity.

Simonsen threw a 14-pound urethane ball on the right lane and a 15-pound urethane on the left lane, as color analyst Kyle Sherman noted on the broadcast, in his 198-179 win over Jones. Simonsen said the 14-pound equipment hooked more for him.

Simonsen advanced to face EJ Tackett, the front-runner for his fourth consecutive Player of the Year award.

Tackett held a narrow lead in the first game of the Race-to-Two match against Simonsen, but a split and open in the ninth frame ceded control to Simonsen. The 29-year-old took the first game with a clean 207 to Tackett’s two-open 191.

The third and fourth frames of the second game were disastrous for Tackett, turning a basically tied match into a 40-plus pin deficit.

In the third, Tackett threw the first shot in the gutter and left a light pocket 4-pin on the spare attempt. He then left a four-count split and only knocked over three pins on the spare attempt.

After Simonsen responded with a double, Tackett missed a 10-pin. 

“Time to go home,” Tackett joked to his ball rep.

Simonsen ultimately won by a 195-154 margin, setting up a rematch of the 2024 PBA Tour Finals against Kent.

Championship Match Recap

Simonsen rode the momentum of his Tackett victory into the championship match, rolling four strikes to take a commanding lead. He converted three single-pins then added three more strikes to take the first game, 244-203.

“After Game 1, I got into fight mode,” Kent said. “This is kind of do or die. I locked in, and being able to lock in mentally was was huge.”

Kent converted the 4-9 split in the second frame, 4-10 split in the fourth and 3-10 in the 10th frame. He struck on six of his other seven shots, making a 10-pin in the other frame.

The only blemish was the six-count on his fill ball that offered Simonsen an opportunity to strike out and tie the game.

Simonsen’s first shot went high, leaving the 3-6-10 to send the match into a roll-off.

Kent chose to start the roll-off on the left lane, throwing a massive strike to ensure he could not be shut out.

On his first offering, Simonsen opted to switch to reactive for the first time all afternoon. He went high, left the 4-7 and spared it. On the left lane, Simonsen left a light 5-pin and said someone in the crowd caught his attention mid-shot.

He struck on the fill shot to ensure Kent would need at least one strike in the 10th frame, whether it came on the first shot or the fill ball after a spare. 

As Kent toed the line, he told himself, “whatever happens, happens.”

“That little phrase helped out a lot,” he said. “It took me away from the results-oriented process and got me to make sure my process was from the foul-line back. That freed me up mentally and physically to where I could just throw the ball well. If it doesn’t strike, oh well. If it splits, take care of business here and let the rest take care of itself.”

Kent piped his ball up the lane like a vintage, albeit taller, Norm Duke himself would have to clinch the title.

He celebrated with his mother, girlfriend and close friends EJ Tackett and Ronnie Russell.

Match Scores

Group 1 Stepladder (A-squad)

Match 1: Richie Teece def. Bill O’Neill, 246-204
Match 2: Marshall Kent def. Richie Teece, 243-215
Match 3: Marshall Kent def. Deo Benard, 2-1 (205-186, 186-192, 59-34)

Group 2 Stepladder (B-squad)

Match 1: Eric Jones def. AJ Johnson, 214-162
Match 2: Anthony Simonsen def. Eric Jones, 198-179
Match 3: Anthony Simonsen def. EJ Tackett 2-0 (207-191, 195-154)

Championship Match

Marshall Kent def. Anthony Simonsen, 2-1 (203-244, 223-210, 42-39)

Final Standings

1. Marshall Kent, $40,000
2. Anthony Simonsen, $25,000
T-3. Deo Benard, $18,000
T-3. EJ Tackett, $18,000
T-5. Richie Teece, $13,000
T-5. Eric Jones, $13,000
T-7. AJ Johnson, $10,000
T-7. Bill O’Neill, $10,000

Complete standings are available here.

More information on The Magnum Ice Cream Company PBA Norm Duke Open is available here.