Hall of Famer Norm Duke won his 33rd career PBA title in a unique ESPN telecast Sunday that told the story of the PBA Cheetah Championship from beginning to end.

Duke, who now ranks fifth on the list of PBA all-time title winners behind Walter Ray Williams Jr. (46), Earl Anthony (43) and Mark Roth and Pete Weber (34 each), ended an amazing run by non-exempt player Ryan Ciminelli to win the best-of-seven-games championship match, 4-1.

The documentary-style format narrated by ESPN's Kenny Mayne was thoroughly enjoyable, giving viewers a look at qualifying and the match play rounds leading up to the final four players.

The action was entertaining and the snippets with players gave viewers a look you normally can't get unless you attend a PBA event.

The 23-year-old Ciminelli led the Cheetah Championship Tour Qualifying Round to get into the 72-man tournament field. He then led both rounds of qualifying and won best-of-seven-game matches against Hall of Famer Brian Voss, four-time Tour champion Ryan Shafer and PBA Tour rookie Derek Sapp of Keokuk, Iowa, to advance to the title match.

Against the 45-year-old Duke, Ciminelli won the first game, 226-212, but the veteran then took control, winning the next four matches, 236-228, 257-213, 236-193, and 258-205.

The coverage of the title match correctly focused on the turning point of the match in game 2 when the announcer told the crowd that Duke was behind by 42, causing a funny exclamation from Duke that seemed to loosen him up and then turn the momentum his way as he started striking.

"If Ryan would have gotten a 2-0 edge on me, I don't know if I could have come back," Duke said in a PBA news release. "The lanes were changing and you really had to keep up with it. Being down by 42 (pins) at one point in that second game, I didn't know if I could have turned it around if I had lost."

After a first-round bye on his side of the single-elimination match play bracket, Duke defeated Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Chris Barnes to earn his berth in the championship match.

"For me it's like tennis. You have to attack every opponent differently," Duke said. "With Ryan being left-handed I had a fresh condition on the right side of the lane which was an advantage for me."

Ciminelli, who had little trouble carrying corner pins on pocket hits throughout the tournament, ran into a pair where he had trouble kicking out the 7 pin.

"I had trouble carrying on this pair of lanes in a side tournament before this tournament started," Ciminelli said "but I thought it might have been just a unique situation. I was pretty calm going into the championship match and started out making good shots, but after a while I couldn't carry. I tried everything I could to get rid of the 7 pin, but nothing worked."

Duke earned $25,000 for his victory. As the first so-called "animal pattern" winner of the season, Duke also earned a berth in the end-of-season PBA Experience Showdown presented by BOWL.COM which will be held at the new USBC International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas, in April.

Ciminelli earned $13,000 and his best Tour finish since finishing seventh in last season's CLR Carmen Salvino Scorpion Championship in Vernon Hills, Ill.

The Cheetah Championship was the first Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour event ever to incorporate a best-of-seven-games title match.

LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA TOUR CHEETAH CHAMPIONSHIP

Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich.,

Championship (best of seven games)

Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla. ($25,000) def. Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y. ($13,000), 212-226, 236-228, 257-213, 236-193, 258-205.

Semifinal Round (best of seven games)

Ciminelli def. Derek Sapp, Keokuk, Iowa ($7,000), 269-263, 258-238, 213-287, 255-190, 209-206.

Duke def. Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La. ($7,000), 247-234, 269-223, 226-236, 217-204, 237-215.

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