9 Sep 2009       

DARRIN HILL: Walter Ray Williams, Jr. defeats Chris Barnes to win Motor City Open, his 46th championship
ALLEN PARK, MI. -- Walter Ray Williams, Jr. has won 45 career titles. Even though he was born and raised in California and later moved Florida, he enjoys bowling in the State of Michigan. He has won six national tournaments here in the Wolverine state. Four of those victories were of tournaments that originated at Taylor Lanes. Now, you can add another Detroit trophy to his manale piece. Williams, Jr. defeated Chris Barnes to win the Motor City Open, 238-231. This victory continues Williams, Jr. streak of winning a tournament in 17 straight season. "I'm not sure why I win so often here in Detroit," said Williams. "I love bowling in the Bowling Capital of the World. The crowds are great. If it wasn't for the cold weather, I'd consider moving here."

Williams, Jr. of Ocala FL. was the top seed going into the finals of this event. Barnes of Double Oak, TX. entered the championship round as the number two seed. But, before these two titans of the lanes could do battle, there were three other matches.

In match #1, fifth seed Bill O'Neill defeated fourth seed Tommy Jones, 201-169. In match #2, O'Neill battle third seed, PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber. O'Neill and Weber were battling like a couple of UFC fighters for the first four frames. In the fifth frame, somebody slamed the heavy glass entrance to the arena just as Weber started his approach. The noise startled Weber causing him to throw what looked like a great shot. But, he found himself staring at a stone 9 pin instead of ten in the pit. Weber converted the single pin spare and showed his appreciation for the distraction by giving it the single finger salute.

Weber was noticably angered by that distraction. That was in evidence after he left the 4-9 split in the sixth frame and the 4-6-7-10 bg four split in the seventh frame. His two open frames handed O'Neill his second win of the day, 258-224.

In match #3, Barnes easily dismised O'Neill, 183-169. It's a mystery how a professional bowler could go from bowling a 258 game against a Hall of Fame bowler to being dismissed from the tournament after bowling a 169. Four open frames and a missed 10 pin contributed to O'Neill's downfall.

In the title match, the top two player, who were one-two throughout the entire Motor City Open, faced each other once again to decide the champion. At the onset, Barnes dominated the match, striking 7 out of 8 frames while Williams, Jr. struck in 6 out of 8 frames. As if normally does in championship battles, this match was decided in the 9th and 10th frames. After striking in the 8th frame, Barnes left the most difficult spare conversation on the PBA Tour, the 3-6-9-10 combination. With the match in the balance, Barnes failed to convert this spare, leaving the door wide open for Williams, Jr.

With ice water flowing in his veins, Williams, Jr. needed a double in the tenth frame to shutout Barnes. He stroked a great shot only to leave the 4 pin. After converting the spare and finishing his game with a strike, Williams, Jr. posted a final score of 238. The door was cracked open enough for Barnes to sneak out a victory. If could throw three straight strikes in the tenth frame, he would beat Williams by 3 pins. Barnes' shot failed him leaving a 7 pin. Barnes posted a final score of 231. Williams, Jr. earned a first place check worth $25,000. For his second place finish, Barnes recieved a check for $13,000.

The finals of the PBA Tour's Motor City Open will air on ESPN on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 1 p.m.

Darrin Hill is a freelance writer and the publisher/editor-in-chief of Motor City Bowling News. You can contact him at: motorcitybowling@hotmail.com.


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