2009 PBA Motor City Open Champion Crowned(1)
September 05, 2009
In a telecast that arguably ranks among the most star-studded in the history of the Professional Bowlers Association and includes a combined total of 103 PBA titles, it is only fitting that the winningest player of them all would find himself in the winner's circle yet again, as Walter Ray Williams Jr. defeated former PBA Player of the Year Chris Barnes to claim the 2009 Motor City Open championship.
Rising star Bill O'Neill saw an opportunity to obliterate any memory of a 2008-09 season in which he made seven telecasts and still found himself without a single title, defeating two legends by a combined 65 pins in matches one and two. But a costly collapse against Barnes in game 3 in which he opened four frames including a 4-6 split in a must-strike situation left O'Neill with a familiar disappointment.
O'Neill met a struggling Tommy Jones out of the gate and needed only a 201 to move on as Jones posted 3 splits and four open frames for a score of 169, but the scoring pace picked up in a hurry as O'Neill faced PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber, whose 8 strikes were ultimately foiled by consecutive splits in frames 6 and 7 as O'Neill held strong with a 257 to Weber's 224.
In a sport in which lane transition wastes no time turning one game's strike shot into the next game's struggles, though, O'Neill found himself playing catch-up in game 3, posting a 169 game of his own and falling short of Barnes's 183.
The championship round continued the show's roller coasted of intensity as the sluggish O'Neill-Barnes match gave way to an old-fashioned slug fest between two of the sport's greatest names, Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Chris Barnes. After opening the match with six of seven possible strikes, Barnes was stunned in the foundation frame as the 6-pin wrapped around the 10 for an open frame in an attempt to convert the 3-6-9-10. After Walter Ray failed to strike on his first ball of the tenth, though, Barnes still had an opportunity to win with a double and an 8-count in the tenth frame, but came up high on the first shot for a 9-count and fell short of his first title of the season by an 8-pin margin, 230-238.
With the win, Walter Ray Williams Jr. secures an exemption for next season along with 2009 PBA Cheetah Champion Norm Duke and raises his all-time title record to 46.
Match 1: Bill O'Neill def. Tommy Jones 201-169
Match 2: Bill O'Neill def. Pete Weber 257-224
Semifinal: Chris Barnes def. Bill O'Neill 169-183
Final: Walter Ray Williams Jr. def. Chris Barnes, 238-230.
2009 PBA Motor City Open Champion: Walter Ray Williams Jr.
Rising star Bill O'Neill saw an opportunity to obliterate any memory of a 2008-09 season in which he made seven telecasts and still found himself without a single title, defeating two legends by a combined 65 pins in matches one and two. But a costly collapse against Barnes in game 3 in which he opened four frames including a 4-6 split in a must-strike situation left O'Neill with a familiar disappointment.
O'Neill met a struggling Tommy Jones out of the gate and needed only a 201 to move on as Jones posted 3 splits and four open frames for a score of 169, but the scoring pace picked up in a hurry as O'Neill faced PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber, whose 8 strikes were ultimately foiled by consecutive splits in frames 6 and 7 as O'Neill held strong with a 257 to Weber's 224.
In a sport in which lane transition wastes no time turning one game's strike shot into the next game's struggles, though, O'Neill found himself playing catch-up in game 3, posting a 169 game of his own and falling short of Barnes's 183.
The championship round continued the show's roller coasted of intensity as the sluggish O'Neill-Barnes match gave way to an old-fashioned slug fest between two of the sport's greatest names, Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Chris Barnes. After opening the match with six of seven possible strikes, Barnes was stunned in the foundation frame as the 6-pin wrapped around the 10 for an open frame in an attempt to convert the 3-6-9-10. After Walter Ray failed to strike on his first ball of the tenth, though, Barnes still had an opportunity to win with a double and an 8-count in the tenth frame, but came up high on the first shot for a 9-count and fell short of his first title of the season by an 8-pin margin, 230-238.
With the win, Walter Ray Williams Jr. secures an exemption for next season along with 2009 PBA Cheetah Champion Norm Duke and raises his all-time title record to 46.
Match 1: Bill O'Neill def. Tommy Jones 201-169
Match 2: Bill O'Neill def. Pete Weber 257-224
Semifinal: Chris Barnes def. Bill O'Neill 169-183
Final: Walter Ray Williams Jr. def. Chris Barnes, 238-230.
2009 PBA Motor City Open Champion: Walter Ray Williams Jr.