Walter Ray Williams Jr. (pictured left with the trophy) of Ocala, Fla., used a fortunate strike in the final frame Friday to secure his first career United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters title.

The USBC Hall of Famer carried a light shot that collapsed the 2-4-5 for a strike to defeat Jack Jurek (right) of Lackawanna, N.Y., 240-219, to claim the title at South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas.

Heading into the final frame, Williams needed a strike to lock up the title or nine, spare, strike to secure at least a tie. Had he left anything less than nine on his first shot in the last frame, he would have lost.

"I thought I was going to leave the 2-4-5, and they just kept tumbling over," said Williams, who has 47 PBA Tour and eight PBA50 Tour titles in his career. "To get a strike and win with a hit like that is just crazy. I don't think I've ever done that in a title match."

Jurek stepped up in the 10th frame first and got just enough to put the pressure on Williams, who finished the match last. But it wasn't enough, as Jurek fell short of the title and added a runner-up Senior Masters finish to his two runner-up finishes at the USBC Masters.

In the semifinal, Williams took down fifth seed Mike Edwards (left) of Tulsa, Okla., 237-214. Edwards defeated defending champion Pete Weber (right) of St. Ann, Mo., 237-209, and opened the stepladder with a 254-184 win over Amleto Monacelli of Venezuela.

Williams earned $18,000 for the victory, while the total prize pool for the event was $144,400.

The stepladder finals were broadcast live on BOWL.com's BowlTV and are available for on-demand viewing at YouTube.com/BowlTV.

 

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2014 United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters - Match Play Bracket

Double elimination, three-game matches decided by total pinfall.

Elimination Bracket Round 6

Losers eliminated, earn $2,500.

Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., def. Wayne Webb, Grove City, Ohio, 680-662
Ricky Woods, Whites Creek, Tenn., def. Toby Contreras, Lees Summit, Mo., 720-673
Robert Brown, Cody, Wyo., def. Jim Starks, San Bernardino, Calif., 555-553
Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., def. Rob Cline, Spokane, Wash., 682-643

 

Winners Bracket Round 4

Winners remain in winners bracket. Losers move to elimination bracket.

Walter Ray Williams Jr. def. Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 815-683
Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., def. Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 646-585

 

Elimination Bracket Round 7

Losers eliminated, earn $3,000.

Voss def. Woods, 825-579
Weber def. Brown, 685-631

 

Winners Bracket Round 5

Winner top seed for stepladder, loser second seed.

Jurek def. Williams, 717-643

 

Elimination Bracket Round 8

Three highest scores advance to stepladder finals, high score is No. 3 seed, second high is No. 4, third high is No. 5, lowest score is eliminated, earns $3,500.

Weber 744, Monacelli 635, Edwards 618, Voss 595

 

2014 USBC Senior Masters - Stepladder Finals

Championship Round:
1, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 477 (2 games), $18,000
2, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 219 (1 game), $9,000
3, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 705 (3 games), $7,000
4, Pete Weber, St. Ann., Mo., 209 (1 game), $5,000
5, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 184 (1 game), $4,000

Playoff Results:
Match One: No. 5 Edwards def. No. 4 Monacelli, 254-184
Match Two: Edwards def. No. 3 Weber, 237-209
Match Three: No. 2 Williams def. Edwards, 237-214
Championship: Williams def. No. 1 Jurek, 240-219