Walter Ray Williams Jr. is a man who likes to solve puzzles, evidenced by the mathematics degree carried on his resume.

Ironically, the competition have been trying to solve the complex equation that Williams represents on the bowling lanes for several years without success.

Close to 50 professional bowlers will this weekend get another chance at knocking off the man who has topped the rankings for much of the past seven years, including a streak of five consecutive from 1996 until early this year, when Jason Couch ascended to the lead position.

The Professional Bowlers Association Bermuda Southern Regional tournament promises a keglers' bonanza, with action taking place tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday at Warwick Lanes, involving a multitude of top names from the bowling fraternity.

There are the likes of John May, Randy Weiss, Danny Wiseman, Brian Goebel included among others. However, it is Hall of Famer Williams who undoubtedly stands out as the main attraction, and target, his 33 national titles and 17 regional triumphs since joining the PBA back in 1980 always a draw for spectators, as well as those who would want to usurp the king.

Yet, despite all the victories and accolades, Williams remains grounded in the philosophy that he is only as good as his next performance, that the past pales in comparison to today.

With an abundance of younger, eager talent on both tours, Williams takes little for granted.

"Some of the guys you may not hear of, but they're good. You have the name guys like myself and Danny Wiseman out there, but there are a lot that are capable of beating me at any time,'' said Williams, who has wife Paige Pennington as his travelling companion.

"It's a matter of going out, bowling well and, hopefully, things fall well for you.

"Even if you're considered the best player there's no guarantee that you're going to do well out there, because your performance is only based on what you do that week and not what you did the week before, or the week before that.'' Indeed, much is the burden of expectation carried by Williams, who took up bowling seriously while in high school.

However, Williams has long been used to wearing the favourite's tag. He was a six-time World Horseshoe pitching champion and 17-time California state men's title holder, had a brand of pitching shoes named after him (Deadeye) and was once invited to pitch shoes with former United States president George Bush.

When he wins it's expected, while any loss brings a multitude of questions as to what might be wrong with the living legend.

"A lot of people expect me to do really well everytime I play, especially the fans,'' said Williams. "They don't understand that you don't do great every single time. I understand that and it doesn't bother me as much, but it can be a little disheartening that fans don't quite understand.

"I know that I'm not quite in the category of Tiger Woods, because he's been so dominant in golf, but a lot of the press we're getting on him is about him not having won in six tournaments. And he said `Hey, I only win 20 percent of the tournaments', so he loses 80 percent of the time, and some people forget that you lose a lot more than you win.

"Even though you're up there competing for titles a lot, there's a lot more times that you don't win, which doesn't bother me because there's a lot of good players out there and I think that's better for the sport. I'd rather have it where there's a lot of competition than be the one player that wins four out of five weeks.'' Come Sunday evening Williams hopes to be challenging for his 18th regional title and first in Bermuda and will use his tried and tested method to achieve the goal.

In cricket there is the simple axiom, `See the ball. Hit the ball.' And it is not much different for Williams when it comes to bowling.

Williams ready to light up the lanes From Page 11 "I pick a target and try to hit the target, that's my main objective when I'm out there throwing the ball,'' he said. "Then you have to make the adjustment to get the ball to the pocket and it's a combination of execution and playing the lanes correctly that is going to make a good player even better.

"Everybody's a little different and it's a matter of figuring out what's best for you and then trying to do the best you can, realising that you're not going to be able to throw the perfect shot every single time ... that's just not going to happen.

"I do what works for me and I've done quite well with it for the most part.

It's a matter of knowing when you have something and being able to do it the right way, because it's not going to knock you on the head and tell you.'' With more than $2.5 million in career earnings, Williams obviously knows what he's talking about, yet he remains humble. Such was apparent when the Florida resident was asked what message he might have for the rest of the assembled field.

"I'm not that way, never have been ... but they know I'm here,'' was the most brash statement one could squeeze from Williams. "I'm not into trash talking and all that kind of stuff ... I don't watch wrestling.

"Like I said, you lose more times than you win and I don't want to look like an idiot.'' Walter Ray Williams Jr: Pro bowling's resident superstar.