John Wells landed back-to-back victories to collect the I Spy Pies Anniversary Shield on a day of high-quality action at the Buderim Snooker Club on Sunday (Aug 24).

Wells, a safety and environment officer of Brisbane City works, mixed caution and risk superbly throughout the competition, which culminated in him beating fellow club member David Armstrong in the final. A break of 18 put Wells on top in the decider and from there he stayed comfortably ahead.

“It’s a bit of a shock to win twice in two years,” he said. “In a round-robin competition like this you live on the edge. With the calibre of opponent we had today, you can’t afford to play a loose shot because everyone was capable of clearing the table.”

Ten competitors from Gympie to Brisbane battled for the prestigious title, but it was left to Wells, Armstrong, Bribie Island’s Peter Warwick and Glen Sankey to vie for the prize as the semi-finalists. Armstrong took care of Warwick, who had won all his preliminary games, while Wells eased past Sankey.

Wells broke through for his first big win in Buderim in the tournament last year and will now fine-tune for a major competition at Club Banora on the Gold Coast later in the year.

“There are around 100 people in that event and I’ve made the last 16 for the past couple of years,” he said. “I’d love to get through a few more rounds.”