Double-winner Spiers proves a point

And the following week the 13-year-old clinched the John Parrott Cup to complete the double. But Spiers was relaxed as he stepped up for the crunch league match at Chandler’s Ford SC against Jordan Winbourne (Botley) – he thought the title race was already won.

In June last year, he teamed up with his 43-year-old Dad, Nigel to win the Chandler’s Ford Family Doubles – formerly ‘Dads and Lads’. And there was a surprise for the youngster when his favourite player, John Higgins, visited the club recently.

Play was stopped halfway though the exhibition matches and the crowd of over 100 applauded as Spiers (pictured with John Higgins) was called from the audience to receive his trophy from the former World Champion.

After 15 weeks of league action, the youngsters headed for the final round of matches with a three-horse race for top spot. In their five-man round-robin group, Jacob Collier (West End) beat Romsey Community schoolboy Spiers but lost to 11-year-old Winbourne. League leader Collier, 13, won only one more match and was denied a first ever title.

Spiers and Winbourne, who had spent four days practising together, went head-to-head in a nail-biting match to decide the championship. But after easing past his rival, Spiers said: “I thought I had already won it. I didn’t realise it was down to that game.”

Spiers finished one point ahead of Collier and three clear of Winbourne. Eastleigh’s Toby Shefford, 12, clinched the Division 1 trophy ahead of Nino Cavagnetto who lost to Elliott Webb, 12, for the first time. Kieran Langley took the honours in Division 2. Spiers scored the highest break of the season, a personal best of 36, in his last season in the lower age group.

Just seven days later, Spiers and Winbourne were reunited in the John Parrott Cup final, a tournament introduced into the junior calendar after the former world champion’s visit to Chandler’s Ford in 1999. Winbourne cleared brown, blue and pink but Spiers fluked the black.

Harrison Jones, 13, made an impressive debut; reaching the semis before losing to Spiers. Winbourne knocked in a 27 to beat Shefford in the other semi. Collier edged out Harvey Dennis, 10, on the pink to win the Plate. 

Dad Nigel, a decorator, is also a keen fisherman and caught the snooker bug when his son started playing – so much so that he recently built an extension at the bottom of his garden and installed a three-quarter sized table enabling the pair to practise in their very own ‘potting shed’. 

Picture: Carol France