Roscoe Bellamy defeated No. 2 seed Hunter Johnson by an 11-9, 5-11, 11-3 score line to secure his first career title on the PPA Tour.

The No. 11 seed found his groove early in the week in Lakeland, dispatching both Connor Garnett and Noe Khlif in straight games to make his second final in three tournaments.

He brought that same level into Sunday’s clash, dictating play with big serves and penetrating drives that allowed him to get up to the kitchen line.

That helped Bellamy develop an 8-3 lead in the deciding game before a bizarre sequence of events ensued.

Serving at 8-3, Bellamy hit a backhand that hit a part of the net on its way to the other side of the court, abruptly changing direction.

After no ruling was made on the initial rally, he was awarded the point to make it 9-3.

Thinking that the ball hit the pole on the side of the net and should have therefore been ruled as ‘out,’ Johnson challenged the result of the rally.

After review, the ball was ruled to have hit the net cord—not the net post—making it a legal shot.

Johnson took issue with the ruling and asked for Head Referee Don Stanley to intervene, but the call was upheld.

Having already been charged with a technical warning earlier in the contest, Johnson was issued another technical warning for unsuccessfully appealing to the head referee without having any timeouts available.

That infraction resulted in a point penalty to make it match point for Bellamy at 10-3, an opportunity he converted at the first time of asking.

Bellamy talked afterwards about what it means to earn his first gold.

“I’m just really happy to get this one. I’ve put in a lot of hard work, and I’ve had a lot of great people helping me, so I’m just thankful to be here,” he mentioned.

Two of those people helping him throughout his career, ironically, have been Hunter and Yates Johnson.

The “Pickleballers” co-host has been vocal in the past about having their support and reiterated his adoration for the twins after his triumph.

“Big shoutout to Hunter, Yates, and the whole Johnson family. They’re like a second family to me,” he said. “It’s fun battling with him, and I’m sure we’ll have many more.”

In the bronze medal match, Noe Khlif defeated No. 41 seed Luca Mack 11-2, 11-7 to hit the podium stand for the first time in his career.