Scrabble World Championships: Prince Goes To Prague
On December 6th at around midday, at least 55 games were taking place at the SCRABBLE Champions’ Tournament in Prague. 110 players from across the globe had convened in Prague for a tilt at the title of SCRABBLE World Champion and a share of the €25,000 prize pot.
Prince goes to Prague
On December 6th at around midday, at least 55 games were taking place at the SCRABBLE Champions’ Tournament in Prague. 110 players from across the globe had convened in Prague for a tilt at the title of SCRABBLE World Champion and a share of the €25,000 prize pot. Players from as far and wide as Bahrain and Barbados had come to compete. By the time we caught up with the competition, at the start of the third day, the serious contenders had already begun to make themselves known. Foremost amongst them was one Nigel Richards.
By the time the final day broke, over 100 comers had been cut down to a final four. Sammy Okosagah, the Cinderella story of the tournament, stood top of the rankings after 31 games, a spectacular feat for a player who only made the competition through the last chance qualifier. A former big-hitter on the Nigerian SCRABBLE scene, now a resident of Baltimore and returning after a long hiatus, he’d marked his return in style. Level with him on 22 wins, were Nigel Richards and Dave Wiegand, a taciturn American who has won over $100,000 in prize money over the course of his playing career. With a far superior spread, Sammy took the top spot, followed by Nigel and then Dave, with Komol taking fourth as the only player on 21 wins. It was Sammy against Komol and Nigel against Dave for a place in the final.
With Wiegand’s mild manner and Richard’s reputation for unremittingly outstanding play, the first semi-final had shades of a lamb going to the slaughter. Of the many I spoke to, no one could look past Nigel for a victor and duly, in traditional Nigel style, he delivered – by a whitewash no less.
The other final was a less one-sided affair. Okosagah took the first game courtesy of GANTLINE, OUTDOER and FARSIDES, but Komol pegged him back in the second. The second was decided early on. With WAWS and SUQ on the board, Sammy weighed up playing CATNAPED before deciding to pass and give Komol the chance to make something more of the limited options on the board. Little had he countenanced that Komol might play GYMPIEs, having picked up the blank. Bingo, double letter on Y, it scored 90 for Komol putting him 132-18 up after each player had two turns. The rest of the match was something of a formality; despite FEnURON and COVERAGE, both for 80, from Okosagah, OVERRATE and EROTISE ensured Komol ran out winner before he closed out the semi-final in the fourth game.
So it came down to Nigel against Komol, the final that everyone had seen coming and that the competition deserved. A best of five face-off is what stood between the defending World Champion and the young Thai challenger. Dave Wiegand had knocked and been unsympathetically denied, Sammy had come out of nowhere and got a little closer, but only two had made it into the final. The stage was set, the crowd awaited, the tiles sat ready to write on the board of history. It was Komol to play Nigel in the SCRABBLE Champions’ Tournament final.
OILSEED, GREX, RATOONER; all the words went Nigel’s way. 581-421, Nigel took the final game and with it claimed his third world title.
And then, strangely, that was that. Nigel was victorious and the world SCRABBLE champion of champions had been decided for another year, in a predictable yet nevertheless climactic denouement.
Luckily for me, the SCRABBLE Champions Tournament is coming to London’s ExCel Centre later this year.
