Abeokuta to host Southwest Closed Scrabble Championship

The second Southwest Closed Scrabble Championship will hold in Abeokuta, Ogun State, tomorrow, the organisers have said.

The championship is aimed at unearthing and harnessing players from the region for national and international championships, the organisers said, adding that participants are expected from Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Lagos, Osun and Ekiti states.

According to the organisers, students from secondary and tertiary institutions in the zone are guaranteed opportunities to face off with top scrabble players, including African and EEAST champion, Enoch Nwali, who recently represented Nigeria at the World English Language Scrabble Players Association Championship (WESPAC) in the United States of America.

They said that the competition would involve 12 round of games in the Opens, Intermediate and Masters categories, with minimum ratings pegged at 1100, 1101-1399 and 1400 respectively.

Emmanuel Egbele, who is the South West Zonal representative at the Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF), described the tournament as timely, saying it would help players recalibrate for the forthcoming President’s Cup and the Dr. Winifred Awosika African Youth Scrabble Championship (AYSC) holding this month, as well as next year’s National Sports Festival.

“This particular edition provides a great opportunity for participants to meet players, who took part in the just-concluded WESPAC, and get direct experience from them, which is another platform needed by these players to prepare for AYSC and the President’s Cup.

“Another reason this second edition is critical to participants is the fact that it is holding in Abeokuta, Ogun State, which will host the 2024 National Sports Festival,” he said.

According to Egbele: “We are proud of what the Southwest