It was a clean sweep for Nigeria as the quartet of Adeyemi Adeosun, Wellington Jighere, John Ayedun and Godwin Victor picked their spots in the semi finals of the Pan African Scrabble Association (PANASA) President’s Cup after 25 rounds.
After 19 rounds on Day 2, most of the players knew Day 3 would be the decider as many strategize on how to maximize their strength in the scheduled seven round of games.
Adeosun who won the 2022 Southwest Closed Scrabble Tournament muscled his way to the top on Day 3 by fending off strong oppositions especially from his compatriot and former World Champion to finish the day as “Day 3 Champion” with a ticket to the semi-finals.
The tournament ranked No.134 player again, tore all pre-event postulations to solidify his stand at the top with 19 wins and a cumulative spread of 2199.
Scrabble juggernaut Jighere re-affirmed his tournament status after he tied down the second position with 18 wins with 1731 points.
In one of the outstanding performances of the day, John Ayedun extended his winning run from Day 2 to sustain an ambitious run of 9 wins to seal his fortune in the continental championship by defeating Uganda’s powerhouse Edgar Odongkara 454-408 in the last round of the day.
The battle for the last semi-final spot attracted intense contest on Table 1 as current African champion Enoch Nwali who needed a win to boost his 16½ wins, took on the winner of the 2023 Emmanuel Egbele Annual Scrabble Tournament (EEAST) Godwin Victor who was on 17.
But it was the Delta-born Godwin who triumphed with a 514-303 victory to gain a guaranteed prize-winning of a minimum of $1,700 cash payout at the tournament.
The defeat would see Nwali drop drastically to 9th on the log.
Meanwhile, only Richard Geria of Uganda punctuated Nigeria’s dominance in the top 15 where prize-sharing is guaranteed.
The semi-final will be held on Sunday ahead of the final and the closing ceremony.
In a related development, Chris Placca of Ghana who is a veteran of the game received a standing ovation as he was honoured on the occasion of his birthday by all the players.
Winner of the maiden tournament will receive $5,000 and the Gbenga Ojofeitimi trophy.
