Nigeria will play host to top international players from all over the world as organisers of the Mindgames Scrabble International Classic (MISC) have announced a $10,000 top cash prize-money for the main tournament which will take place in Lagos from September 17 to 20 this year.
The MISC is a new tournament which is set to hit the world’s Scrabble firmament and has been generating some excitement among enthusiast.
The tournament comprises three events namely; the Early Bird, Open division and, Premier division while the top prizes are $150, $2,050 and $10,000 respectively.
A statement cited by the MGi Media revealed that interested players will have to register with specific fees to enter for each event.
International players are required to pay a sum of $20, $100 and $200 while local counterparts are expected to pay 5,000 naira,10,000 naira and 15,000 naira to be a part of the tournament’s offerings.
“All international players with WESPA rating of 1500 and above,” according to the organisers, “are eligible to play in the Premier
Division ONLY. The rating threshold for local players will be 1400 rating points on NSF rating system.
Open division players have the right to play up in the top division if they so wish” the statement read.
Forms can be accessed through this link: https://forms.gle/TZhE9qKDTKypX8p57 and registration would close on August 31.
A total of 27 games have been scheduled for the main event which holds at the Edmark D’Podium International Event Centre, Ikeja.
There will also be a Gala Night on the final day after the competition.
Meanwhile, stakeholders have lauded MGI for igniting another spark in the sport which has witnessed a new surge in the organization of tournaments in the country in recent times.
This belief by all and sundry stemmed from the integrity and quality of trail-blazing competitions the MGI has introduced in mind games with the MindGames Premier Championship (MPC) and MindGames Scrabble Premier League(MSPL)
Children have also been deeply involved with different initiatives being introduced in schools across the country.
They also believed the MISC would be a great opportunity to assert themselves on their home board against top international players.
The MGI currently enjoys the backing of Panseke Radio, FPC Couture, Airpop Foods, Loense Intl. Ltd and Prediction Kings.
Others are: Down D Aisle Events, Pan African Sports, MGT and the Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF)
It has however called for more support through sponsorship in it’s drive to create an international culture in mind games.