The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Pan African Youth Scrabble Championships

  • Nigeria sweep titles at Pan African Youth Scrabble Championships

    Nigeria sweep titles at Pan African Youth Scrabble Championships

    • Victorious Team returns today 

    Team Nigeria made a  clean sweep of the top tittles as the prestigious Pan African Youth Scrabble Championships ended yesterday in Kenya.

    Under the captaincy of Sufyan Olojoku, Team Nigeria won the U-19 and U-15 individual and team crowns.

    In the U-15 category, Sophia Ekeruche went unbeaten, winning 18 games with a massive cumulative points of plus 3871 while Hassan Olojoku came third with 13 victories and 1387 points behind Kenya’s Kingsley Odhiambo who finished second with 14 wins and plus 583 points.

    Ghana’s Michael Somuah missed  out on the  podium due to lower cumulative points than Hassan Olojoku. Both players recorded 13 wins but Somuah’s 796 points were off the mark.

    Another Nigerian, Eliana Igbe, finished among the top 10. Her 12 wins from 18 games with cumulative points of plus 1406 leaves the promising teenager in the 6th spot overall behind Kenya’s Adrian Ngache.

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    The team crown in the U-15 event went to Nigeria ahead of Kenya and Ghana.

    Michael Somuah, Beatrice Omidiji, Appiah-Branor Karankye, Isaac Cudjue and Etoinam Nador put up a fight to finish among the top three in the team event as they all had double digits wins and triple digits cumulative points.

    In the U-19 category, Nigeria’s Prestige Archibong who won the U-15 category two years ago in Lagos, edged his compatriot Abdulqudus Aliu to win the title with higher cumulative points of plus 2794 against 2568 points. Both players had the same number of wins – 18, from 24 games.

    Team captain Sufyan Olojoku was a win shy of Archibong and Aliu just like Joy Nwabuzor and Olive Alila but Sufyan Olojoku finished on the podium because of a better cumulative point.

    Ghana’s Delali Aquila and Kenya’s quartet of Israel Otieno, Jerem Kipchumba, Samson Karani and Emmanuel Wandera completed the top 10 line up in the U-19 category.

    Nigeria won the team title ahead of Ghana and Kenya.

    It’s noteworthy to state that besides Uganda that shares border with host Kenya, Ghana had the largest contingent.

    Meanwhile, victorious members of Team Nigeria to the Pan African Youth Scrabble Championships are due in Lagos this evening  by 5pm.

  • African Youth Scrabble Championships: Nigeria’s youngsters begin campaign on winning notes

    African Youth Scrabble Championships: Nigeria’s youngsters begin campaign on winning notes

    Team Nigeria  started their campaign  at the Pan African Youth Scrabble Championships  in Kenya on a good note  with 138 players competing for honours in two categories.

    Abdulqudus Aliu is leading the cast of 54 players in the U-19 category with five wins in as many games and a healthy cumulative point of plus 915. Another Nigerian, Prestige Archibong is one win away from   Aliu but has a massive cumulative point of 1244 points from four wins.

    Home boy, Caxton Mwai, has 521 cumulative points from five  victories to seat behind Abdulqudus Aliu.

    Joy Nwabuzor, the only Nigerian girl in the U-19 category, is giving the others  a run for their money  with four  wins and plus 546 points. Team captain Sufyan Olojoku is not far off the leader board with three  wins.

    In the U-15 event, Hassam,  from the Olojoku scrabble dynasty, as well as Sophia Ekeruche and Eliana Igbe, are just too strong for the 84-man field in the competition as they won their first three  rounds of games with an impressive cumulative of  687 points for  Olojoku and Ekeruche while  Igbe 43 was  points less.

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    Meanwhile, two more players Aneef Kelani and Abidah Fatai have been added to the Team Nigeria at the Championships. Both players are giving a good account of themselves in the U-15 category.

    Fatai Abidah was born in Lagos while Aneef Kelani was born in New York and they both schools at Heritage Global Academy, a boarding school in Ikorodu, Lagos.

    Their voyage into the mind sport has been aided by their very supportive family and one of Africa and Nigeria’s finest Tournament Directors, Khaleel Adedeji, who has been guiding them in the game of scrabble.

    Meanwhile, the President of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF), Engineer Olobatoke Aka, has thanked the Kwara State government for supporting three members of Team Nigeria as well as an accompanying official to the championship.

     “We are elated that the Kwara State government is always willing to support scrabble and we are equally happy that the chairman of Lagos State Scrabble and Monopoly Association, Engineer Dipo Akanbi is also backing us.”