A shocking outcome unfolded over the weekend as Nigeria’s Adekoyejo Adegbesan stunned bookmakers to win the 2025 Nairobi National Scrabble Championship held at the Strathmore University, Kenya on Sunday.
Adegbesan, the Pan African Scrabble Association (PANASA) President bestrode the field which had top Kenyan jammers like Grand Masters Allan Oyende and Nderitu Gitonga as well as Michael Gongolo (EXP) as he recorded 12½ wins with 355 cumulative points in the 18 round two-day tournament.
Gongolo, Oyende and Wachira would end the tournament with 12 wins each but were separated by different cumulative points of 1027, 737 and 540 to finish second, third and fourth on the table.
He dropped his first game to Gongolo in game three, lost the second match to Manase Otieno in game six, former Scrabble Kenya Chairman Bernard Amuke in match 12th, before the duo leveling in match 13th and 14th before drawing again with Oyende in game 15th.
Adegbesan’s victory gained more significance due to the presence of Oyende who was crowned as the East, Central African Scrabble Association (ECASA) champion last month.
He was the first non-Kenyan to win the title.
“This is fantastic! Big thank you to the sponsors and the team behind this event. The last time I won was in 2016 in Dewsbury, England” he said.
The national championship serves as a build-up to the continent-wide PANASA President’s Cup which holds from August 14-17 this year.
The “Triumvirate Showdown” as it’s called is a team tournament where three players either from the same country or multi-country form themselves into a team.
