Scrabble: 18 years after, Eta Paul Oghenekaro is crowned Nigeria’s Champion again

By Maxwell Kumoye

Delta State born wordsmith and current West African Scrabble Champion, Eta Paul Oghenekaro has been crowned Champion of the end of season Asaph Zadok National Championship concluded in Abuja on Wednesday.

The player affectionately called the ‘Malaysian Prince’ brush aside a very powerful field that included four previous National holders of the treasured NSF Green Jacket and thirty players in the Masters category.

Before the last game of the 28 rounds of games, Oghenekaro was tied with current African Champion Enoch Tochukwu Nwali on 19 wins.

Any result order than a will hand the Green Jacket to Nwali because he had a massive cumulative points but Oghenekaro had to pull all his arsenals to use to out-do the University of Lagos 300 level Health Education student by 401-390, to gather 20 wins and a plus 1048 cumulative points. Nwali had 19 wins and a plus 1781 cumulative points.

This is the second time in ten months that Nwali is playing the second fiddle to Oghenekaro at a major competition. In Accra, Ghana in May 2022, Oghenekaro was crowned the West African Champion with 21 wins from 28 games while Nwali came second with 19 wins.

Another member of Team Lagos, John Aiyedun who started the final day as the pacesetter came third with 19 wins and plus 985 cumulative.

Umukoro Oghomaria  with 18 wins and plus 637 cumulative finished fourth ahead of captain of Team Nigeria, Oshevire Avwenagha who also secured 18 victories but had a lower cumulative points of plus 102.

As a result of his success at the Asaph Zadok National Championship, Eta Paul Oghenekaro picked up 71 NSF rating points to move to the second position in the national ranking with 1728 points.

Enoch Tochukwu Nwali is now number four in the NSF rating with 1695 points. He was number six at the start of the Championship.

John Aiyedun climbed to the 15th spot from number 50, that’s 35 spot upward movement.

Eta Paul Oghenekaro will be decorated with the NSF National Champion Green Jacket on Sunday during the Awards and Gala Night at the Banquet Hall of Hotel de Bentley in Utako-district, Abuja.

Front-page Couture are to design and produce the NSF National Champion Green Jacket.

These top ten players at the end of Asaph Zadok National Scrabble Championship:

✓ Eta Oghenekaro with 20 wins  and 1048 pts

✓ Enoch Nwali  with 19 wins and 1781 pts

✓ John Aiyedun  with 19 wins and 985 pts

✓ Umukoro Oghomaria with 18 wins and 637 pts

✓ Oshevire Avwenagha with 18 wins and 102 pts

✓ Emmanuel Umujose with 17.5  wins and 587 pts

✓ Olatunde Oduwole with 17 wins and 867 pts

✓ Adebola Samuel with 17 wins and 570 pts

✓ Dennis Ikekeregor  with 16.5  wins and 1066 pts

✓ Jimoh Abdulmumin with 16.5  wins and 700 pts