Swedes Edward Martin leads Division A of MGI International Scrabble Classics

One of the exciting, thrilling and equally competitive event in the World English Scrabble Players Association (WESPA), calendar, the MGI International Scrabble Classics UK comes to an end today at the Leonardo Hotel in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom.

114 players from four continents, Africa, Asia, America and Europe are viaing for honours in three different categories, Division A with 66 players, Division B is populated by 28 participants and Division C have 20 wordsmith.

Sweden’s Edward Martin is the pacesetter in Division A with 15 wins and a cumulative points of +1534 ahead of Harshan Lamabadusuriya who is on 14 wins and + 1714 while Lewis Mackay is third with 13 wins.

United States’s Rasheed Balogun and tournament’s number one seed Brett Smitheram are also on 13 victories each but with a lower cumulative points than Mackay.

With 7 rounds of games to be on the final day (today), these four players, Terry Kang, Kelvin McMahon, Phil Robertshaw and Samson Okosagah with 12 wins can still wrestle away the ‘paradise’ that Edward Martin has been staying since the first Day.

This park of lions led by Samuel Crispin, Joshua Sokol, Nigeria’s Noble Onoshevwe, David Webb, Terry Kirk, Rafal Dominiczak and Olobatoke Aka can still find their way into the prize money bracket if their bingos fall in place and the deadly herds men upfront stumble.

With 3,100 pounds up for grabs in Division B, the battle for podium finish is equally fearsome. The top 15 players are separated by just 3 wins which in the game of words can  quickly disappear like the morning dew.

Noel Livermore and Sunbul Siddiqui have 12 wins each but Livermore’s 1425 points is higher than Siddiqui who has 1349 points.

Ayotunde Adeyeri and Marion Keatings share the same number of victories; 11, while Charles Uzamere is occupying the sixth spot on the table in Division B with 10 wins and plus 428 cumulative points behind Caroline McLaughlin who is on 10 wins and a draw.

Febisola Olanipekun is one win ahead of Yusuf Simpa, Diane Bromilow, Gbolahan Ogunsola, Ifedayo Obisesan, Abiodun Adeyemi and Colin Nicol, all on 9 wins each.

Chiamaka Gabriel heads Division C with 13 wins and plus 1693 cumulative points, she has dropped only 2 games. Curtis Irubor, Tom Wilson and Heather Laird are two wins shy of Chiamaka Gabriel’s 13.

Betty Kyeremateng, Jake Haidar, Christine Cartman, Jennifer Ikekeregor and Breda O’Brien are not far off the leaders.

Over 11,000 pounds have been set aside as prize money for the three divisions, with the winner of Division A getting 2,000 pounds, in a prize pool of 5,500 pounds.

The top prize in Division B is 1,000 pounds, while 7 other players in that division will share 2,100 pounds. 2,400 pounds is the total prize money for Division C.

According to the organisers, there will be 15 spot prizes, 5 on each day of the grueling 25 rounds of games event, with lots of souvenirs to go with it.

Ghana based security outfit, Ojeyz Security Management Company managed by Haruna Adamu and the famous fashion designer Frontpage Couture, are backing the MGI International Scrabble Classics.