Causeway Challenge 2008, Nigeria finishes in 3rd place
Nigeria vied for honors at the 7th Causeway Scrabble Challenge which took place in Johur Bahru, Malaysia from the 3rd to 7th of December 2008. In the Premier section, Team Nigeria FINAL position was 3rd with 119 points after 45 games, behind United Kingdom second with 120points and Australia in first place with 139.5 points. David Eldar of Australia had the highest point to finish top of the pack with 32.5 points and a spread of +2498. Nigeria's Ayorinde Seidu and current Africa champion Wellington Jighere finished 5th and 9th respectively in the Premier section. You can see final individual and team standings here. Nigeria was represented by the following five players in the Premier Section. Final individual position is in bold beside the names.
- Wellington Jighere 9th 27 points +250 Link to Jighere's games.
- Emmanuel Umujose 21st 24 points +184 Link to Emma's games.
- Faloye Ibukun 38th 18 points +196 Link to Faloye's games.
- Ayorinde Seidu 5th 30 points +2440 Link to Ayo's games.
- Chinedu Okwelogu 30th 20 points -117 Link to Chinedu's games.
Causeway Scrabble Challenge Open Section Final Result
In the Open section, 33 (thirty-three) games were played with 72 players from 11 countries in attendance. Martus Theodoro of the Philipines came first with 22 points (+2146). Andy Kurnia and Ricky Purnomo (Singapore) came second and third respectively. NSF President Toke Aka led his Nigerian compatriots to finish in the 15th position (19points +651) after 33 games. He lost his final game in the Championship narrowly (420-438) against Cholapat Itthiaree of Thailand, to miss a possible top ten finish. Nigeria's entry for this year's World Junior Scrabble Championship Adedayo Olaolu finished in the 19th placed, a notable performance for a teenager in his first International tournament. See final placing in the Open section here
President of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF) Chief Toke Aka spearheaded Nigeria's challenge in the Open category. Other members of the team in the Open Section are Allen Egbe, Jack Mathew, Adedayo Olaolu, Aganaba Mathew and Adonkie Akpos.
The longest Scrabble tournament
Call it the marathon of Scrabble, according to the games website "The 7th Causeway Challenge is the longest Scrabble tournament ever held in the world (45 rounds over 5 days). There are ten teams representing Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, Thailand, United Kingdom, USA, Asian Stars, and World Stars."