Nigel Richards wins WSC 2007
Nigel Richards representing New Zealand is the World Scrabble Champion! He succeeds Adam Logan (Canada) 2005 WSC Champion. In a pulsating best-of-5 final rounds against Ganesh Asirvatham of Malaysia Nigel won the first three rounds to make the fourth and fifth rounds needless. Scores were:
- Round 1- 412-316
- Round 2- 400-371
- Round 3- 499-470
Jighere Wellington (above image: in cowboy hat with World Scrabble 2007 Champion Nigel Richards) improved Nigeria’s previous record in the World Scrabble Championship by placing third (3rd). He narrowly missed playing for the top prize when he lost the final game (round 24) to eventual WSC Champion Nigel Richards. This is a phenomenal achievement for a player who only played his first international tournament at the Africa Scrabble Championship held a year ago (September) in Abuja.
Nigeria’s other representatives were Umujose Emmanuel and African Champion Dennis Ikekeregor. Umujose Emmanuel achieved a superlative ninth (9th) final position after a late rally on the third day of the Championship.
Dennis Ikekeregor had a poor tournament by his own standards. His final position 66th was worse than his WSC 2003 placing (41st).
Nigeria’s previous best individual performance before Jighere’s third placing this year was Lukeman Owolabi’s 9th position at the 2005 finals. 104 players from 38 countries took part in the 2007 finals held in India.