John Aiyedun has won the Masters’ category of the 2024 South-South Scrabble Open Championship, which was held in Benin, Edo State.
Aiyedun was crowned champion of the event after excelling in the 15 games earmarked for all participants in the championship.
Jimoh Abdulmumin and Ezinore George came second and third respectively in the Masters’ category.
According to the Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF), the South-South Scrabble Championship, which was put together to discover more talents and also create awareness of the sport in the South-South region, lived up to expectations as over 65 players participated.
Speaking after his victory, Aiyedun said that winning the 2024 championship was a remarkable achievement in his career as a Scrabble player.
He said: “I am happy to win the South-South Scrabble Championship. It was competitive, but I was focused on winning.
“I believe my consistency over the years in the game instilled confidence in me. The victory means a lot to me as I have been eager to win a Scrabble championship over the years,” he said.
Also speaking on the championship, the tournament director, Prince Anthony Ikolo, who is also the national team coach, said that the NSF would not relent in creating scrabble awareness throughout the regions of the country.
“The South-South Scrabble Championship is designed to discover more talents and also keep Scrabble players in more competitive mode.
“I am delighted that the turnout at the event was impressive. The NSF has lined up more events this year to keep the sport alive in Nigeria. Our goal is to make a remarkable impact in Scrabble globally,” he said.
In the intermediate category of the event, Imah Ufuoma emerged as the winner, while Adedeji Khaleel and Orughele Akpofure came second and third respectively.
The Open category was won by Solomon Stephen, with Mobiaku Tsola coming second and Nwabizor Favour in the third position.
Joy Egbe was crowned the best female player at the championship.
For winning the masters category, Aiyedun got the N500,000 star prize, Ufuoma got N300,000 for placing first in the intermediate class, and Stephen took home N150,000 for his efforts in the Open category.
