Nigeria retains No 1 spot in world scrabble despite finishing 4th in Malaysia

Nigeria national scrabble team emerged 4th place in first edition of Alchemist Cup World championship, which ended in Penang, Malaysia, at the weekend.

The championship, which featured the top eight best scrabble playing teams in the world, saw other participating teams fighting hard to outshine Nigeria, who is 2018 Africa champions.

According to the Technical Director of Nigeria Scrabble Federation, Umar Faruq Baba-Inna, the Nigeria contingent returned to Abuja yesterday to participate in the scrabble event of the on-going 19th National Sports Festival for their various states.

Speaking with The Guardian yesterday, Baba-Inna said: “The Nigeria scrabble team fought gallantly to secure a 4th place finish at the Alchemist Cup tourney to remain one of the best scrabble playing nations in the world. The team would have performed better if the players had enough rest after winning the 2018 Africa championship in Kenya. The Alchemist championship began immediately after the Africa championship.

“Our players might have suffered from jet lag because they had travel a long way to Malaysia. You should also understand that other countries are fighting hard to beat Nigeria because we are currently the No1 ranked scrabble playing nation in the world. The team’s performance in Malaysia impressed the board. The next Alchemist Cup would take place in 2020,” he said.

According to NSF, Nigeria still maintained her position as best ranked scrabble nation in the world ahead of USA and Great Britain despite finishing fourth position at the Alchemist Cup.