By Chigozie Chukwuleta
Akpos Malafakumo Best today created a major upset in the Scrabble event of the ongoing 21st National Sports festival as she dethroned current African Women Scrabble champion and two time defending champion of the national sports festival Tuoyo Mayoku in the females singles category.
The Bayelsa state born player won a total of 14 games and accumulative points of 1782 to win the gold medal while Tuoyo Mayoku representing Delta state won the silver with a total of 12 games with accumulative points of 680.
Tuoyo Mayeku came into the festival having won gold medals in Abuja in 2018 and Edo 2020 national Sports Festivals as well as emerging the women Champion at the just concluded Afrcan Scrabble Championship in Lusaka Zambia two months ago.
In the male category, Olatunde Oduwole from Lagos state won gold in the male singles category ahead of current African Scrabble champion Enoch Tochukwu Nwali also of Lagos state and former world scrabble champion Wellington Jighere of Delta state.
Speaking with Newspathfinder, Akpos Malafakumo Best attributed her achievement to determination and hardwork.
The Bayelsa born player whose name Malafakumo means fear not said that she resolved to win the title even before the commencement of the festival.
Reacting to the development, the president of scrabble Federation, Engr Toke Akah described Scrabble in Africa as a unique and unpredictable game.
“Scrabble in Africa is unique and most times unpredictable. There is also some iota of luck in the game. Invariably the victory of the Bayelsa state born Akpos Malafakumo Best is an upset but not completely out of place when it comes to the game of scrabble”, he said
On his part, the president of Pan African Scrabble Association who also doubles as chairman of Ogun state scrabble association, Adekoyejo Adegbesan said that the victory of Akpos Malafakumo Best did not come to him as a surprise.
According to him, “the lady has shown a lot of promises over time considering her performances in both the Scrabble league tournaments and different scrabble championships in recent times”.
The Scrabble event male and female category continues Monday.
