World Warriors, the Scrabble Kenya national team, returned home on today in high spirits after securing a bronze medal at the concluded World English Scrabble Association (WESPAC) Championships in Accra, Ghana.
The biennial event once again showcased African dominance on the world stage, with Nigeria claiming gold, hosts Ghana taking silver, and Kenya completing the podium with bronze.
The week-long championship ran from Monday, November 10th, to Sunday, November 16th. It was opened with the Early Bird AKWAABA tournament, where Scrabble Kenya chairman Limo Kipkemoi featured, finishing in the top half after eight games and paving the way for the rest of the Kenyan contingent.
“This achievement is a testament to the effort invested,” Kipkemoi said. “We did not return home empty-handed. We came back with a team trophy, placed 3rd out of 30 strong teams.”
He added: “We will take this trophy to the ministry to show how high we are lifting the Kenyan flag and to seek sponsorship for future tournaments. Players perform better with government support, and with that backing, results can only improve.”
Countries were allocated slots based on past performance, with some receiving up to 15 and others only one. Kenya received six slots, but only three players managed to travel due to lack of sponsorship.
A Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) held on Tuesday, November 11th, provided an opportunity for more players to join the main event. Kenya fielded five players among the 45 competitors. The top nine advanced, with two Kenyans were Philip Mutinda (5th) and Daniel Machanje, earning promotion, bringing Kenya’s total to eight players in the main event.
The side event took place over three days, before the four-day main tournament where participants played eight games daily. After 32 rounds, the top two players advanced to a best-of-seven final on Sunday, November 16th, to determine the world champion.
The Kenyan team was captained by Richard Okechi, with Mutinda also serving as team manager.
“We still have more to cover,” Okechi said. “We need to return, re-strategize, and focus on our upcoming tournaments, ECASA in Zambia in June, and the African Scrabble Championship in October in Liberia. These are our next targets.”
Canada’s Adam Logan emerged as the overall world champion, followed by New Zealand’s Nigel Richards in second and Pakistan’s Waseem Khatri in third.
Mutinda was Kenya’s best performer, finishing 20th, followed by Willy Mwangi and Grandmaster Allan Oyende, all delivering strong displays that highlighted Kenya’s continued rise on the global stage.