Top scrabblers will be facing off at the 8th leg of Scrabble Kenya championships, Machakos chapter this weekend ahead of Africa Scrabble Championships (ASC) set for next month in Lusaka, Zambia
The two-day event that starts on Saturday 17th to Sunday 18th will see championships returning to the local scene after dominating in Uganda at the Scrabble Association of Uganda championships in Jinja where David Kimani was victorious.
Scrabble Kenya, which has already selected the team of 20 players for the ASC that starts on 21st to 24th October 2022 the players will be using the event as part of their warm up rounds before traveling to Lusaka for the championships.
Host Patrick Litunya said that apart from the event being a warm up to the continental championships, it will also be part of the qualifying rounds for the World English Scrabble Players Association Championships (WESPAC) that will be held next year in Las Vegas, United States of America.
“We are expecting top players who have been chosen to fly the Kenyan flag at the Africa Championships come next month. The championships at the Lau Hotel will be used as part of WESPAC qualifiers next year,” said Litunya.
The top player has also competed in four WESPAC championships across the world and was at once ranked at position six in the world of scrabble.
Despite all his experience, he will not be representing Kenya in Lusaka after being out of competition for so long.
“I am not part of the ASC team because I have been out of competition for so long. But we have a great team that will represent the country very well. But I am looking forward to competing at the WESPAC next year,” said Litunya.
On preparations, Litunya said that the venue is already secured in readiness for the championships. He said that he is working out on how to get sponsorship deals.
“This is a big event and we have to ensure that we get the best place for them to play. What is remaining is on how to get the sponsors for various prizes. We are expecting to reward the top three in each Division. We have Division A, B and C who all deserve a prize,” added Litunya.