Emmanuel King Esq. A junior Lawyer with Nicol-Wilson & Co. (Malaika Chambers) beats 15 other players to win and secure a spot ahead of 2023, World English Language Scrabble Players Association (WESPA) Championship slated for July in Las Vegas, USA.
King Esquire won 15 out of 20 games played with a spread of +1308 while Yusuf Koroma who finished as runner-up won 14 out of the 20 games played with a spread of +787 to finish ahead of his closest rival, Abdul Borbor Kamara who won 12.5 games with a spread of +527.
Ibrahim Deen Swarray, Patrick Hamilton-Drape, and Ibrahim Conteh finished in the 4th, 5th, and 6th positions, and veteran scrabbler Ishmael Sesay finished in the 8th position.
Speaking to this medium, King Esq notes he is delighted to be crowned the champion in this year’s qualifiers. King said, “It was a closely fought qualifier and both Pa Yusuf Koroma and Patrick Hamilton-Drape were very inspiring players,” King said.
Asked whether he was nervous before the decisive clash with Patrick, Yusuf, and Abdul Borbor, he replied, “To be honest, these are very strong opponents and they pushed me to the wall but in the end I conquered”.
He continued: “No player would have loved to lose such qualifiers or spot to this year’s WESPA championship in Las Vegas after a perfect start in day one and two but thanks be to God I made it with remarkable wins and a good spread.”
“I’ve not slept well in about a week for these qualifiers because I wanted to prove that I’m the best. The fact that I was able to perform with a remarkable spread shows I have taken a step forward.” King said
When asked what’s next ahead of the championship; he replied: “Preparation starts now because I need to be mentally ready to fly the green, white, and blue flag higher in the July Championships” King said.