ISLAMABAD:Will Anderson of USA was on top with 14 wins at the end of the first phase of the Gladiators WESPA Scrabble Championship which kicked off online from control center at Pharmevo House in Karachi.
The championship got underway with 105 players from 23 countries participating in the mega event. A team of 20 scrabble experts under the tournament director Hammad Hadi was organizing the championship online, said a press release issued here.
Nadeem Omar, Franchise owner of Quetta Gladiators inaugurated the event. All players completed 16 games in the first phase. At the end of the first phase, Will Anderson was on top with 14 wins and two losses.
He has a spread of 1100. World No 8 Paul Gallen of Northern Ireland was currently second with 13 wins and a spread of 1571. Paul Gallen’s average score was an astonishing 499.56 through the 16 games.
Another tournament favorite, former world champion and current world No 2 David Eldar of Australia was 3rd with 13 wins and a spread of 1338. Ben Schoenbrun (USA), Peter Cougi (Australia), Ivan Sentongo (Uganda), Alastair Richards (New Zealand) and Prince Omosefe (Nigeria) make up the 4-8 positions, respectively.
Another 16 games would be played in the second phase. Top 8 players after completion of 32 games would qualify for the quarter finals. The top player from Pakistan was currently Syed Imaad Ali who is playing on a special seat reserved for the reigning world youth champion. Imaad has 10.5 and a spread of 315. He was just 1.5 wins away from the 8th spot and still has a good chance of qualifying for the quarter finals. Young Ali Salman is not far behind with 10 wins
The second phase would be played on November 27 and 28 while the quarterfinals, semifinals and final will take place on December4 and 5.