18th September, 2014
A total of N20 million will be up for grabs at the 8th Governor Godswill Akpabio International Scrabble Classics scheduled to take place in Uyo from September 24 to 28.
Toke Aka, a former President of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF), told the NAN on Wednesday in Abuja that the amount was an improvement from the N12 million prize money in 2013.
“A total prize money of N20 million or so will be won in the four categories which include Masters, Intermediate, Open and Veteran.
“The world champion is coming again; last year when he came, he was beaten to the sixth position; this time around, he wants to come and see whether he can beat all of us.
“But I doubt if that will be possible because it will be a tough fight,” Aka said.
He said that the overall winner of this year’s competition would pocket about N3.3 million, adding that the winner must play a minimum of 24 different persons.
According to Aka, the 28-game-tournament will have four categories and will attract players from Nigeria, Africa and beyond.
Aka said that the Akpabio classic had become a preparatory ground for Nigerian players ahead of African championships as well as the world championship in December.
He said that three Nigerians were among the top 10 players in the world by virtue of the classic. They are Jigere Wellington, Ayorinde Saidu and Eta Karo.