Nigeria’s Oluwatimilehin Doko has won the 15th African Scrabble Championship held in Kigali, Rwanda. In a stunning display of wordsmithing prowess, the 24-year-old has become the youngest ever player to be crowned the continental champion.
Doko, a pharmacist and University of Lagos graduate, completed his victory with one game to spare, cementing his status as a rising star in the world of competitive scrabble.
The young Nigerian’s journey to the top began on Thursday at the Olympic Hotel in Kigali, where he kicked off the tournament with a commanding 487-423 win over Uganda’s Godwin Murungi. He closed the first day with 7 wins from 8 games.
Despite suffering a 497-420 defeat at the hands of 5th seed Abdulmumin Jimoh on Day 2, Doko quickly regained his footing and climbed to the top table, where he remained for the rest of the championship.
In the decisive Round 31 clash, the young Nigerian wordsmith delivered a masterclass, thrashing Jimoh by a margin of 152 points to secure the title with a game in hand. The final score was 574-422, with Doko amassing an impressive 25 wins and a cumulative 2,244 points.
“Oluwatimilehin Doko is unique, talented, gifted, and most of all, very humble,” said Olatunde Oduwole, the CEO of Ultimate Scrabble Showdown Solutions Limited. “He’s passionate about the game of words, reads and studies a lot, and he’s always willing to learn—that’s the mark of a true champion.”
This victory marks the 14th time a Nigerian has won the African Scrabble Championship. Doko’s schoolmate and clubmate Enoch Nwali, had previously won the title two years ago in Lusaka, Zambia.
Doko, who was denied a visa to the USA last year, preventing him from competing in the World Championship, is currently the second-highest ranked African player in the world, behind only Nwali at number 6.
Seven Nigerians finished in the top ten of the Kigali tournament, with George Ezinore taking second place, followed by Noble Onoshevwe, Abdulmumin Jimoh, David Ojih, defending champion Enoch Nwali, and PANASA President Cup holder Victor Godwin.
Meanwhile, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Pan African Scrabble Association, which took place at the Olympic Hotel in Kigali, Adekoyejo Adegbesan was returned unopposed as President for a second term of two years, just as Kenya’s Chrispine Okeyo was also returned unopposed as Technical Director to serve a second term of two years.
The next host of the championship that has been zoned to the West African Sub region will be made public after the Pan African Scrabble Association (PANASA) has set out the guild lines and modalities for hosting the National Association.
