AFTER six gruelling rounds of competition, Leon Belony reigned supreme to capture the just concluded Insurance Brokers Limited-sponsored Open Competition which was staged by the Guyana Association of Scrabble Players at the Malteenoes Sports Club last Sunday. The competition saw some 15 players participate and was marked by some unexpected defeats, the most noteworthy being top seed Moen Gafoor’s losses to Orlando Michael (9 points) and Ulric Harris (157 points) after chalking up four consecutive victories.
The competition also saw Michael return to the podium after some time when he copped the third position. He also earned the prize for the best player outside of the top 10, after entering the competition ranked at number 11.
After a disappointing start, in which Harris conceded his first game to Belony by 121 points and drew a bye for the second round, he came back to occupy the second spot as he easily won his remaining four games.
Belony amassed five points and a spread of 473, dropping only his third game to former national champion Moen Gafoor, but securing victories against Harris, Michael, Wakefield Skeete, Maurice Munro and Ruby Cummings in the process.
Both Harris and Michael ended on 5 points each, but with lower spreads of 221 and 126 respectively to close off the podium positions.
Insurance Brokers Limited’s Company Secretary, Ewart Adams, was on hand to assist with the presentation of prizes and took the time to laud the GASP for their sterling efforts in developing the game.