Nicholas Mbugua was the surprise winner of Sunday's National Scrabble Kenya tournament played at Mombasa's Mbaraki Sports.
After being out of the championships for about four years, the experienced Mbugua played in his first event of the year and managed to be the champion with 13 wins and five losses in his 18-games.
Mbugua said his expertise was key in winning the two-day tournament now that he has been inactive for years.
“The game was too tough, especially after being out of competition since 2019. I had to use my experience to win,” said Mbugua.
He revealed how he was planning a winning formula as early as Saturday, one which worked perfectly on Sunday.
“The tournament was too tough but once I gained momentum, everything started to flow started flowing. When I went to sleep on Saturday, I had to think about how I was going to win the game and it worked for me,” he said.
Seeded number three, he won with +867 after a double loss to former Scrabble Kenya chairman Bernard Amuke in Games seven and 13, lost to Kenya One Allan Oyende in Game Five, Jack Omondi in Game 11 and Bernard Koyyoko in Game 12.
Oyende finished second with +728 followed by eighth seed Amuke. Fifth seed Stanley Njoroge finished fourth.
Top 10 finishers
Nicholas Mbugua
Allan Oyende
Bernard Amuke
Stanley Njoroge
Alvin Roberts
Bernard Koyyoko
Jack Omondi
Daniel Machanje
Michael Gongolo
Richard Okechi
