Word wizards compete in the 2nd Councilor Rey Gealon Open Scrabble tournament.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Over 100 word wizards will pit their skills in the 3rd Councilor Rey Gealon Open Scrabble Tournament at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu this weekend.
This was confirmed by one of the organizers, Marilyn Abella of the Cebu Scrabble Association (CSA).
Competing in the cash-rich scrabble tournament this weekend are those from outside Cebu according to Abella.
She noted that they could’ve gathered more competitors if not for a national-level tournament happening in Manila on November 24-25.
“We are expecting a hundred scrabblers to join us in this event pero murag wa siguro taga Manila nga makaari karon kay maapiki na sila kay National Scrablle Championship naman sad later this month,” said Abella.
“Pero naa ta daghan outside from Cebu, including from Butuan nga mga professional scrabble players like Larry Serrano, Tommy Toroy ug uban pa.”
READ: Scrabble adds 5,000 new acceptable words
Abella said that the majority of the competitors this weekend are from Cebu including known professional scrabble players like Renante Dela Cerna, Jowar Ayuno, Dart Eslao, and Lear Jet Dela Cruz.
They are comprised mostly of varsity scrabble players from the University of Cebu (UC), University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R), Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U), and the University of the Visayas (UV).
Also, previous winners of the tournament from the Quiot Elementary and National High School and Ramon Duterte Memorial National High School are expected to field their best players.
Also joining are Abellana National School, Lahug Elementary School, Taptap Integrated School, PAREF Springdale, and Liloan National High School.
The scrabble tournament is the brainchild of Cebu City Councilor Rey Gealon. It highlights the partnership between the Unified Scrabble Association of the Philippines (USAPI), CSA, and the Talisay Masonic Lodge 422.
It will follow a Lexicon Collins Scrabble Words (CSW) 21 format with corresponding playing times in the professional, high school, and elementary divisions.
The champion in the pro category will receive P10,000, while the second and third placers will pocket P7,000 and P5,000 in cash, respectively. The fourth to sixth placers, and the highest score and highest turn will also win cash.
Besides the professional category, the high school and elementary winning word wizards will also pocket cash prizes.
The high school scrabble champ will get P6,000; and P4,500 for the elementary winner. The second to sixth placers and highest scorers will receive cash prizes.