Over 100 top players will be facing off at the eighth leg of Scrabble Kenya Championships, Machakos chapter this weekend ahead of Africa Scrabble Championships (ASC) set for next month in Lusaka, Zambia.
The two-day event will see action returning to the local scene after Kenyans dominated the Scrabble Association of Uganda Championships in Jinja where David Kimani was victorious.
Scrabble Kenya have already selected a team of 20 players for the ASC — October 21-24 — and who will be using the Machakos event as part of their preparations for Lusaka show.
Host Patrick Litunya said the event will also be a qualifying round for the World English Scrabble Players Association Championships (WESPAC) that will be held in Las Vegas, United States of America, next year.
“We are expecting top players who have been chosen to fly the Kenyan flag at the Africa Championships come next month. The championships at the Lau Hotel will be used as part of WESPAC qualifiers next year,” said Litunya.
Litunya is himself a top player who has graced four WESPAC championships and was at one time ranked sixth in the world.
However, despite his wealth of experience, he will not be representing Kenya in Lusaka after being out of competition for long.
“I am not part of the ASC team because I have been out of competition for so long. But we have a great team that will represent the country well. However, I am looking forward to competing at the WESPAC next year,” said Litunya.
He assured that everything is set for the Machakos event.
“This is a big event and we have to ensure that we get the best place for them to play. We are expecting to reward the top three in each Division. We have Division A, B and C,” added Litunya.
