India’s top Scrabble players will match their wits with players from around the country and the South East Asian region during the GAIl Open Scrabble Cup. In its third edition, this annual tournament sponsored by GAIl ndialtd. has now opened its doors to international players. This year, the tournament and its players will also be rated by WESPA in addition to the Scrabble Association of India. 12 of the over 60 participants have previously participated in the World Scrabble Championships.
India’s highest rated Scrabble player and current National Champion, Sherwin Rodrigues from Mumbai, was one of the first players to register. He is also the current GAIl Cup holder and is looking forward to retaining his crown. “It’s going to be a lot tougher to retain my crown this year and the level of competition keeps getting better both from Delhi and from across the world. But I’m hoping to play my best Scrabble and enjoy what in the past has been a terrific tournament.”
Michael Tang, one of Singapore’s top rated players, said “I’m excited to be travelling to India to play my favourite game and compete with the best. It’s good to see a tournament of this stature now encourage international players to play in India and help grow the game in India. Thanks to tournaments like this we now see more Indians compete in mind sports around the world and more top players visit India.”
It is to be held at Vishwa Yuvak Kendra, is being organised by the Scrabble Association in conjunction with the Scrabble Association of India.While an estimated six million people around the world play Scrabble online, competitive Scrabble in India is still picking up momentum with a handful of tournaments across the country.
The tournament also provides an opportunity for the capital’s budding players to get crucial exposure to playing and observing some of the world’s best players in action.India’s top Scrabble players will match their wits with players from around the country and the South East Asian region during the GAIl Open Scrabble Cup to be held here from July 22 to 24, 2016.