Recapping a pair of weekend 1-days on the coasts

We've all turned the page on October and moved into November, which means we're really getting into those brisk autumn days. And really, there's no better time than right now to curl up with a good Scrabble set.

That's why two cohorts of CoCo competitors - one on each coast - set out to play 1-day tournaments this weekend. In Columbia, MD, a group of eight players gathered on Saturday for the second annual get-together at Sammy Okosagah's house, and nine games of Scrabble ensued. Then on Sunday, six players convened for the latest installment of the Portland Pub Scrabble series in Portland, OR. As always, there were good times had by all, and no shortage of top-notch competition.

Let's start out East, with a report from player/director Rob Robinsky:

In talking with folks about the upcoming Second Scrabble Soiree at Sammy's, I took to describing it as taking on the Nigerian Causeway (or Alchemist Cup) team. For those who are unfamiliar, these events were invitational tournaments that pitted teams of five of the best players from individual countries against one another, and encouraged camaraderie and conviviality alongside elite Scrabble play.

In hindsight, I definitely nailed the conviviality part, but when it comes to elite play I might've even undersold the quality of the players in Columbia - there were no fewer than 4 African Scrabble champions in the room, and good grief did they play like champs!

Sammy opened up his home to players from near and far once again on Saturday, providing food and beverages and smoking hot games throughout the day - at one point literally smoking, as someone accidentally bumped an oven knob and scorched a box of Splenda packets! It felt in many ways like a family gathering, and it was a true highlight for me as an organizer and director to see how much enjoyment everyone had throughout the day.

In the end, we were able to award prizes to the top three players. Dennis Ikekeregor surged to the top of the standings throughout the day and battled for first place in the final two rounds, and after two spirited clashes settled into third place. Joshua Castellano continued his run of excellent form and prevailed in the final two rounds against Nsikak Etim to leapfrog into second place. Ultimately, neither man nor wine were enough to derail former World Champion Wellington Jighere from taking the crown for the day.

Congrats to all four top finishers - Wellington, Josh, Dennis, Etim in that order - as well as everyone else who survived a grueling nine-game tournament against elite competition.

And now, to Portland...

The environment was perhaps a little more laid back for this one, as the tournament took place at Oakshire, the local brewery where players often meet up for games in Northeast Portland. But there was absolutely no shortage of top Scrabble talent, especially with out-of-town visitor Josh Sokol stopping by to duke it out with the gang of PDX locals.

The tournament shaped up to be a two-man race between Josh and player/director Conrad Bassett-Bouchard, each of whom started off 3-1 in the six-game tournament. In the fifth round, Conrad bested Ruth Hamilton, and Josh snuck by Kolton Koehler in a real nailbiter, 423-418. This set up a showdown for all the marbles in round 6.

Ultimately, Conrad took it down, prevailing over Josh in a 435-392 decision to win the tournament. Josh took second; meanwhile, Gunther Jacobi rallied after starting off 1-2, winning his last three games to finish 4-2 and take third place. Props to all three strong finishers!

Thanks to Rob and Conrad for directing this weekend, and kudos to everyone who showed up and competed their best. We hope to see you all on the tournament circuit again soon, whether it's on the East Coast, out West, or anywhere in between.