Win for Manx Scrabble in competition

Hopes for another Manx tournament in 2025

A local scrabble player claimed victory at a competition held in the UK over 'Twixmas' (in the period between Christmas and New Year).

Founder of Manx Scrabble, Gillian Street, claimed victory in the fourth of five divisions at the Association of British Scrabble Players (ABSP)-rated Twixmas Scrabble Tournament in Daventry, Northamptonshire. 

The tournament attracted many top-rated players, pushing Gillian down from her usual position in the middle division, to “D” where she managed to win 13 of 15 games. 

Her last game was a fight to the finish with a two-point win; tile-tracking (counting which tiles have been played to know what is on an opponent’s rack) allowed her to block her opponent’s chance of gaining a high score with the last coveted “S”.

Gilly doesn’t usually play to block, preferring an open board. She explained: "An open board offers more openings for “bonus” words. I am really happy that I averaged over two bonuses (100 points) per game, it almost made the seven-hour crossing home on New Year’s Day on the Manxman worth it!"

In Scrabble, if a word is played that uses all seven of the tiles on the players rack, a 50-point bonus is awarded.

Ms Street added that she was 'inundated' with expressions of interest from players in Daventry for another Manx tournament, following the success of the inaugural 2022 event at the Sefton. 

She said: "Perhaps we can organise one in 2025, if we can encourage more players who live here to enter and/or volunteer to help."

Only one other Manx resident, Kathryn Keeble, entered in 2022. She won the “Best Novice” award. Volunteers at the registration desk, prize donors, and volunteer entertainers contributed to the success of the tournament.