from Denzil Fernandes
Daijiworld Media Network – Bahrain (SP)

Bahrain, Jun 10: The Annual Gulf Scrabble Tournament held in Bahrain was won by UAE’s Akshay Bhandarkar, when he beat UAE’s two-time former champion Ralph Lobo by 561 points to 502 in a tense encounter.  Bahrain’s Victor Ikawa was placed third.  The tournament held over two days, had participants from hosts Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE.  There were 36 players from all over the Gulf States, battling for the top honour.  The top two finishers will now take off to Malaysia.

Akshay is a former three-time Gulf winner and is also the world’s fifth-ranked scrabble player.  Akshay will now head off to Malaysia along with Ralph to participate in the World Cup in December. Out of the 10 participants who travelled from UAE to take part in the Bahrain competition, five finished within the top 10 ranking. 

The UAE scrabblers meet every month at a popular venue, where regular matches take place.  There are over 50 enthusiasts comprising of expatriates, who test their word power and scrabble their way to play exciting matches.