KARACHI: Former world youth champion Moizullah Baig confirmed his status as the new giant of scrabble in Pakistan by winning the inaugural Shangrila Scrabble Champions Trophy at the Arts and Science Academy on Monday.

This year has been the best year of Moiz’s career, who besides lifting the trophy and a cheque of Rs35,000 on Monday, had also dislodged Waseem Khatri from Pakistan’s No. 1 slot when he won the national championship in July.

Moiz remained in the top five positions throughout the tournament but was in serious danger of missing out when he lost a few crucial matches on the final day. He had to win his last two games to climb back to the top. He finished with 18 wins out of the 27 matches and maintained a spread of 1,525.

The most serious threat to Moiz didn’t come from the usual suspect Waseem but from 12-year-old Syed Imaad Ali. It is rare to see a runner-up overshadowing the eventual champion but the way Imaad played turned the entire focus on him.

Veteran Tariq Pervez made an astonishing recovery on the final day winning nine of the last 10 matches to climb to the fourth position, winning 17 matches with a spread of 891.

The wonder boy defeated Moiz three times and Waseem twice and remained on top for most of the final day. In fact, the little master had a two-game lead with three matches to go. But Moiz somehow managed to sneak through. Imaad also won 18 matches but finished as the runner-up due to a lower spread.

The 20-year-old Hammad Hadi, the reigning title holder of Princess Cup, won in Thailand last year, also shone on the last day and clinched the third spot after defeating Waseem in the final match of the day. Hammad won 17 matches and maintained a spread of 921.

Meanwhile, the eight-time national champion Waseem Khatri had one of the toughest days of his career. After ending day two on top, Waseem lost seven of the last 10 matches and had to be content with fifth position.

The 13-year-old Hasham Hadi finished an admirable sixth while former national champion Sohaib Sanaullah was seventh.

Jawed Shamim, Shahzaib Khatri and Faheem Naqvi made up the rest of the top 10.

The chief guest on the occasion, Dr Maleeha Ahmed, awarded the trophies to the winners and announced that they would be glad to hold scrabble tournaments at the Arts & Science Academy in future too.

The Shangrila Champions Trophy is the toughest scrabble tournament in the domestic circuit as only the top 26 players based on national ratings are eligible to play in it.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2018