By Washington Onyango:
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Friday, April 5th 2019 at 14:52 GMT +3 | SportsScrabble Kenya top player Nderitu Gitonga hopes to make it three wins in a row when more than 50 national scrabble masters converge at Dedan Kimathi University for the fourth National Scrabble Circuit on Saturday.
Gitonga, fresh from winning the Kisumu and Kitui circuit last month, will be seeking to add the Nyeri crown to his collection but he will have to face East Africa scrabble seed one Allan Oyende and Bernard Koyyoko.
Speaking to The Standard Sports, Scrabble Kenya Chairman Bernard Amuke said the circuit which will be played over three divisions will be used as the final preparation for the upcoming East, Central and South Africa Scrabble Championships (ECASA) on April 19 in Lusaka.
“Scrabble Kenya will be using this circuit to as our last preparation for the players who will represent Kenya in Lusaka next month for the ECASA games,” Amuke said.
In addition to that, Amuke also said that the event will also be used to select other players for team Kenya to World English Scrabble Players Association Championships (WESPAC) set to be held in Goa in December.
“This event will also feature university teams which are preparing for the upcoming Kenyatta University Students Association (KUSA) games,” he added,
Samuel Kaburu and Charles Kariuki will be leading the host team optimistic for a good show where they will be facing teams from Kisumu, Kitui, Siaya, Kisii, Eldoret, Busia, Mombasa, Nairobi and Nakuru.
“We will be playing at home and that is a kicker for us to perform better since we have been training well. We are ready for the tourney where everyone is welcomed as we push and continue to popularize the sport in schools,” said Kaburu.
Top-ranked ladies Wenwa Akinyi and Milly Kikechi are also expected to prove their word mastery in the toughest mind game.
Stima Club, Central Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Kinoo Club, Eldoret Club and Busia Scrabble club have already confirmed participation.
The tournament will feature 3 divisions as is the norm, with more than five universities expected to field players among them Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Kenyatta University, University of Nairobi, University of Eldoret, Chuka University and Kirinyaga University.
