Khatri bounces back to retain scrabble title

KARACHI: Pakistan No 1 Waseem Khatri staged a remarkable comeback to clinch the title for the eighth time in the Signature 28th National Scrabble Championship here on Monday.

The result must have been highly disappointing for the former world youth champion Moiz Baig, who had led the pack in initial stages.

Waseem and Moiz fought a spectacular battle for the title in the last five matches against each other in the king-of-the-hill format.

It all came down to the very last match of the tournament with Waseem and Moiz playing on table 1 with both having 18 wins.

The game more than lived up to the expectations with Moiz taking an early lead with the help of three consecutive Bingos and Waseem catching up every time.

The game was so close that the winner did not emerge until the very last tile was played. Waseem ultimately won 472-448 and finished with 19 wins and a spread of 839 against Moiz’s 18 wins and a spread of 1464.

Mohammad Inayat staged a late rally on the final day to clinch the third position. Hassan Hadi, 18, finished fourth, while his identical twin Hammad came eighth.

Abdullah Abbasi, 16, finished fifth, while Wajid Iqbal, Tariq Pervez, Anwar Siddiqi and Jawed Shamim finished sixth, seventh, ninth and tenth, respectively.