On March 30, 2019, Scrabble fanatics from Japan and Hong Kong squared off at the East Asian Scrabble Championship 2019, which took place in Osaka, Japan. This is the third time he Japan Scrabble Players Association (JASPA) and HKSPA have co-organized the tournament, which consists of two teams of 5 players, each playing 10 games in a double round-robin format. After a valiant effort by both teams, the Japanese side emerged as victors for the first time in the Championship series, winning 32 out of the 50 games. The winning team is represented by John Ozag, Warodom Geamsakul, Kunihiko Kuroda, China Okamoto and Yoshinobu Matsumoto. Representing Hong Kong are Thomson Law Long Yin, Edwin Chan, Douglas Tsang, Law Kwun Shing (Chris) and Yip Tsz Hin (Owen).
Below is a list of award recipients:
- Team Champion: Japan
- Individual Champion: Warodom Geamsakul (Japan)
- Best student player: Thomson Law Long Yin (Hong Kong)
- High game: Douglas Tsang (Hong Kong), scored 606 points in Round 5 against China Okamoto
Full results can be viewed here.
The HKSPA would like to congratulate the Japan team and thank their hosts for their wonderful hospitality before, during and after the tournament. We look forward to continuing the tradition and welcoming the Japan team in Hong Kong in 2020!