A BRITISH Scrabble champion has clinched the world title when he won a best-of-five showdown against a US opponent by three games to one.
Craig Beevers, 33, from Guisborough near Middlesbrough, is the first British champion to win the world title since 1993, and only the second British player to clinch the accolade.
Mr Beevers and his opponent, Chris Lipe, from Clinton, New York had competed with more than 100 players from more than 25 countries over five days to reach the final and battle it out for the title and £3,000 prize money.
Mr Beevers organises Scrabble tournaments and was UK national champion in 2009 and has been playing for more than 12 years. His decisive play was with the word talaq, meaning a Muslim form of divorce, scoring 42 points and giving him an incontestable lead in the deciding match. He finished the fourth game with a score of 440, beating Mr Lipe's 412. Mr Beevers said: "I am absolutely thrilled to have won."
The tournament final took place at the ExCeL Centre, London.
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