IN FOCUS: In Singapore's Scrabble scene, 'phenoms' and casuals unite on the quest for word domination
There are about 279,000 words in the Scrabble dictionary. Think you have what it takes to get good at the game? (Illustration: CNA/Rafa Estrada)
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SINGAPORE: They sit across each other, staring intently at the tables in front of them. Some clutch their heads, frowning; others are relaxed. No one speaks.
The only sounds come from ticking clocks and small, plastic square tiles being sifted in small velvet bags before they take up positions on a board.
This was not quite the level of intensity I expected to observe at the Millennium Cup, an annual Scrabble tournament in Singapore.
Here at a multi-purpose hall in Nanyang Technological University (NTU), over 50 players young and old engaged in 16 rounds of hour-long matches over two days. The concentration was relentless; the effort total.
But as each round came to an end, players broke ranks to hover over other tables and peek at the words on display. One showdown, however, was of more interest: Hubert Wee versus Toh Weibin.
