Monday, July 14, 2014

29th Brand Crossword Game King's Cup 2014

29th Brand Crossword Game King's Cup 2014

Contents:
  • King's Cup 2014 Details
  • Complete Results
  • Finals Game 1
  • Finals Game 2
King's Cup 2014 Details:
VenueCentral Plaza Ladprao Shopping Complex
DatesJul. 10-13, 2014
No. of Players69
DictionaryCSW12
Challenge RuleFree Challenge
WinnerNigel Richards
Runner-Up: Panupol Sujjayakorn
Top Prize$ 10,000.00
Format: The tournament begins with a 29-round preliminary (round 1-25 based on Swiss pairing system, the round 26-29 based on King-of-the-Hill pairing system), whose two finalists to play final with special rules: They have to play two games. If one of them win both games, then that player is the winner. But if they tie with a win and a loss each, a third game will be played. The winner, in this case, is the one who scores the most points when the scores from all three games are combined. (Note: Throughout the tournament, the spread capping enforced to a maximum of -/+ 350 points spread in a game. Also the Gibson rule is in effect in case there is a player who has won enough games to guarantee 1st place or a seat in the finals no matter how many games he or she loses thereafter.)
Flyer: For more details, check this link: http://www.wespa.org/tournaments/kingscup2014.pdf

Complete Results:
(Standing after 29 rounds Preliminaries)
Rank
Name
Home
W-L
Spread
1
Nigel Richards
New Zealand
24.0-5.0
2348
2
Panupol Sujjayakorn
Thailand
20.0-9.0
1508
3
Ming Hui Hubert Wee
Singapore
20.0-9.0
898
4
Jakkrit Klaphajone
Thailand
19.5-9.5
913
5
Komol Panyasophonlert
Thailand
19.0-10.0
1252
6
Worasit Suksansumran
Thailand
19.0-10.0
413
7
Gerald Carter
England
18.0-11.0
1135
8
Weera Saengsit
Thailand
18.0-11.0
904
9
Preedee Khongthanarat
Thailand
18.0-11.0
635
10
Marut Siriwangso
Thailand
17.0-12.0
1000
11
Ricky Purnomo
Indonesia
17.0-12.0
851
12
Bob Jackman
Australia
17.0-12.0
682
13
Goutham Jayaraman
India
17.0-12.0
480
14
Michael Tang
Singapore
17.0-12.0
390
15
Akkarapol Khwansak
Thailand
17.0-12.0
155
16
Wanchana Jirapitikul
Thailand
17.0-12.0
35
17
Chollapat Itthi-aree
Thailand
16.0-13.0
911
18
Martin Teo
Malaysia
16.0-13.0
786
19
Siu Hean Cheah
Singapore
16.0-13.0
762
20
Taewan Sutthasin
Thailand
16.0-13.0
593
21
Odette Carmina Rio
Philippines
16.0-13.0
515
22
Sitthichoke Boonsiriphan
Thailand
16.0-13.0
374
23
Charnwit Sukhumrattanaporn
Thailand
16.0-13.0
199
24
Sinatarn Pattanasuwa
Thailand
16.0-13.0
-61
25
Thitipol Barameemuang
Thailand
16.0-13.0
-128
26
Marlon Prudencio
Philippines
15.0-14.0
639
27
Kien Hung Yeo
Malaysia
15.0-14.0
429
28
Thacha Koowirat
Thailand
15.0-14.0
404
29
Karen Richards
Australia
15.0-14.0
388
30
Pesol Kosalakood
Thailand
15.0-14.0
331
31
Manop Phiphatboonserm
Thailand
15.0-14.0
182
32
Charae Worapotpisut
Thailand
15.0-14.0
144
33
Somphong Phosai
Thailand
15.0-14.0
133
34
Rodney Talbot
Australia
15.0-14.0
-58
35
Daniel Srichawla
Thailand
15.0-14.0
-347
36
Ron Baginski
Australia
14.0-14.0
-532
37
Tony Sim
Singapore
14.0-15.0
343
38
Jin Chor Tan
Malaysia
14.0-15.0
247
39
Apirat Choomai
Thailand
14.0-15.0
166
40
Puttapong Moonsarn
Thailand
14.0-15.0
129
41
Sanjoy Gupta
India
14.0-15.0
-91
42
Thanatchaporn Thiankarojanakul
Thailand
14.0-15.0
-219
43
Ken Smith
United States
14.0-15.0
-279
44
Peter Kougi
Australia
14.0-15.0
-302
45
Dorai Raja
Singapore
14.0-15.0
-433
46
Thavatchai Thivavarnvongs
Thailand
14.0-15.0
-590
47
Sanmi Odelana
Nigeria
13.0-15.0
485
48
Suthiraphan Assarat
Thailand
13.0-16.0
-85
49
Warodom Geamsakul
Thailand
13.0-16.0
-135
50
Dianne Ward
Australia
13.0-16.0
-137
51
Rocky Sharma
Australia
13.0-16.0
-299
52
Jessie Lim
Singapore
13.0-16.0
-337
53
Paul Richards
Australia
13.0-16.0
-484
54
Peter Shaw
Australia
13.0-16.0
-714
55
Bundit Chomkularb
Thailand
13.0-16.0
-1067
56
Paul Cartman
England
13.0-16.0
-1170
57
Amnuay Ploysangngam
Thailand
12.5-16.5
-591
58
Graham Buckingham
England
12.0-17.0
-437
59
Marites Carreon
Philippines
12.0-17.0
-539
60
Thanaporn Thiankarojanakul
Thailand
12.0-17.0
-631
61
Catherine Tong
Singapore
12.0-17.0
-635
62
John Barker
Australia
12.0-17.0
-1071
63
Olga Visser
Australia
12.0-17.0
-1312
64
Arun Methaset
Thailand
11.0-18.0
-196
65
Kedarnath Awati
India
11.0-18.0
-1303
66
Orrakanya Pichairattanapong
Thailand
10.0-19.0
-495
67
Dinna Lim
Singapore
10.0-19.0
-701
68
Christine Cartman
England
9.0-20.0
-1640
69
Maneeda Tanasanvimol
Thailand
6.0-23.0
-1840

Finals
(Panupol Sujjayakorn vs. Nigel Richards at King's Cup 2014 Finals)
Game 1:
Play through by clicking Forward button or any part of the board.

(King's Cup 2014 Game 1 Final Board Position: Panupol vs. Nigel)

Game 2
Nigel started the game with a bingo and Panupol countered with a bingo, then Nigel replied with another bingo. A few moves later, Panupol laid down two consecutive bingos, then it was a close fought battle until Nigel made a clever play of BAC setting up JAKE/BACK, that left the spectators and Scrabble enthusiasts in awe! And another brilliant ENATE mad logic move that only Nigel does it best. You can try and see if you found that move in a championship level...

Play through by clicking Forward button or any part of the board.

(King's Cup 2014 Game 2 Final Board Position-Nigel vs. Panupol)
Here are the remarks of some Scrabble players on Nigel's second game victory:

Segun Durojaye: "In fact 2 massive moves ....ENATE was as eccentric as BAC, yet, they were the defining moments....mad genius. Nigel has broken all known laws of the game."

Allan Simmons: "BAC is clever but not mad genius. ENATE has the 'toying with the opponent's mind' element that Nigel likes to do occasionally. I think the logic is that if Panupol already has the Z and blank Nigel loses but if he only has one of them and Nigel picks the other, the ENATE play gives him a chance of winning."

Michael Quao: "ENATE only seems great because Panupol did not have the Z!"

Ricky Purnomo: "... apparently even without the blank and Z, Nigel has a chance at winning with natural bingos through Q like ENQUIRED, QUERCINE etc. What is being questioned by some players are whether Nigel actually worked out that ENATE would give him more chance at winning or at least 50% win. I can look back and analyze the reason for the move, but there is a big chasm for me between understanding it against actually seeing the possibility and having the guts to play it."

Craig Beevers: "... presumably the logic is that he considers himself an underdog and needs to gamble. This move makes the Z an even more important tile, if he draws it he probably wins because there are so many hotspots and he's wiped out lots of useful floaters for the blank. If he doesn't pick the Z but picks the blank he has a not too bad a chance of getting a Q bonus as he has QUIE? + 3 (from AAACDEENRRSZ unseen). Blocking the Q requires a lot of sacrificing of score."

Sanmi Odelama: When I asked him directly, his simple answer was and I quote "That's the way I play".

Awarding:

(His Excellency, Mr. Ampol Senanarong, Privy Councillor, presenting the King's Cup to Crossword Game Champion Nigel Richards)
 All Photos Courtesy of John Chew

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