Cameroonian crowned world Scrabble champion in French
Scrabble is quite common in all the countries of French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Senegal.
(illustrative image) Seyllou AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Scrabble is a brainstorming board game.
Two to four players, seven letters of the alphabet drawn.
Objective: score the most points by placing words on the grid in front of you.
Tuesday, October 26, a Cameroonian won the title of world champion of Scrabble in French: Eric Salvador Tchouyo.
It was in Aix-les-Bains in Savoie, France, during the Classic Scrabble World Championships after a 100% Cameroonian final.
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A highly contested final full of emotions for the two compatriots.
Because they have known each other for years, practice Scrabble in a club several times a week in Yaoundé and Douala.
Facing Eric Salvador Tchouyo, captain of the Cameroonian Scrabble team, Amédée Assomo, himself president of the national federation.
The latter wins the first round, Eric Salvador Tchouyo the second and wins in the third in 20 minutes.
Two words make the difference: "Kawaï" (cute in Japanese) with two letters worth 10 points each, the k and the w.
And "Ordering", in nine letters.
Eric Salvador Tchouyo, accountant by trade, devotes all his free time to this passion.
And prides itself on knowing all the words in the French language from two to nine letters.
“
To get to this level, you have to work, read, write, you have to make possible combinations.
At times, you can wake up at night at 2 a.m. because a word is running through your mind.
You have to take a dictionary to sometimes check the definitions to better fix the words in the mind.
We breathe the words.
"
This is the first time that Cameroon has won the World Classic Scrabble title in French.
But the country is already triple African champion in this discipline.
For Amédée Assomo, this 100% Cameroonian final is a great showcase for a discipline widespread on the continent.
“
It is an extremely lively practice, and not only in Cameroon.
Senegal is the second most important federation after France.
You have the Ivory Coast, Benin, Gabon.
Many champions come from African countries.
Scrabble is widely practiced in all the countries of French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa.
"
# cdmAix2021 - Éric Salvador TCHOUYO becomes the 1st Cameroonian player classic Scrabble world champion!
The "teacher" wins the final 2-1 against his student and compatriot Amédée ASSOMO.
The #Cameroon to be proud of its representatives.
pic.twitter.com/bxE8CKXo07
- FISF (Scrabble) (@TwitFISF) October 26, 2021
The game created by an American, Alfred Butts at the turn of the 1940s, has indeed many followers on the continent, the "Scrabbleurs".
A game that requires a great mastery of spelling, grammar and being able to memorize as much vocabulary as possible.
The Cameroonian federation hopes to host the next African Scrabble Championships in 2022. In the meantime, Amédée Assomo points out with a smile: "
It is always a pleasure to beat the French on their soil and in their language
".
Eric Salvador Tchouyo, World Scrabble Champion in French
Amelia Tulet
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