KARACHI, June 23: Waseem Khatri proved his supremacy over his rivals by clinching the silver jubilee edition of Pakistan Scrabble Championship here at Beach Luxury Hotel here on Sunday.

Waseem faced extremely stiff competition from not only some senior players but also a few teenagers who have improved their game immensely over the last few months. He won 19 of his 27 rounds and had an amazing spread of 2,034, a new national record.Yasir Jamshed was the runner-up with 18 wins and a spread of 1,120 while Mohammad Inayatullah finished third with 17 wins and a spread of 1,036.

No less than five teenagers finished in the top 10. Wonder boy Mohammad Inshal impressed everyone with his vocabulary and finished fourth, ahead of several former national champions.

Earlier after a sluggish start on Friday, Mohammad Inayatullah, displaying a great command over English vocabulary together with a good temperament slowly climbed to the top position. He displaced Yasir Jamshed from the top position after the latter dominated the championship until the seventh round.

Defending champion Waseem Khatri was initially off to a disastrous start, losing three of his first four matches including one to the 15-year-old Hassan Hadi Khan and another to the 18-year-old Minhajuddin. But then Waseem regained his composure, winning all his remaining matches to capture the third position at the end of day one.

On Saturday, Waseem Khatri came roaring back into form through 15 wins and a healthy spread of 1,722. Yasir Jamshed at the time was second with 14 wins and a spread of 1,038 while Mohammad Inayatullah a close third with 14 wins and a spread of 994.

It was a day of fluctuating fortunes where Tariq Pervez toppled Waseem Khatri to take the first position but Waseem quickly recovered to regain the lead.

Sunday’s last six rounds were played on ‘King of the Hill’ format.—Sports Reporter