Around half of players warmed up nicely with an 11 game competition battling for our perpetual Ladies and Mens trophies in memory of fondly remembered Kay Thorne and John Rusted. 3 ladies won 6 games, but spread wasn't enough for Anne Ashmore to retain the silverware, with Moria Conway pipping Paloma Raychbart by just a single point of spread. John Ashmore suffered just 1 loss to finish 2 games clear of the field ensuring their household still had something to take home this year, whilst Joseph Bennett continued his recent good form, one win less but the same margin of victory separating him from Division B rivals.
Early standings in the main event saw the expected competition begin to play out at the top although Robert Richland, Andrew Eames and Karen Willis had strong day 1s. By the end of day 2, both Lewis Mackay and David Eldar had 13-5 records, with Phil Robertshaw and Pauls Allan and Gallen just 1 win behind. It was 12 wins too for Natalie Zolty helped by a Nigel-esque play of NITRIFIED through disconnected tiles. There might be a few people who still haven't heard about it.
David made the strongest start of all to the final day, wrapping up victory with a round to spare and finishing 3 wins clear, on 20-5, +1486. Paul Gallen finished 2nd, with Phil, Lewis and Natalie rounding out the top 5. Visiting player James Curley recovered from a poor Warm Up to take one of the ratings prizes with Nuala O'Rourke putting in a strong late run to clinch the other.
David's win is the 2nd UK Major win for a player who has a string of global achievements to his name including the World Championship in 2017. Since that time he has become one of the pioneers of the Tablet Scrabble variant, and will be hosting the 2nd National Championship in London next weekend. I am sure any late entries will be warmly welcomed.
Caroline McLaughlin took the ratings prize in Division B in 2018, but only entered late this time after some other plans altered. It looks like a good decision, as she dominated Division B from the off finishing 2 wins clear with a record of 19-6, +1323. Paul Thomson took 2nd place, with Colin Nicol 3rd and Graham Buckingham taking the ratings prize in 4th. A 164 tournament rating has propelled Caroline's overall rating up 6 points.
Ellie Mackin is a relatively new name on the scene, but if her Braille tiles do not stand out enough, her performances certainly do. She was also 2 wins clear in Division C (18-7, +1334) with Robert Springer 2nd and Syd Berger 3rd. Christine Cartman took the ratings prize.
Due to a few pre-tournament issues and a late family emergency, the ABSP committee were low on Tournament Officials at our flagship event; something we hope can be remedied next year. The last 2 years have been mostly positive for the BMSC, but we recognise there are still areas that need looking at so the event can become bigger and better in the future. Special thanks this year go to Wayne Kelly for all his hard work organising and directing amidst a few unexpected challenges.