Weekly Tournament Round-Up: Milton, Warrington and Holmfirth

Colin Nicol, Division A winner at Milton of Campsie

Last weekend saw a fine flurry of ABSP activity in the north, with tournaments at Milton of Campsie, Warrington and Holmfirth drawing 86 players. Colin Nicol pulled off a remarkable Division A upset at Milton, Brian Po dominated at Holmfirth, and Paul Thompson topped the largest field of the weekend at Warrington.

Last weekend saw a fine flurry of ABSP activity in the north, with tournaments taking place in Milton of Campsie (Scotland), Warrington, and Holmfirth. 86 players competed at these three tournaments, organised and delivered by Ross Mackenzie and Tom Wilson (Milton), Wayne Kelly (Warrington), and Caroline McLaughlin (Holmfirth)—four of our most experienced, valued organisers.

Milton of Campsie

Furthest north, up in Milton, Scrabble stalwart Colin Nicol delivered a noteworthy upset: ranked sixth of the eight players in Division A going into the event, he won six of his seven games to emerge with his sixth Division A win. Colin took down two opponents rated 160 and above—including a commanding 122-point victory over Expert Simon Gillam—and his tournament rating (TR) of 177 was his highest of the year. Colin has played a gargantuan 221 rated ABSP games this year, and has peaked this month: Saturday’s success was his fourth 160+ TR in September alone. In the course of this formidable run, he also held his nerve against new ABSP Chair James Burley to win a tightly-fought game by 11 points.

Colin unsurprisingly observed that “16 bonuses over the 7 games pleased me”, after a “tricky few months”, and suggested that being 37 rating points behind the highest-rated player as play began, his victory might be “some sort of a record for an A Division win”. Those of you who love collecting ABSP stats—Chris Hawkins?—over to you…

Sheena Wilson won Division B with a 5–2 record, while Steven Morrice won 6–1 in Division C to take his first tournament win of 2026. Both Sheena and Steven are from the northern reaches of Scotland—so both made lengthy journeys to reap their rewards!

Sheena Wilson, Division B winner at Milton of Campsie

Steven Morrice, Division C winner at Milton of Campsie

Holmfirth

There were fewer shocks in store at Holmfirth: going into the event, those who have closely followed UK Scrabble over the past couple of years would have placed the smart money on Brian Po to win. Going in as the highest-rated seed—and 12 rating points above second seed—he delivered a performance to match the rating, winning six out of his seven games and racking up a colossal spread of +983. Five of his six games were won by margins of 100 or more, including a 275-point victory over Pauline Johnson and a 227-point victory over Colin Northmore. Third seed Paul Thompson came 2nd, with Matthew Pinner coming third—an impressive performance despite a negative spread!

In Division B, Michael Thomas followed up on his Division B win last Sunday at Cleveland with an even better performance. He delivered a clean sweep, matching Brian’s feat of winning five games by triple-digit margins. His recent successes take him up to a rating of 127, a calendar-year high.

Warrington

Last but not least was the weekend’s biggest field over in Warrington: 42 players across three divisions. Paul Thompson emerged triumphant here, winning six of his seven games with a +669 spread. He edged out GM Stewart Holden—who handed him his only loss of the day—while Orla Judge came third.

In his final game against Paul Thompson, Stewart needed a massive 171 to win; he took the victory, but the margin of 36 fell short of that needed. Paul went out with EDGINGS, but there’s a better play available: can you find it?

Final board from Stewart Holden vs Paul Thompson at Warrington

In Division B, Richard Woodward won five and drew one of his seven games to win the division: only a narrow seven-point defeat in his final game prevented him from going unbeaten on the day. Nicky Huitson came 2nd, winning five: a superior spread allowed her to nudge ahead of Dave Hoskisson, in third.

Division C was won by Christine Cartman. This division was much tighter, won only on spread: Christine’s five wins and +587 performance were sufficient to outrun Alison Holmes (five wins and +204). Third place was also decided on spread: Paul Doherty (4 wins, +308) outran Sam Hickford (4 wins, +122). The event also saw a significant number of new players (including Sam!) who we hope will become long-term regulars at ABSP events. Congratulations to the organisers for bringing them into our community!

Looking ahead

There’s no pausing for breath: this weekend will feature a double-header further south (in Manuden), which will also feature a new youngster debuting, who has been inspired by our streaming efforts. It will coincide with a two-day event over in Ireland, at Waterford. In the meantime—congratulations to all winners and podium finishers, and thank you to Ross, Tom, Wayne, and Caroline for their continued support of UK tournament Scrabble.

May your racks ever be blooming with bingos,
Jack Moran
ABSP Communications Officer
2 October 2026