Belfast lawyer Paul Gallen has become the 41st national Scrabble champion after edging out accountant Olawale Fashina in the London final.
The pair traded high-scoring “dossers” and “begonias” in a tense encounter on Sunday but it was 26-year-old Gallen who claimed the crown after winning the deciding game by 100 points, largely thanks to his “neonates”, which scored 71.
Gallen admitted he “was in a bit of trouble” after losing the first game at west London’s Cavendish Conference Centre.
“I kind of just looked at how he played and knew there was not much I could do if I made a mistake,” explained the winner.
Gallen, who won Channel 4’s Countdown in 2006, is the first person living outside England to be crowned UK National Scrabble champion.
Belfast lawyer claims Scrabble crown
