Fresh from his triumph at the Africa Youth Scrabble Championship in Kenya, U-19 champion Prestige Archibong has set his sights on an even bigger stage — the World Youth Scrabble Championship in Malaysia.
Archibong, who led Team Nigeria to a dominant outing at the continental showpiece, expressed delight at his team’s performance but admitted the road to victory was far from smooth.
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“We’re very happy we won. It’s a great win. We play with the senior team, we train with them, so I did not expect anything less from Team Nigeria. Our team was flawless,” Archibong said.
Despite the victory, the teenage star revealed that officiating challenges made the tournament particularly tough.
He was controversially paired multiple times against his Nigerian teammates, including tournament third seed Abdulqudus Aliu, who handed him two back-to-back defeats early on.
“The tournament was very tough. At some point, it felt like I was playing Nigeria in almost every round. The hardest match was against Abdulqudus Aliu, who beat me twice at the start,” he explained.
Nigeria’s Strong Showing Across Categories
Under the captaincy of Sufyan Olojoku, Nigeria shone in both the U-15 and U-19 categories.
In the U-15 division, Sophie Ekeruche delivered a flawless performance, winning all 18 games with a remarkable cumulative score of +3,871. Kenya’s Kingsley Odhiambo finished second, while Nigeria’s Hassan Olojoku came third. Another Nigerian, Eliana Igbe, placed sixth with 12 wins. Kenya, however, clinched the U-15 team crown ahead of Nigeria and Ghana.
The U-19 category belonged to Nigeria, with Archibong edging compatriot Abdulqudus Aliu to the individual title. Both recorded 18 wins from 24 games, but Archibong prevailed with a superior cumulative score of +2,794 to Aliu’s +2,568. Team captain Olojoku also finished on the podium, while Nigeria secured the overall team prize and the “Best Country” award ahead of Ghana and Kenya.
Eyes on the World Stage
Archibong, who had also won the U-15 crown in Lagos two years ago, says his hunger for success is far from satisfied.
“The World Youth Championship in Malaysia is coming up. Scrabblers around the world should watch out for us,” he declared confidently.
With Nigeria’s youth scrabble stars continuing to dominate the African scene, all eyes will be on Archibong and his teammates when they take on the world later this year.
