Phase One of the Autumn Tournament currently being played at the Maltese Islands Scrabble Club within the St. Aloysius Sports & Leisure Complex in B’Kara, is nearing its end, shortly giving way to the start of Phase Two.

Former Malta Scrabble Champion Mario Saliba is topping the mainstream group with 26 points, closely followed by Joe F Micallef (24 points) in second place. Sammy Mangion – another former Malta champion – is hot on their heels with 18 points, on a par with Mario Seychell. However, Mangion has some games in hand and he may therefore move close to the leading duo.

The second group of participants playing once weekly, has Pauline Cilia at the top with 20 points and two overall losses only. Charles Galea (16 points) follows closely with four losses whilst Marlene Calleja and Emily Cardona come next (14 points) in the result list.

Meanwhile, Joe F Micallef managed to be the first to play a bingo containing the letters MISC (the club’s initials) by placing “MASONIC” on board (78 points), thus earning a special trophy set aside for the move.

Although a pattern is already emerging at this half-way point in the tournament, Phase Two may yet hold some surprises as players gain valuable experience on each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

More information about the club may be found on the club’s website: http://www.freewebs.com/maltascrab/ and contact may be made through this email address: [email protected]