Dubai, UAE, June 27, 2011: The 21st Gulf Scrabble Championship (GSC) 2011 took place for the first time in Dubai, on 24th and 25th June, 2011 at Etisalat Academy.

A hot favourite, Mohammed Sulaiman who has been playing for almost 24 years, beat 36 tough competitors at the championship. He will now represent UAE in the World Scrabble Championship in Poland in October this year.

Sulaiman used the word ‘Peyotls’ as his winning move. He also won last year’s tournament held in Muscat, Oman. Other winners were Salah Salih (Saudi Arabia), Wone Mamadou (Kuwait) and Irfan Siddiqui (Bahrain).

The players rated the facilities at Etisalat Academy as outstanding. They were totally relaxed and felt it was the perfect place to host the event. The hall was well organized and the accommodation at the Academy was very comfortable for the players, said the organizer.

David Brennan, General Manager of the Etisalat Academy, says, “It was fantastic for the Academy to be involved and our pleasure to receive players from across the GCC.  It highlighted that Etisalat is an active supporter of the community and we lend support wherever we can.  We hope to welcome them back again next year.”

The championship, recognized by the World English Scrabble Players Association (WESPA) as the official annual tournament for the region, was earlier held in Bahrain and Oman and now moved to the UAE. 36 players from nine different nationalities from the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman competed in this premier tournament. As a WESPA rated tournament, every game played at the tournament will influence world rankings. The main sponsors of GSC 2011 are Jashanmal Books and Thomsun Group of Companies.

The tournament was directed by Ashok Bhandarkar, the Secretary of the Scrabble Association of India, who has previously directed national Scrabble tournaments in India. The two day event culminated in a prize distribution ceremony on June 25, 2011 afternoon, where the sponsors gave away prizes.