Wellington Jighere

Wellington Jighere
Bornc. 1982 (age 43–44)
Olomu, Delta State, Nigeria
Other names"The Cat in the Hat"
OccupationScrabble player
Years active2002–present
Known forScrabble World Champion (2015)

Wellington Jighere (born c. 1982) is a Nigerian Scrabble player. He won the World Scrabble Championship 2015, the first win for an African nation.[1] He defeated Lewis MacKay in four straight wins.[2][3]

Jighere is nicknamed "The Cat in the Hat" for his quiet personality and fondness for hats.[4]

Career

Jighere was born c. 1982, and he grew up in Olomu, the origin point of Scrabble's rise in Nigeria beginning in the 1970s. He first played using a cardboard version of the game his brother created. As a teenager, his skill earned him a scholarship.[5] He began playing Scrabble tournaments in 2002, after winning games versus friends in the tournament scene.[6] He participated in the 2007 and 2009 World Scrabble Championships, placing seventh and eleventh, respectively.[2]

Though afflicted with jet lag during the Scrabble World Championship 2015, he won, becoming the first win for both a Nigerian and an African.[7] For his win, he received a congratulatory phone call from president Muhammadu Buhari.[6] He then created and sold the Wellyboard, his version of the Scrabble board. He also received a sponsorship from Canon Inc.[2]

Jighere intended to appear in the World Scrabble Championship 2016, but the French government denied his passport, along with every other member of the Nigerian Scrabble team.[8] Despite this, he continued making his living off Scrabble tournament prize money. He planned to appear at the Scrabble event, at the Nigerian National Sports Festival in March 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria caused the competition to be postponed indefinitely. He was unable to find a different job due to the unemployment caused by the pandemic.[2] In December 2020, Jighere announced his retirement from tournament Scrabble due to the pandemic.[9] He unretired in February 2021, appearing at the Nigerian National Sports Festival.[2]

As of 2021, Jighere is married with a son.[1]

Achievements

  • World Scrabble Championships[10]
  • 2023 32nd National Championship Finals (CSW) – winner[11]
  • African Scrabble Championship / Pan African Championship[12]
  • 2006 – 7th place
  • 2008 – winner
  • 2010 – winner
  • 2014 – 20th place
  • 2016 – 11th place
  • 2022 – 2nd place
  • West African Scrabble Championship
  • 2022 – 3rd place[13]
  • Nigerian National Scrabble Tournament
  • Asaf Zadok Nigerian National Championship[12]
  • 2017 – 14th place
  • MGI (Mind Games Incorporated) Scrabble Grand Slam
  • Scrabble In The Jungle Nigeria
  • Lekki scrabble classic championship
  • 2023 – 2nd place[17]
  • Wellington Classics, Nigeria[12]
  • 2017 – winner

References

  1. ^ a b Wahlquist, Calla (9 November 2015). "Nigeria's Wellington Jighere almost lost for words after Scrabble world title triumph". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e Wang, Yanan (10 November 2015). "With the word 'felty,' for 36 points, Wellington Jighere becomes the first African world Scrabble champion". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Nigerian man becomes first African to win the English-Language World Scrabble Championships". The Daily Telegraph. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  4. ^ Quist-Arcton, Ofeibea (27 August 2016). "And The No. 1 Scrabble Nation In The World Is ..." NPR. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  5. ^ Paquette, Danielle (2021-03-30). "He was Nigeria's biggest Scrabble star. The pandemic spelled identity crisis". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  6. ^ a b Quist-Arcton, Ofeibea (27 August 2016). "And The No. 1 Scrabble Nation In The World Is ..." WBUR. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Nigeria celebrates Africa's first English-language Scrabble win". BBC News. 2015-11-09. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  8. ^ Babatunde, Mark (2016-08-30). "Nigerian World Scrabble Champion Denied Visa by French Embassy". Face2Face Africa. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  9. ^ Abankula (3 December 2020). "Wellington Jighere, world scrabble champion quits over unpaid prizes". P.M. News.
  10. ^ "Wellington Jighere". WESPA. World English Language Scrabble® Players Association. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  11. ^ "SPC 2023: Finals". scrabbleplayers.org. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  12. ^ a b c "Wellington Jighere". wespa.org. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  13. ^ Ohanusi, Chinedum. "Eta Karo crowned King of West Africa Scrabble". Radio Nigeria. Archived from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  14. ^ "National Champions". Nigeria Scrabble Federation. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  15. ^ "MGI Grand Slam Finals (2022-10-16)". WESPA.org. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  16. ^ Monye, Alex (1 September 2022). "Jighere wins maiden Scrabble In the Jungle Championship". The Guardian. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  17. ^ Monye, Alex (3 October 2023). "Enoch Nwali wins Lekki scrabble classic championship". The Guardian. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.