Ludus Scrabularum
apud Centrum Studium Mediaevalum Universitatis Torontonensis
apud Centrum Studium Mediaevalum Universitatis Torontonensis
The contestants in this year's tournament gathered on the Fourth of March to determine who should advance to the second round, and the first step to the title of Scrabblator Optimus. Ten contestants met upon this day, with one game scheduled for another day and one participant, tournament organizer Sean Winslow, drawing a bye.
PhD students Jon Newman and Andrew Reeves took it head to head in the first game of the 2005 tournament. Evenly matched, the two followed each other closely, with Jon nudging back into the lead in penultimate play to seal his victory. Andrew, coming off a bout of the flu, insists that he only lost because he was "on death's door."
Christian Knudsen, PhD student, bravely volunteered to play his first game ever of Latin Scrabble in the tournament, and scarely blanched when told he would face senior Latinist George Rigg in the first round. Though Christian played well for a first-time participant, Professor Rigg, last year's Scrabblator Melior, nevertheless solidly defeated him.
MA student Rachel Kessler faced off against her Latin TA, Rob Getz, in a match characterized by
Keener undergrad Juan Tomas and regular Friday opponent, MA student Adam Bishop drew each other for a familiar match, though this time with heightened stakes. Adam pulled ahead with an early lead, and managed to maintain it for the whole game, defending the honour of the graduate division with his 23-point victory.
In an extremely close game, PhD student Andrew Crabtree took on Latin Professor, David Townsend. The game ran overtime, most likely due to too much thinking on the part of the contestants. Due to a lecture that both contestants were due to attend, an overtime ruling was made, awarding the game to Crabtree by only two points. Due to the low point differential, Prof. Townsend will be awarded the "wildcard" slot for the next round of the tournament.
Winston Black and Jess Paehlke met at a later date, due to the Vaganted conference, but the delay made them only more eager to rise to the high level of Scrabble played earlier. Though both played valiantly, Jess' dramatic lighting and mischevious grin could not overcome his letters, and ultimately proved no match for Winston's clever plays, like fis/fu/si for 40 points and his moral support, ending in the shock of defeat for Jess.
