🏆 Climbing from the Pit: My 2nd Runner-Up Campaign at the Causeway Challenge 2026
"Climbing from the pit"—there is simply no better way to describe my roller-coaster journey at the recently concluded Causeway Scrabble Challenge 2026.
The tournament started in brutal fashion. After opening with two tough losses on Day 1, I managed to string together a brief row of victories. But Day 2 brought an absolute nightmare: 8 straight losses. To make it more heartbreaking, four of those matches were pure bad luck, losing by agonizingly slim spreads of just -8, -10, -7, and -3 points. Deep in the pits of the standings, my confidence was entirely shaken.
What happened next, however, was pure magic. Spurred on by the encouragement of friends and loved ones who boosted my spirits after that disastrous second day, I went on the offensive. I executed a monumental turnaround, closing out the prestigious tournament with a staggering 13-game winning streak to capture the 2nd Runner-Up Honors in Division 2!
First and foremost, I thank God for this incredible opportunity. Being a participant in an elite international arena like the Causeway Challenge is an achievement in itself—a true piece of Scrabble history—and taking home a podium trophy was a beautiful bonus. Kudos to Michael Tang, Manop P., the dedicated staff, and all the international players for making this event a spectacular success!
To cap off an already unforgettable weekend, the tile gods left me with one final, double surprise. During the closing ceremonies, my name was drawn in the grand raffle for a free, round-trip plane ticket to the next Causeway Challenge at Genting Highlands, Malaysia in 2028! From the very bottom of the pit to a podium finish and a free flight, this is a tournament I will cherish forever.
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| Welcome to Causeway Challenge 2026 |
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| Round 1 and 34 Opponent: Keith Teo from Singapore |
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| Round 2 Opponent: Eberechukwu Ajayi from Nigeria |
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| Round 3 Opponent: Rezal Fahlefi from Indonesia |
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| Round 4 & 23 Opponent: Waseem Baig from Pakistan |
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| Round 5 & 25 Opponent: Danish Shahna from India |
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| Round 6 & 20 Opponent: Sreepathy Iyer from Malaysia |
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| Round 7 Opponent: Imeth de Silva from Sri Lanka |
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| Round 8 Opponent: Charles Uzamere from Nigeria |
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| Round 9 & 13 Opponent: Vignesh Pushpa from India |
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| Round 10 Opponent: Joy Ola from Nigeria |
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| Round 11 & 32 Opponent: Terry Kang from USA |
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| Round 12 & 30 Opponent: Sumbul Siddiqui from Great Britain |
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| Round 14 Opponent: Sandali Vithanage from Sri Lanka |
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| Round 15 Opponent: Asanka Amarasinghe from Great Britain |
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| Round 16 Opponent: Ayodele Odekunle from USA |
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| Round 17 & 26 Opponent: Javed Shamim from Pakistan |
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| Round 18 & 24 Opponent: Phongsaphak Chueadee from Thailand |
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| Round 19 Opponent: Kritsada Sunthornwutthikrai from Thailand |
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| Round 21 Opponent: Priya Fernando from Sri Lanka |
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| Round 22 Opponent: Jeremy Wong from Singapore |
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| Round 27 Opponent: Muhammad Rashad from Indonesia |
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| Round 28 Opponent: Pasindu Wijewarfena from Sri Lanka |
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| Round 29 Opponent: Karen Richards from Australia |
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| Round 31 Opponent: Fred Magu from Kenya |
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| Round 33 Opponent: Shaikh Ahmed from India |
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| Round 35 Opponent: Kavindu Malawaraarac from Sri Lanka |
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| Round 36 Opponent: Win Inthara from Thailand |
Here are our completed boards, round by round.
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| Me: 332, Keith: 383 |
Stats:
Bingos:
Me: AcETATE, Keith: None
Goodies:
Me: X?, Keith: ZJQ?SSSS
Tiles Drawn/Used:
Me: 51, Keith: 47 + 2 unplayed
Challenges: None for both
Phoneys: None for both
Counting Accuracy: 100% for both
Exchanges: None for both
Round 2 at Board 23:
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| E. Ajayi 487, Me 439 |
Stats:
Bingos:
Me: DANGLED, ELISION, Opp: FORTIES, NUMERATE
Goodies:
Me:?JZSS, Opp: S?QXS
Tiles Drawn/Used
Me: 52, Opp: 45 + 3 unplayed
Challenges:
Me: 1 (unsuccessful), Opp: None
Phonies: None for both
Counting Accuracy: 100% for both
Exchanges: None for both
Round 3 at Board 35:
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| Rezal 353, Me 476 |
Stats:
Bingos:
Me: GUNNERAS, NERVIEsT, Opp: None
Goodies:
Me: SZSXQS?, Opp: JS?
Tiles Drawn/ Used:
Me: 53, Opp: 44 + 3 unplayed
Challenges:
Me: None, Opp: 2 (unsuccessful)
Phoneys:
Me: 1-unchallenged, Opp: None
Counting Accuracy:
Me: -1 (99.79%), Opp: 100%
Exchanges: None for both
Round 4 at Board 34:
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| Waseem 284, Me 451 |
Stats:
Bingos:
Me: INSERTeD, TOASTER, PAISAnS, Opp: None
Goodies:
Me: XJS?SZS?S lucksack!, Opp: Q
Tiles Drawn/ Used:
Me: 54, Opp: 44 + 2 unplayed
Challenges:
Me: 1 (successful), Opp: 1 (unsuccessful)
Phoneys:
Me: None, Opp: 1 (WEAT*) lost turn
Counting Accuracy:
Me: 100%, Opp: -4 (98.61%)
Exchanges: None for both
Round 5 at Board 30:
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| Me 446, Danish 282 |
Stats:
Bingos:
Me: MITOSIS (both missed the front hook), MATUrItY (missed the 4-timer), Opp: None
Round 6 at Board 20:
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| Sreepathy 365, Me 451 |
Round 7 at Board 8:
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| Me 357, Imeth 497 |
Round 8 at Board 7:
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| Me 417, Charles 367 |
Round 9 at Board17:
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| Me: 503, Vignesh 375 |
Round 10 at Board 11:
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| Me 325, Joy 442 |
Round 11 at Board 12:
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| Terry 364, Me 415 |
Round 12 at Board 11:
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| Sumbul 390, Me 382 |
Round 13 at Board 10:
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| Me 360, Vignesh 370 |
Round 14 at Board 10:
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| Me: 366, Sandali 373 |
Round 15 at Board 19:
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| Me 351, Amarasinghe 487 |
Round 16 at Board 19:
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| Ayodele 413, Me 363 |
Round 17 at Board 24:
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| Javed 458, Me 394 |
Round 18 at Board 29:
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| Me 403, Phongsaphak 423 |
Round 19 at Board 33:
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| Me 430, Kritsada 433 |
Round 20 at Board 35:
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| Sreepathy 341, Me 424 |
Round 21 at Board 35:
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| Priya 369, Me 589 |
Round 22 at Board 34:
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| Me 479, Jeremy 404 |
Round 23 at Board 32:
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| Waseem 499, Me 410 |
Round 24 at Board 29:
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| Me: 495, Phongsaphak 331 |
Round 25 at Board 28:
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| Danish 380, Me 385 |
Round 26 at Board 27:
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| Me: 472, Javed 430 |
Round 27 at Board 24:
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| Me: 419, Muhd Rashad 282 |
Round 28 at Board 21:
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| Me: 466, Pasindu 331 |
Stats:
Bingos:
Me: TUNIEST, REMAILED, Opp: SANGeETS
Goodies:
Me: SSSJQ?, Opp: XZS?
Tiles Drawn/Used:
Me: 58, Opp: 41+2 unplayed
Challenges: None for both
Phonies:
Me: 1 (unchallenged), Opp: 1 (unchallenged)
Counting Accuracy:
Me: -1 (99.79 %), Opp: 100%
Exchanges: None for both
Round 29 at Board 22:
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| Karen 373, Me 453 |
Stats:
Bingos:
Me: OVERPLAN, DETUNING, BEAdIER, LIGATUrE, Opp: None
Goodies:
Me:??J, Opp: SSSQXZS
Tiles Drawn/Used:
Me: 56, Opp: 41 +3 unplayed
Challenges:
Me: None, Opp: 1 (unsuccessful)
Phonies:
Me: None, Karen: 1 (unchallenged)
Counting Accuracy:
Me: +2 (99.56%), Karen: 100%
Exchanges: None for both
Round 30 at Board 15:
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| Sumbul 273, Me 475 |
Stats:
Bingos:
Me: FORENSIc, Opp: None
Goodies:
Me: Z?QS?S, Opp: XSJS
Tiles Drawn/Used:
Me: 58, Opp: 38 +4 unplayed
Challenges:
Me: 1 (successful), Opp: None
Phonies:
Me: None, Opp: 1 - SOLID/UNCUTS* (loss turn)
Counting Accuracy:
Me: -2 (99.58%), Opp: -4 (98.56%)
Exchanges: None for both
Round 31 at Board 9:
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| Fred: 362, Me: 389 |
Stats:
Bingos:
Me: YEaSTED, Opp: none
Goodies:
Me: ?SXSS, Opp: ZJQ?S
Tiles Drawn/Used:
Me: 49+1 unplayed, Opp: 50
Challenges:
Me: None, Opp: 1 (unsuccessful)
Phonies: None for both
Counting Accuracy:
Me: -1 (99.74%), Opp: 100%
Exchanges:
Me: 1 turn (3 tiles), Opp: None
Round 32 at Board 7:
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| Me: 398, Terry: 394 |
Stats:
Bingos:
Me: OUTHEARD, POSTURED, LARIATS; Opp: UNWILLED (2 blanks)
Goodies:
Me: SJSSS, Opp:??ZXQ
Tiles Drawn/Used:
Me: 52, Opp: 45 + 3 unplayed
Challenges:
Me: None, Opp: 1 (successful)
Phonies:
Me: 2 (1-unchallenged EWT/EY* (both players noticed only after I drew tiles, sorry for that), 1-TWEAD* loss turn), Opp: None
Counting Accuracy:
Me: -3 (99.25%), Opp: 100%
Exchanges: None for both
Round 33 at Board 3:
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| Shaikh 397, Me: 453 |
Stats:
Bingos:
Me: TErGITE, UNSECRET; Opp: WARDENs, ARTSMEN
Goodies:
Me: Z?XQ, Opp: JS?SSS
Tiles Drawn/Used:
Me: 55, Opp: 42 + 3 unplayed
Challenges:
Me: None, Opp: 2 (unsuccessful)
Phonies:
Me: 1 (unchallenged), Opp: 1- ASPRIN* (loss turn)
Counting Accuracy:
Me: 100%, Opp: +10 (97.48%)
Exchanges: None for both
Round 34 at Board 4:
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| Me 399, Keith 371 |
Stats:
Bingos:
Me: REQuOTE, VAURIENS, Opp: rELOANED (missing LEmONADE)
Goodies:
Me: Q?SSSS, Opp:?ZJX
Tiles Drawn/Used:
Me: 53, Opp: 42 +5 unplayed
Challenges: None for both
Phonies: None for both
Counting Accuracy:
Me: 100%, Opp: +3 (99.19%)
Exchanges: None for both
Round 35 at Board 3:
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| Kavindu: 435, Me: 488 |
Stats:
Bingos:
Me: DILDOES, ANTISERA; Opp: GELATION, SPEARING, TrOLLIED
Goodies:
Me: SJSSZX?; Opp: S?Q
Tiles Drawn/Used:
Me: 52, Opp: 47 +1 unplayed
Challenges:
Me: 1 (unsuccessful) , Opp: 6 (unsuccessful)
Phonies:
Me: None, Opp: None
Counting Accuracy:
Me: +3 (99.39%), Opp: 100%
Exchanges:
Me: None, Opp: 1 turn (3 tiles)
Round 36 at Board 2:
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| Me 468, Win 378 |
Stats:
Bingos:
Me: INFUSES, LEANEST; Opp: SUEDING
Goodies:
Me: SSSQXZ, Opp: S??J
Tiles Drawn/Used:
Me: 52 +5 unplayed, Opp: 43
Challenges:
Me: 2 (1-successful & 1-unsuccessful), Opp: 3 unsuccessful
Phonies:
Me: None, Opp: 1 (AROWS*) lost turn
Counting Accuracy:
Me: +1 (99.79%), Opp: 100%
Exchanges:
Me: None, Opp: 1 turn (2 tiles)
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| Yours Truly Receiving the 2nd Runner-up Prize |
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| At the Lobby |
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| At the Lobby |
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| Snapshots with the World Scrabble Champs |
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| Team Philippines at Causeway Challenge 2026 |
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| My Memorable 2nd Runner-up Trophy |
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| Won a Free Airfare Ticket for the next Causeway Challenge to be held in Genting Highlands, Malaysia |
