 Paul Allan will now attend the World Scrabble Championships |
The new national Scrabble champion has won the title with a two-letter word for a three-clawed sloth. Paul Allan, 37, who has just moved to Southsea, near Portsmouth, from Aberdeen, won the 36th annual competition in London.
He beat opponent Stewart Holden, 28, from Nottingham, three games to one.
He won with the word ai - a three-toed sloth of South America. It also means love in Japanese, so he dedicated his win to his Japanese wife.
Mr Allan, a former international decathlete, said he was "absolutely delighted" with his win, having played the game against the computer for 20 years and competitively for the past 12 years.
He will now represent Scotland in the World Scrabble Championships in India next month.
He paid credit to Mr Holden, who is ranked ninth in the UK and makes his living running a business selling word-play merchandise, who he said played "brilliantly".
"I thought I'd won the third game but he came up with a brilliant move - the word otitis (inflammation of the ear)," he said.
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