Back to WSC 2007 Live Coverage

WSC 2007 Commentary:
After the Finals

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Go to: Before the Tournament, Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5, Round 6, Round 7, Round 8, Round 9, Round 10, Round 11, Round 12, Round 13, Round 14, Round 15, Round 16, Round 17, Round 18, Round 19, Round 20, Round 21, Round 22, Round 23, Round 24, Final Round 1, Final Round 2, Final Round 3, After the Finals.

When Nigel Richards (NZL) and Ganesh Asirvatham (MYS) finished their game, they quickly recounted the game, and then Ganesh reached across the table to shake Nigel's hand.

The atmosphere in the audience air remained festive. Everyone was keyed up and ready for more games; indeed the prize ceremony wasn't ready yet, so Philip Nelkon asked for everyone's patience for 20-25 minutes while the last preparations were made. Players had no trouble finding things to talk about to occupy the time: the finals, their own games, the future of WESPA and international Scrabble, and so on.

Eventually the ceremony started and the necessity of the preparations became clear. I'll have to see what I can adapt for the next Canadian NSC. Speeches from Mattel digniatries, loudspeakers blaring out Stand Up For The Champions (prompting some prizewinners and officials to show off their dance moves), confetti guns, the traditional oversized cheque, glass trophies, certificates, photographs with dignitaries, full group photographs, and so on.

Nigel Richards (NZL) received USD 15,000, a glass trophy, a certificate, a SamTimer (from event sponsor SamTimer.com) and a cake (from the hotel).

Players may download full size versions of the group photo from my Flickr account. (I have noticed subsequently that Flickr has a cap on image sizes, and that the ones posted there are 1280 by 851 pixels. If anyone would like the original 6 MB photos, please let me know and I'll post them elsewhere.)

The room is being torn down now, and I'm off to the airport in five hours. The site will be updated as much as I can before then, and reports of corrections are welcome beginning Wednesday morning Toronto time.