MGI Scrabble Grand Slam, .

Every year, we curate the best players from all MGI approved events into a single Grand Slam Championship.

Date

Venue

Time

Arrival

Overview

This is an invitational tournament for the very best Scrabble players in Nigeria during the year of the event. Qualifiers will be determined by the MGI Year to Date ranking system and a few wildcards will be offered to deserving players at the discretion of the organisers.

Any player who makes the top 16 on the list BUT is ineligible to participate will lose their spot to the next eligible player on the MGI Year to Date ranking system. All participating players MUST sign an undertaking to abide by the rules and regulations.

Eligibility Criteria

Top 16 players on the MGI rating (Year to Date) of the current MGI year.

Top female player on the MGI rating (Year to Date) of the current MGI year.

6 foreign guest players.

5 Wildcard recipients.

Qualifiers MUST be paid-up members of MGI.

Qualifiers MUST have played a minimum of 50 games in the qualifying period.

Format

Number of Games:

24 games (Top 2 players to qualify for the FINAL)

Number of Players:

28 Players

Final:

Best of 5 games

Paring System:

Lagged Swiss + KOTH

Lexicon:

CSW21 (Expurgated dictionary)

Tournament Software:

TSH

Ratings:

WESPA, NSF & MGI

Prizes

Guaranteed star prize of ₦1,000,000 + TROPHY for the champion.

Top 10 players to be awarded cash prizes.

Spot and/or product prizes may be awarded.

Accomodation & Meals

Organisers will be subsidizing the cost of accommodation up to 50% for 3 nights at the hotel venue for all participants. All participating players are expected to stay at the hotel venue. Players who choose to stay an extra night can do so but at full rate and on their own wallet.

Free lunch will be provided for all participating players.

Event Requirements

Registration

Registration is free for Nigerian qualifiers and wildcard recipients. However, they must pay 50% of their accomodation cost. All international guest players will pay a sum of USD300 to register for the event. The registration fee includes MGI membership subscription, hotel accommodation for 3 nights, lunch, airport pick-up/drop-off and souvenir packages for the event. Payment will be taken on arrival during the accreditation exercise (for international guest players only).

Players Accreditation

All players and officials are to be accredited between 6:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. Event Souvenir Packages will be distributed to players at the point of accreditation. Failure to be accredited could result in the disqualification of the affected player.

Event Dress Policy

Players will be required to wear native attires on Friday, and the customised event shirts on Saturday. On Sunday, all players and officials will wear business casuals - no ties. The dress code must be strictly adhered to.

Media Responsibility

All players will be mandated to attend the press conference on Friday morning and must also grant interviews to press people on request. No player shall refuse to be interviewed on request.

Offer Acceptance

A letter of Offer Acceptance will priorly be sent to all Nigerian qualifiers, who will be expected to accept (or reject) it on or before 10 October. International guest players are expected to confirm their participation by Friday September 30, 2023. Payment of ₦45,000 by players by the same date will confirm their spot at the Grand Slam. Players must also agree to abide to the event terms and conditions vis-avis.

(1) Dress code

(2) Media responsibility

MGI Year to Date Ranking System — Point Based.

The MGI Year to Date ranking system will be used to determine the qualifiers for the prestigious MGI Scrabble Grand Slam tournament at the end of the year.