Teacher tries to put Scrabble victory into words

The 42nd National Scrabble Champion has been crowned after winning a high-stakes war of words at the final of the annual competition.

Teacher Paul Allan, from Rushden in Northamptonshire, beat Allan Simmons, a Scrabble consultant from Coldingham Village in the Scottish Borders, at the event in central London.

Mr Allan sealed the win by playing bandura, a Ukrainian lute, scoring 86 points and giving him an incontestable lead in the deciding match.

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The last match finished with an overall score of 503 for Mr 
Allan, beating Mr Simmons’ s
389.

Mr Allan said: “I am delighted to have won, especially given the fact that the final is played to a public audience of players who expect to be impressed.”

As well as the title, he also won £2,500 in cash.