10-year-old Adam Gbadebo has been crowned champion of the 2025 Winifred Awosika Foundation Scrabble Tournament for Schools.
Gbadebo, a recent graduate of Akingbogboade Nursery and Primary School and son of top Ogun State scrabble player Femi Gbadebo, popularly known as Alesh, dominated the competition with five wins and no losses, finishing with a cumulative spread of +682.
He led the leaderboard with a 454-point margin and was awarded a dummy cheque of ₦500,000.
Yukusi Esther, a student of Chrisland School in FESTAC, secured second place with five wins and a spread of +258. Ebube Maduegbuna of Chrisland School, VGC, came in third, also with five wins and a spread of +99.
A thrilled Gbadebo credited his father and coach for his success, saying, “I am very happy. I started playing scrabble when I was in eighth year. My dad taught me how to play Scrabble.”
His mother, Bukola, expressed her pride through tears of joy, saying, “This boy really made me proud. This scrabble is taking us to another level.”
Chief Winifred Awosika, the convener of the tournament, said the event was aimed at promoting the game of scrabble among students and discovering young talent across schools.
“We pray that these little ones will make Nigeria better. No more tribalism, discrimination on the basis of religious. All these children are children of light,” she said, emphasizing the competition’s role in fostering national unity.