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| The new Francophone Scrabble world champion doesn't speak French | The new Francophone Scrabble world champion doesn't speak French |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| New Zealander Nigel Richards has just become the new French-language Scrabble world champion, despite not speaking a word of French. | |
| He defeated rival Schélick Ilagou Rekawe, from Francophone Gabon, in the championship final in Louvain Belgium on Monday. | He defeated rival Schélick Ilagou Rekawe, from Francophone Gabon, in the championship final in Louvain Belgium on Monday. |
| A former English Scrabble world champion, Mr Richards appears to have learnt the French dictionary and verb conjugations in just nine weeks in order to win. | A former English Scrabble world champion, Mr Richards appears to have learnt the French dictionary and verb conjugations in just nine weeks in order to win. |
| Yves Brenez, the vice-president of the Belgium Scrabble federation, confirmed to the website FranceTV Info that Mr Richards does not speak French. | Yves Brenez, the vice-president of the Belgium Scrabble federation, confirmed to the website FranceTV Info that Mr Richards does not speak French. |
| A French journalist who observed the match posted this image of the new Francophone Scrabble world champion on Twitter: | A French journalist who observed the match posted this image of the new Francophone Scrabble world champion on Twitter: |
| Fantastique ! #NigelRichards, Néozélandais ne parlant pas français, est champion du monde de Scrabble francophone. pic.twitter.com/zL35G3uf3x | Fantastique ! #NigelRichards, Néozélandais ne parlant pas français, est champion du monde de Scrabble francophone. pic.twitter.com/zL35G3uf3x |
| Mr Richards, a native of Christchurch in New Zealand, lives in Malaysia. | Mr Richards, a native of Christchurch in New Zealand, lives in Malaysia. |
| Scrabble was ceated in 1931. The board game has been produced in more than 25 different languages. | Scrabble was ceated in 1931. The board game has been produced in more than 25 different languages. |