Willock claims draughts title

Bernard “King Premier” Willock, is the new king of draughts in Antigua and Barbuda.
The veteran player dethroned 2017 champion, Domingo “Spanny-man” Antonio, when they met in the finals of the Masters Division of the Invitational Draughts Festival at the Pitch Bar & Restaurant on Thursday night.
Willock, who was beaten in last year’s finals by Antonio, got some revenge when he beat his opponent 6-3 to capture the title. Anthony “Tony” Gomes finished third in the Masters Division.
Meanwhile, in the Seniors Division, O’Neil Jordon defeated veteran Jack Matthew 5-2, relegating the media personality to a second consecutive runners up finish in the tournament. The third position was captured by Donalson “Fatman” McDonald.
President of the Antigua and Barbuda Draughts Association (ABDA), Trevor Cranston, hailed the tournament a success.
He added however, that to further please both players and spectators, the body will be investing in additional boards for future tournaments.
“The association presently have four draughts boards and we had actually contacted the makers of draughts boards to supply us with two draughts boards for this tournament but unfortunately he became ill and we realised there were players who were standing around and they needed to play so we are going to make sure that in the upcoming Independence tournament that we will have at least 10 draughts boards,” he said.
“Also, we realised that last year [2017] we had a lot of referees but unfortunately [this year] some referees had job or work commitments so we are looking forward to getting a pool of referees,” he added.
As for what’s next for the association, Cranston pointed towards an Independence tournament, adding he will be seeking more than just the prime minister’s blessings when he meets with the country’s leader in the near future.
“Coming up, we will be having a tournament for Independence and we will be approaching, and I am going to say it publicly, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Hon. Gaston Browne, and we are asking him please for a sponsorship of the National Independence Draughts Tournament,” the president added.
The tournament was sponsored by Cool & Smooth and Foster Jonas.