The Final Event
It’s no surprise with this being the last UKBGF, Scope backgammon tournament after 10 years there was an amazing turnout. With so many amazing players it’s no surprise the Master’s Tournament was also full.
Despite the bizarre weather and the St Patrick’s day parades outside; the room was full of both passionate players and those who support Scope and the work they do.
A hearty Breakfast
The event started in one of the RAC’s beautiful rooms where players got the opportunity to catch up with each other over a glass of champagne and a few nibbles. We then move through to the room where breakfast and the auction would take place.
One of the wonderful things about this event being hosted at the RAC is the stunning rooms we have the pleasure of using. A breakfast of;
Rick Edwards
This year’s auction host was Rick Edwards; he’s most known for his journalism and his TV show hosting on channel 4 and channel 5. Rick stated at the start of the auction that he’d never actually been an auctioneer but it was hard to believe as he worked the room. No area of the room was safe and everybody was encouraged to dig deep for a great cause. He started proceedings with a simple game of heads or tales where everybody in the room could join in. To play all you had to do was pop £10 in an envelope on your table; you then had to decide which way the coin would land.
Within the first coin toss half the room had sat down; unfortunately, they were out of luck and their opportunity to win a bottle of prosecco was lost with the simple toss of a coin. The game proceeded with a few people left standing after 3 tails in a row. The final came down to two people, fortunately, one chose heads and one chose tails to bring the game to a conclusion with applause.
After the excitement of the Heads and Tails game the room was ready for the auction to begin; with bidding starting quietly Rick worked hard to liven up the room, eventually encouraging bidders to outbid each other up to the nearest £5.
With all lots gone and the bridge players leaving to play their games the moment everybody had been waiting for had arrived; the master’s event where you could bid on the team you thought would win the tournament. All the funds raised with this went into the prize pot which you would have a share of along with the backgammon masters champion.