Publisher's Scrabble tournament ends in flourish of sportsmanship

The Post and Courier (South Carolina): Publisher's Scrabble tournament ends in flourish of sportsmanship
The Sunday afternoon crowd at the East Side Taco Boy was thinning, the sun was starting to dim, and there was a slight chill in the air.

Two men faced each other over a cardboard Scrabble board, five $20 bills fanned out under a Coke can beside them. That was the winner's pot.

It had been a long day, with all the drama of a Las Vegas poker showdown. This was the fifth and final round of a Scrabble tournament organized by Surcee Press. Twenty people paid $12 each to play.

A Scrabble tournament was held at East Side Taco Boy in Charleston on Sunday. The tournament was organized by local publishing company Surcee Press.
Now it was down to two 32-year-olds. Justin Swilling of Charleston is a barista at a downtown restaurant. Darby Long of West Ashley works in a frame shop.

Long plays Scrabble all the time with his girlfriend and often memorizes word lists.

"I'm kind of fascinated by the game," he said. "You can improve your whole life."

Swilling said he hasn't played much since he was a child but remembers the day he first beat his mother. To reach Long in the final, Swilling eliminated Brian Farello of New York, an 18-year-old freshman at the College of Charleston who regularly plays in Scrabble tournaments, including the nationals in Orlando a couple of years ago.

With just a few wooden tiles left in the bag in the last game, Long held a substantial lead. The blue sand in the three-minute move timer was running out as Swilling looked for a way to score.

He gave up and offered his resignation.

Long refused to accept it and offered a draw. They shook hands and split the pot.

Long said he couldn't accept the win because he had scored 78 points early in the game with a non-existent word, warants. He said he thought he was spelling warrants.

Swilling said he didn't challenge it because he wasn't sure warrants wasn't also a word.

"I wasn't going to win," Swilling said later. "I conceded."

"In my opinion, I was unfairly ahead," Long said. "I couldn't accept it."

Those who stayed behind at the Huger Street restaurant to see the finish applauded their sportsmanship.

Surcee Press is a new Charleston publisher that specializes in local art and literature books.

The tournament was raising money to publish a "Neu Guide to Charleston," which will use local artists' creative memoirs. The website is surceepress.tumblr.com.

Anna Kate Lister, a creative writing major and film studies minor at the College of Charleston, and Savannah Rusher, a fine artist and graphic designer who graduated from the college as a communications major, cofounded the company and coordinated the tournament.