Congratulations goes to Maria who won her first trophy at the 2026 East Kent tournament. This is only the start; we wish her many more to come.
Maria Ferguson has been a member of the Cambridge Backgammon Club since shortly before Covid, having joined as a complete novice. She particularly enjoys the Monday and Tuesday club nights and began entering tournaments regularly in 2025 to improve her match play. She rarely misses the quarterly East Kent tournaments, appreciating the format and Sean Thomas’s excellent organisation.
At the October 2026 East Kent tournament, Maria was struck by the number of new faces, including some highly experienced players with PRs exceeding 1700 and even 1800. Her making it into the top 24 out of 64 players felt like a real achievement, but going on to win the tournament’s fourth place Runner-Up Consolation trophy was an unexpected and very welcome surprise, especially given the strength of the competition.
But Maria wasn’t the only Cambridge’s club player competing for glory, Chris managed to reach the quarter finals.
He did stay though to wear his reporter’s jacket afterwards and offer a live report of Maria’s progress to the rest of us stuck back home. Thank you !
Well done and all the best for the future !