Scottish Backgammon Open 2026
A fantastic weekend!
The Scottish Open Backgammon Tournament, held over the May weekend at the Holiday Inn, Westhill, delivered an excellent standard of play and a particularly strong showing from Aberdeen Backgammon Club, with three of its female players reaching finals across the programme.
The Scottish Open Championship Final was claimed by Pat Brooks after a tense and closely fought contest against Aberdonian Anita Martin. The match was keenly followed both at the venue and online, having been streamed live on the UKBGF YouTube channel. Thanks are extended to Julia Hayward, Anandan Tanabalan, John Barnes and Rachel Rhodes for their work in facilitating the live broadcast.
Aberdeen’s success continued in the Last Chance Tournament, where Beth Young and Jenny Watson contested an all‑Aberdeen final. Beth emerged victorious to complete a hat‑trick of finalists for Aberdeen Women across the weekend’s events.
The tournament also welcomed international participation, with Paul van Dyke and Paulus van Rooijen travelling from the Netherlands. Paul van Dyke went on to claim the Consolation Tournament title. Lawrence Powell enjoyed a strong weekend performance, finishing Consolation Runner‑Up and securing the Doubles title alongside his partner Catherine Seale.
Tournament Director June Williamson noted that she greatly enjoyed running the event, which ran particularly smoothly thanks in no small part to the support of Mark Calderbank and his outstanding bespoke tournament software. One member of the organising team joked that they had never seen so many long‑standing players happily glued to their phones, following the brackets as they updated and eagerly checking when their next match was due.
Club co‑chair Jenny Watson added:
“Thanks very much to everyone who supported our tournament and helped make it such a success. The standard of play and the sense of community throughout the weekend were fantastic, and we very much look forward to building on this success at next year’s Scottish Open.”
2026 Winners
Main Tournament Winner: Pat Brooks
Main Tournament Runner Up: Anita Martin
Consolation Winner: Paul van Dijke
Consolation Runner Up: Lawrence Powell
Last Chance Winner: Beth Young
Last Chance Runner Up: Jenny Watson
Doubles Winners: Lawrence Powell and Catherine Seale
Friday Night Warm Up Winner: Mike Snowdon
Friday Night Warm Up Finalist: Rachel Rhodes
Event Information for 2026
The Scottish Open 2026 hosted by Aberdeen Backgammon Club, will be held from Friday 1st May to Sunday 3rd May 2026 in Westhill, Aberdeen.
Entry is limited to 64 players on a first come first served basis. Please email admin@scottishbackgammonopen.co.uk to register your place. The registration fee is £50 and is non refundable. The entry fee is £50 which will all be returned as prize money. The entry fee is full refundable up to 48 hours prior to the event.
To confirm your place, please pay at your earliest convenience, or before the end of March.
Players will be listed on the website which will be updated weekly and places will be confirmed upon full payment.
If we do have a full complement of players there will be a reserve list.
The tournament will use UKBGF rules and is part of the UKBGF Tour. To qualify for tour points and be eligible for Tour Winners Invitational Place, you must be a UKBGF member before the event starts.
We are delighted to welcome June Williamson as our Tournament Director for 2026.
The entry will be held at the same venue as the 2025 event – Holiday Inn, Westhill, Aberdeen. A light lunch and a morning tea / coffee will be included on both days. The venue is fully accessible for wheelchairs.
The Holiday Inn has set aside 30 rooms at a discounted price. More details on accommodation can be found here.
Entry Fees
Registration fee: £50
Entry Fee: £50 (all to be returned as prize money)
Payments by bank transfer to Aberdeen Backgammon Club
Account number: 70583175
Sort code: 82 11 07
Top prize £1,000
There will be optional side pools of £10, £20, £30. Payment for side pools will be taken at the event.
Timetable
Friday Warm Up (capped at 32 players)
£5 entry fee, all to be returned as prize money
6.00 – 7.00 – Registration
7.00 – Friday 5 point Knock Out Tournament
Saturday
9.45 – 10.15 – Registration
10.30 – Main Tournament begins – Swiss Format 5 x 7 point matches
Play-offs for the final places in the last 16 (timing tbc)
Doubles Tournament (timing tbc)
Sunday
10.15 Main Tournament and Consolation begins. Last Chance Tournament will follow.
Table of entrants 2026
| Name | Registration £50 Paid | Entry £50 Paid |
| 1. Billy Williamson | Paid | Paid |
| 2. Ian Henderson | Paid | Paid |
| 3. Alice Taylor | Paid | Paid |
| 4. Paul van Dijke | Paid | Paid |
| 5. Sean Jones | Paid | Paid |
| 6. Alexander Pelling-Bruce | Paid | Paid |
| 7. Ian Hesketh | Paid | Paid |
| 8. Brian Troube | Paid | Paid |
| 9. Keith Gill | Paid | Paid |
| 10. Graeme Leslie | Paid | Paid |
| 11. Krzysztof Cebula | Paid | Paid |
| 12. Chris Jones | Paid | Paid |
| 13. Jenny Watson | Paid | Paid |
| 14. Catherine Seale | Paid | Paid |
| 15. Duncan Cowie | Paid | Paid |
| 16. Adrian Jones | Paid | Paid |
| 17. Karen Slawek | Paid | Paid |
| 18. Graham Watson | Paid | Paid |
| 19. Neil Webb | Paid | Paid |
| 20. Jim Purcell | Paid | Paid |
| 21. Jack Purcell | Paid | Paid |
| 22. Alexander Polden | Paid | Paid |
| 23. Steven Allott | Paid | Paid |
| 24. Ron Taylor | Paid | Paid |
| 25. John Horton | Paid | Paid |
| 26. Norman Hessler | Paid | Paid |
| 27. Anita Martin | Paid | Paid |
| 28. Mike Snowdon | Paid | Paid |
| 29. John Lancaster | Paid | Paid |
| 30. Dean Lawson | Paid | Paid |
| 31. Jim Ferguson | Paid | Paid |
| 32. Brian Lawrence | Paid | Paid |
| 33. Paige Stockdale | Paid | Paid |
| 34. Sean Cheung | Paid | Paid |
| 35. Reza Amiri | Paid | Paid |
| 36. Graeme McPhee | Paid | Paid |
| 37. Brenda Rafferty | Paid | Paid |
| 38. Susan Cunningham | Paid | Paid |
| 39. Glenn Cunningham | Paid | Paid |
| 40. Andy Foster | Paid | Paid |
| 41. CJ Uttley | Paid | Paid |
| 42. Rachel Rhodes | Paid | Paid |
| 43. Glenn Roberts | Paid | Paid |
| 44. Ricky Forleo | Paid | Paid |
| 45. Sandy Ferguson | Paid | Paid |
| 46. Michelle Thomson | Paid | Paid |
| 47. Rosie Young | Paid | Paid |
| 48. Beth Young | Paid | Paid |
| 49. Bobby McPhee | Paid | Paid |
| 50. Barry Hill | Paid | Paid |
| 51. Aniel Ciobanu | Paid | Paid |
| 52. Andrew Cumming | Paid | Paid |
| 53. Pat Brooks | Paid | Paid |
| 54. Alastair Woods | Paid | Paid |
| 55. Mark Calderbank | Paid | Paid |
| 56. Andy Marshall | Paid | Paid |
| 57. Mike Ireland | Paid | Paid |
| 58. Mutlu Utson | Paid | Paid |
| 59. Stephen Dabby | Paid | Paid |
| 60. Matthew Hopkins | Paid | Paid |
| 61. Lawrence Powell | Paid | Paid |
| 62. Paulus van Rooijen | Paid | Paid |
| 63. Julia Hayward | Paid | Paid |
| 64. Mark Baker | Paid | Paid |
Scottish Backgammon Open 