Raymond “Mitta” Rousseau won the seventh staging of the Jamaica Inn Backgammon tournament and walked away with US$2,500 ($388,000), while Luke Roberts collected US$1,000 ($155,000) for his second place and Warren Burrowes snatched third and received US$750 ($117,000).

Thirty-four male and female competitors participated in the charity tournament with proceeds towards the White River Fish Sanctuary, which aims to conserve, restore and engage marine life in the local Ocho Rios area.

Backgammon is a two-player board game played with checkers and dice. The objective is to move the 15 pieces around the board and be the first to “bear off’ or remove them from the board.

The round-robin action started at approximately 10:00 am and by 5:00 pm it was down to two men — Rousseau and Roberts, with Rousseau emerging 9-7 victor.

Earlier Rousseau had defeated Warren Burrowes in one semi-final and Roberts turned back Alex Bicknell. After years of trying, Rousseau finally hit the jackpot.

“Well, I feel elated. I am thrilled to be the champion. I mean, I have played for several years. I have been to the finals and lost in this tournament and now I am in the finals and I won,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“You know backgammon is a dice game with a high level of skill involved but you gotta get lucky. It’s gotta be your day and today was my day,” said Rousseau, who also won three nights at Jamaica Inn, a Club VIP Red Card and a backgammon board.

The champion was full of praise for the organisers, saying it was not just a game but a good cause.

“This is one of the greatest reasons why we come to this tournament because it is not just only about the play and about us, it benefits something that is very important to the ecosystem of Jamaica and the north coast, something that the people at Jamaica Inn are very passionate about,” he explained. “So, yeah it is great to be a part of it. It is a success and every year we are attracting a lot of foreigners. There were four foreigners here today [Saturday]. One of which is the second rated player in the world [Michihito Kageyama]. The quality of the players was good today and the best players in Jamaica were here.”

Larry Shiller won the Lost Souls category by defeating Kageyama of Japan. The Lost Souls are the players who dropped out in the earlier round but got a chance to redeem themselves.

Shiller, who collected US$250 ($39,000) and a Jamaica Inn trophy, donated his cash to the charity as he had high praises for the organisers.

Alexi Russell took home the Warm-Up Tournament on Friday night and was awarded US$250 and his trophy. Russell defeated Luke Browne who got two passes for Couples Tower Isle.

There were some sectional prizes as Catherine Dibbs won the Best Sportsmanship Female and Luke Roberts and Alex Bicknell shared the Best Sportsmanship Male.

The Youngest Player award went to John Issa while Vlada Jucov was the Highest Placing Female.

The backgammon game, which is growing in Jamaica, had its largest participation since its inception, as evidenced by the number of sponsors on board: host — Jamaica Inn, Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), Wisynco, Coldwell Banker, Jamaica Realty, SelectBrands, Desmond Mair Insurance Brokers, Best Dressed Chicken, Jewels & Time, Worthy Park Select, Bijoux, Jacana, Evergo, Spanish Court Hotel, Nations Choice, Sagicor Investment, BCMG Insurance Brokers, Hot Off the Press, Digicel, Couples, T-Shirt Express, Massy Distribution, Couples, Harbour Wines and Spirits, Jamaica Tourist Board, and VIP Attractions.