DAVID White, the Portmore-leg champion of Supreme Ventures Limited’s Domino Masters competition, says his success was due to his ability to effectively analyse the game.

The competition, contested in a “cut-throat” format, was held on Sunday, April 23 at Caymanas Park.

The final featured White, Milton Meredith, Romane Savage, and fan favourite Keron Baxter.

Playing to the first six points, Baxter raced to the opening two points of the game before White and the aggressive Savage got into the mix at two points each as well. Baxter roused the audience once more as he raced to four points, but that was all he could offer as White, Savage, and Meredith all passed him on their way to five points each.

White drew his seven cards in what was an explosive final game of the night, and with double required to pose every game, to his delight he pulled in five sixes in his hand, meaning he controlled six of the game’s seven sixes. White had no trouble getting to six points with the game flowing effortlessly to him.

White was awarded prize money of $150,000 as the winner’s share while Meredith went home with $100,000 for placing second, Savage got $75,000 for third place, and Baxter received $50,000 for finishing fourth.

“It’s a nice feeling. To be really honest, it is nice to win $150,000 but it is far better to make people remember, since they already know, how good of a player you are — and that’s what feels good,” White told the Jamaica Observer.

“The reality is that the game might have gone anywhere. In a cut-throat game one of the things you must do at all times is monitor the game. You can’t make the man at four go five if you’re at zero and another man is at one, so you have to be extremely alert, very aware, and monitor the game. That’s what I was able to do and that’s how I got through,” White added.

Noting the almost 200 participants, Gary Peart, executive chairman of Supreme Ventures Limited, said the Portmore leg of the competition was by far the most successful.

“We had the most entries that we ever had. The vibes was great and the environment was wonderful. The competition was excellent; it was the first time that the semi-finals had three women, plus we had somebody that was handicapped and so we had a widespread of people.

“Unfortunately none of the women got to the final but I was very pleasantly surprised by the amount of women that came out,” Peart told the Observer.

The tournament started at Pier 1 in Montego Bay on Sunday, March 12, 2023 and Jerry Gardener secured his spot in history as the tournament’s first community winner, second place went to Allan Harris, while Licidius Nelson and Gavin Simpson secured third and fourth places, respectively.

Garfield Brissett won the Spanish Town leg at Maggie’s Sports Bar in Greendale on March 19, 2023. Jeneard Williamson finished in second place, while Natalie Wright got third and Collin Powell placing fourth.

The tournament’s next stop is slated for Hotel Versalles in May Pen on May 7.

Players interested in participating in the tournament can purchase tickets at any of the 16 ticket outlets located throughout the island, including all Fontana Pharmacy branches, select Texaco service stations, Supreme Ventures retail centres, Pier 1, and caribtix.com.

The cost of tickets for the community qualifiers is $1,000 per person, and for the national level it is $5,000. The top 16 individuals from each community will qualify directly for the national championship.