Word Cup Day 2: Castellano takes the lead

You see, there's a secret to doing well at Scrabble tournaments, and not many people know about it. It goes like this: You start out really strong, winning 5 or 6 of your first 7 games. Then you do the same in your next 7, then the next 7, and so on.

This system works surprisingly well.

This appears to be the approach taken so far at Word Cup by Josh Castellano, who followed up his 6-1 performance yesterday with a 5-2 day today, putting him in sole possession of first place as we near the halfway point of the tournament. But 3 other players - Dave Wiegand, David Whitley, and Wellington Jighere - have been using a very similar formula. This makes for a crowded top of the leaderboard:

1. Joshua Castellano (11-3, +551)

2. Dave Wiegand (10-4, +948)

3. David Whitley (10-4, +604)

4. Wellington Jighere (10-4, +402)

5. Josh Sokol (9-5, +238)

6. Becky Dyer (8-6, +224)

7. Chris Lipe (8-6, +188)

8. Eta Karo (8-6, +134)

9. Alec Sjöholm (8-6, +-7)

10. Winter (8-6, +-45)

You couldn't ask for a much better start if you're Josh, who has been at or near the very top of the standings for pretty much the whole opening weekend. But when you've got such a jam-packed top of the standings, with so many great players just a win or two out of first place, things can get pretty volatile in the 2.5 days that lie ahead.

It'll be Josh vs. Dr. Bing in the first round tomorrow, with first place on the line. Then another six games after that. Get ready - Monday will be a doozy.