Nick Reunes, Nadja De Moor and Wout Schotte new Belgian champions

22 September 2025

The Music Academy of Ekeren hosted the Belgian Othello Championship for the third time. A total of 22 players took part, of whom 18 were eligible for the national title. The competition was divided into three categories: open, women, and juniors. The search was on for successors to Tom Schotte, Virginie Ortegat, and Sander Schotte. Only Tom Schotte could defend his title, as Virginie Ortegat was absent and Sander Schotte was no longer eligible for the U14 category.

Had the federation been asked before the event to pick a few names to engrave on the trophy, Nick Reunes (two-time Belgian champion) and Ralph Reijnders would have joined defending champion Tom Schotte as the top favorites. Dimitri Vaes had also come close to the top earlier this year. Brecht Van Damme and Wouter Thijs were mentioned as possible outsiders for a spot in the final. In the women’s category, things looked rather straightforward on paper: with only two Belgian participants, the final was set in advance — Nancy Darck versus Nadja De Moor, both former Belgian champions. In the junior division, four young players competed for two final spots, with Wout Schotte as the clear favorite.

However, many of these predictions would soon end up in the trash, as the 42nd Belgian Othello Championship took an unexpected and surprising turn.

Tension Until the Final Round

Right in the first round, Tuur Jena showed his best form, defeating defending champion Tom Schotte (35–29). That opening round was expected to be a simple separation between the top players and the rest of the field, but it was a Belgian top player who got caught off guard. Beginner Tuur Jena went on to have an excellent tournament, also beating Ralph Reijnders in the fourth round (27–37) — a loss that proved fatal for the shadow favorite. His strong performance earned him eighth place overall and promotion to advanced level.

The earlier defeat of Tom Schotte marked the start of a difficult tournament, during which he would not face any of the top four seeds. A draw against Dimitri Vaes in the fourth round and a surprise loss to Nadja De Moor (15–49) in the fifth made things even harder. Still, before the final round, Schotte remained in contention for a place in the final.

The Dutch top players helped accelerate the separation among the Belgians: Roel Hobo and Daniel Dufour defeated one Belgian after another, making the head-to-head Belgian matchups even more crucial. While Brecht Van Damme and Wouter Thijs drew their match, Nick Reunes managed wins over both Wouter Thijs and Nadja De Moor. Dimitri Vaes scored victories against Nancy Darck and Brecht Van Damme, while Brecht defeated Ralph Reijnders. After five rounds, only Nick Reunes had a near-perfect record with four points, closely followed by Wouter Thijs, Brecht Van Damme, and Dimitri Vaes with 3.5 points each. The sixth round brought further Dutch intervention, with only Dimitri Vaes managing a win — setting the stage for a decisive final round.

Everything came down to the last round. As many as six Belgians were still in contention for a spot in the final, with no one yet certain. Dimitri Vaes (vs. Roel Hobo), Nick Reunes (vs. Mark Dufour), and Wouter Thijs (vs. Daniel Dufour) all faced Dutch opponents. Brecht Van Damme played Nadja De Moor, while Tom Schotte still had a chance, facing Nancy Darck. There were several possible final scenarios, but only one would become reality. Tom Schotte easily defeated Nancy Darck (20–44), reaching 4.5 points. Both Dimitri Vaes (21–43) and Wouter Thijs (16–48) lost to their Dutch opponents, ending with 4.5 and 3.5 points respectively. The tie-break between Vaes and Schotte was still unclear at that moment — but it wouldn’t matter in the end.

That’s because Nadja De Moor beat Brecht Van Damme (43–21), becoming the first to reach five points, thus securing her spot in the final. A win for Brecht would have led to a 4.5-point tie and an exciting tiebreaker battle. Both Tom Schotte and Dimitri Vaes were hoping for a third Dutch win, but Nick Reunes didn’t let that happen — he defeated Mark Dufour (42–22), earning his fifth point and a place in the final.

The Finals

The fight for the overall victory was far less tense. Roel Hobo remained undefeated for the third consecutive time in Antwerp (Ekeren), while Daniel Dufour claimed second place with six wins. Mark Dufour could have completed a Dutch clean sweep, but his missed opportunity ended up playing a decisive role in the Belgian Championship standings. Nick Reunes finished third in the official results.

Thanks to Nadja De Moor’s performance, there were only two finals instead of the planned three — as she automatically claimed her second Belgian women’s title.

In the junior final, Wout Schotte, as the top seed, chose white and won comfortably against Sacha Burnay (24–40), securing his first Belgian junior title after five consecutive runner-up finishes.

The open final proved much more thrilling. Nick Reunes, playing white, needed a win, while Nadja De Moor only needed a draw to take the title. The game initially seemed one-sided, with Reunes taking a clear lead, but as the game progressed, the board evened out again. In the late midgame, De Moor had a chance to trap Reunes for a historic victory but missed a difficult sequence and gave the position back. With a 26–38 win, Nick Reunes claimed his third national title, equaling a group of Belgian Othello legends: Alain Serneels (1979, 1980, 1981), Pierre Jeangille (1983, 1988, 1991), and Alexandre Cordy (1992, 1993, 2002). Nadja De Moor is first woman to finish runner-up in the open Belgian championship.

DAN Rankings

Wouter Thijs and Daniel Dufour earned promotion to 5 DAN thanks to their strong results.
Tuur Jena’s excellent performance was rewarded with a promotion to 4 DAN. Tournament winner Roel Hobo scored three points as a 6 DAN player, just like Pat Rine, who did the same as a 3 DAN player.