Tom Schotte and Nancy Darck new Belgian champions

27 September 2026

For the fourth time, the Ekeren Music Academy hosted the Belgian Othello Championship. A total of twenty players took part, sixteen of whom were eligible to compete for the national title. There were two categories: Open and Women. This year, there were no participants in the U14 category, so the search began for successors to Nick Reunes and Nadja De Moor.

Alongside the usual Dutch participants, for which we are very grateful, there was also a Spanish presence this year. Javier Martin recently moved to the Antwerp area for work and joined the tournament, making his debut on Belgian soil.

Tension Until the Final Round

Whereas the Dutch influx had a noticeable impact on the results last year, things turned out somewhat differently this time. Defending champion Roel Hobo was absent, and both Mark and Daniel Dufour lost several games to Belgian opponents. Daniel Dufour, the highest-ranked player in the field, lost consecutively to Wouter Thijs (35-29), Tom Schotte (24-40) and Nancy Darck (38-26), eventually finishing in seventh place.

Despite the sizeable field, only two players remained on maximum points after three rounds: Tom Schotte and Nick Reunes. Ralph Reijnders and Wouter Thijs were also unbeaten, but had drawn their game against each other.

Tom Schotte remained unbeaten in his encounter with Nick Reunes (35-29), while Ralph Reijnders and Wouter Thijs had also maintained their unbeaten records. In the fifth round, however, both challengers suffered their first defeats, against the leader and Nick Reunes respectively. This left Tom Schotte and Nick Reunes in pole position to qualify for the final. The situation remained unchanged after the sixth round, although Wouter Thijs, Dimitri Vaes and Brecht Van Damme were eliminated from contention.

Going into the final round, Tom Schotte had already secured his place in the final. The second spot was to be decided in a direct encounter between Nick Reunes and Ralph Reijnders. Ralph came out on top (12-52), qualifying for the Belgian Championship final for the first time.

There was still plenty of suspense in the women's category, too. Frauke Van de Moortel lost to Tom Schotte (38-26). When Nancy Darck subsequently lost to Mark Dufour (17-47), Nadja De Moor still had a chance to snatch a place in the final in her game against Brecht Van Damme. However, she suffered a convincing defeat (9-55), meaning the other two women qualified for the final.

The Finals

Both finals were played in a calm and sporting atmosphere. Tom Schotte defeated Ralph Reijnders (47-17) to claim his sixteenth Belgian title. This puts him level with Imre Leader of the United Kingdom and leaves him just one national title behind Brian Rose of the United States. Only Karsten Feldborg of Denmark and Matthias Berg of Germany, with 22 national titles each, have won more.

In the women's final, Nancy Darck defeated Frauke Van de Moortel 44-20 to claim her second national title.

Belgian Grand Prix

Thanks to his latest Belgian title, Tom Schotte scores the maximum 36 points in this edition of the Belgian Grand Prix. He thereby secures his sixteenth overall victory in this season-long competition.

As in each of the previous four seasons, Ralph Reijnders finishes in second place. Brecht Van Damme narrowly holds on to third place ahead of the fast-rising Wouter Thijs. Nancy Darck's position as the highest-ranked woman was never under threat. In the junior category, Sacha Burnay had already secured the overall title.

DAN Rankings

Ralph Reijnders earns another three DAN points, moving up to eighth place in the all-time ranking. Nancy Darck and Wouter Thijs also earn three points within 5 DAN. They are joined at that level by Jan Vamme, who becomes the 46th player to reach this grade.

Mark Dufour, with four DAN points, and Tuur Jean, with three, also make progress within 4 DAN. Noa Dufour reaches the 4 DAN grade, while Javier Martin immediately earns a 2 DAN ranking at his first tournament on Belgian soil.