Shortly after Singaporean athletes brought home 16 medals from the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, another Singaporean put the little red dot on the world map by placing second at the 7th Open European Mahjong Championship.

The Singaporean is 39-year-old Kee Chung Low, who works as a freelance medical translator.

Speaking to Mothership, Low shared he participated in the Championship, which was held from Oct. 13 to Oct. 15 in Valencia, Spain, because he wanted to do Singapore proud while getting a taste of Spanish culture.

Started playing mahjong since secondary school

Low's passion for mahjong can be traced back all the way to his secondary school days when he first played Singapore-style mahjong.

However, despite being acquainted with the game at a young age, Low only learnt Mahjong Competition Rules (MCR), which was used by international tournaments, in 2012, months before he participated in the 3rd World Mahjong Championship.

In his free time, Low refines his skills by playing mahjong online via WeChat and practising it in real life with a group of MCR enthusiasts.

When the Open European Mahjong Championship (OEMC) finally resumed in 2023 after countries emerged out of the Covid-19 pandemic, Low was elated and decided to sign up for the tournament.

Low also revealed to Mothership that his trip to OEMC was his first tournament and overseas trip since the pandemic.

Winning 2nd place amongst 168 players

According to Low, a total of 168 players from 18 countries around the world participated in OEMC 2023.

Despite being primarily a European tournament, a number of Asian countries, including China and Japan, also participated in this year's tournament.

Adapting to his opponents' playing style

Looking back at the 11 games he played at the tournament, Low shared a number of them that left a deep impression on him.

For example, in his second game, he self-drew an extremely high-scoring hand, small three dragons (小三元), which was worth 70 points.

In his fifth, eighth, and ninth games, Low had to fight hard as his opponents had huge leads in previous rounds, and he had to "soldier on to stage a comeback."

As for the secret to winning second place in the tournament, Low attributes the success to grit, adapting to his opponents' play style, and constant practice.

He also looks forward to building on his victory this year by participating in the next OEMC, which will be held in 2026, and hopefully, bringing home the championship.

Top image via Mahjong Valencia/Facebook

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