S'porean dad, 38, picks up Monopoly to play with daughter, becomes national champion by accident

In 2020, Yoky's daughter returned home from primary school. Her classmates had introduced her to a new board game: Monopoly.

"She asked me, 'Daddy, can you teach me?'" he said. "But growing up, I didn't know how to play."

Determined to be a good example, Yoky studied the rules and learnt how to play the game.

But then the lockdown hit.

The 38-year-old became "obsessed" with the game, playing the online version on his phone over the next two years.  His wife, Melissa, recalls that he seemed to have a "talent" for it.

"Somehow, he managed to adapt quite fast," she said.

But in 2022, once restrictions were eased, he returned to his full-time role in the creative industry. Monopoly was forgotten.

Made a reappearance

It was only in September 2025 that Melissa came across an ad at Newton MRT station for the National Monopoly Championship.

Recalling his pandemic-era obsession, she told him about it. "Why don't you try this competition, just for fun?" she asked.

"Initially, he didn't get back to me. He was just like, oh, okay, there's such a thing... Three weeks and he didn't say anything."

But finally, a week before the registration deadline, he decided to sign up. "Just for fun," he said.

He spent the next three weeks "brushing up" on his skills, and headed for the qualification round in Punggol alone.

Melissa remembers how he broke the news to her. "I think I passed the qualification round," he said.

"Really? How many people passed?" she asked.

"One," he replied, bemused. Out of the approximately 200 participants, he'd emerged as the top scorer and made it to the semi-finals.

Against all odds

Yoky says he didn't let his wife and kids watch him in the Punggol qualifier.

Even at the semi-finals and finals at the Singapore Comic Con, he "forbade" his children from going along, he said.

"I told [Melissa], you don't want to see this side of me," he said. "Playing Monopoly can be a very, very cruel game."

On Dec. 6, Yoky and 15 other top players in SIngapore converged at the semi-finals. The atmosphere was "very tense and serious", he said.

He remembers how one of the players even turned up in a suit and briefcase, looking like "the God of Gamblers".

"I felt quite stressed. [Everyone] was very pro... before I even made a move, they already threw the dice," he said. He reckons he was likely among the least experienced in the hall.

To his own surprise, he made it through the semi-finals — and, subsequently, the finals as well.

Yoky emerged with a massive golden trophy, a pair of premium economy plane tickets to Hong Kong, a S$3,888 cash prize, and exclusive Monopoly merch.

While he attributes his win to "a bit of luck", the sheer novelty of being Singapore's Monopoly champion has certainly been a confidence-booster, he said.

"At this age, you don't really join any more competitions. So this kind of small thing... it's like a little spark," he admitted.

Flying the Singapore flag

On his way out, Yoky bumped into one of the other finalists, an older man of about 60 years old.

"I think he's much, much better than me when it comes to Monopoly," he confessed. "And after the game, he told me he was actually the Monopoly champion in 1988, when he was 18."

He even carried the Singapore flag to the World Championships in China, which inspired Yoky to hopefully do the same.

It's not just for him. Yoky and Melissa hope, that through such experiences, they will encourage their young children to step out of their comfort zone and try new things.

"My daughter is a bit reserved and not too confident," Melissa said.

"But I know she actually has a lot of potential. So I also want her to see that, hey, this is something you can achieve if you have the determination."

Despite the cutthroat cruelty of the game, his secret is this: kindness. Ultimately, Monopoly is a game; even if you have an advantage, sometimes a little kindness goes a long way.

"If not, it makes for a very sour game," he tells me. The best kind of games are a mix of luck, respect, and fun.

These days, Yoky continues to play casually with his family. They just returned from a family trip to Osaka, during which his daughter, now nine years old, surprised them all by winning against him.

"You never know," Yoky says. Perhaps someday, she'll be the one standing onstage, smiling next to her father, golden trophy in hand.

Top image from Yoky and Melissa