Jamaica’s Titan Squad Lands in Memphis, Ready to Make History at the 57th APCA Annual Tournament

The Black, Green and Gold has landed in Memphis — and Jamaica did not come to watch. We came to compete. We came to win.

This weekend Jamaica’s finest mindsport ambassadors touched down in Tennessee for the 57th American Pool Checkers Association Annual Tournament, hosted by the Memphis Checker Club in honour of the late Mr. Othell Totten.

From Monday, July 13 to July 16, 2026, the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Memphis-Wolfchase Galleria at 2751 New Brunswick Road, Memphis, Tennessee will become the epicenter of Pool Checkers, as the world’s best gather for one intense week of battles on 64 squares.

Leading the charge is a record-equalling four-man delegation — the largest team the Jamaica Draughts Association has ever sent to the APCA or any international championship.

JDA President Jermaine Alexander “Titan Tiger” Delattibudiere and First Vice President Justice of the Peace Mickoyan “Hard Punching Micky” Robinson arrived early on Friday, July 10 to handle critical groundwork. They will be joined Sunday, July 12 by Jamaica’s first International Grandmaster Wayne Alphanso “Shine” Reid, the reigning APCA Top Masters Champion, and by Ricardo Roach, the 2024 APCA Masters Division Runner-Up.

Both Robinson and Roach proudly represent Jamaica and the Montego Bay Warriors Draughts Club, and their presence alongside Delattibudiere — who also serves as President of the St. Ann Jungle Warriors and General Secretary of the Pan-American Draughts & Checkers Confederation — proves that Western Jamaica and Jamaica’s North Coast are now powerhouses for competitive draughts.

What started decades ago as the Ultimate Pool Checkers National Championships has grown into the most prestigious Pool Checkers tournament on earth. The APCA is no longer just American. It is now a global showcase, drawing elite players from across the United States, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and Asia to fight for trophies, cash, and national pride. The Top Masters Division pays the Top 10, Masters pays the Top 6, Junior Masters and Gold Bar reward the Top 5, and Blue Ribbon gives rising talent its first shot at glory.

And this year, Jamaica’s “Titan Squad” is built to climb that ladder.

IGM Wayne “Shine” Reid returns as defending APCA Top Masters Champion with history on the line. A third title would make him the first player in the Western Hemisphere to hold both the APCA Grandmaster title and the International Draughts Federation (IDF) International Grandmaster title at the same time. The road will not be easy. Standing across the board is legend Grandmaster Alfred “East Point” Barnett — a 17-time APCA Champion and the only living APCA Grandmaster in USA — who has announced this will be his final APCA and vows to leave without a single loss.

Jermaine “Titan Tiger” Delattibudiere arrives fresh off winning the 2026 JDA Community Outreach Top Masters and hunting for his first APCA podium after three straight 6th-place finishes. Beyond the board, he is also making history as the first Jamaican elected to the PAMDCC Executive Board, carrying Jamaica’s voice to the international stage.

JP Mickoyan “Hard Punching Micky” Robinson is back with unfinished business. After narrowly missing the Top 10 last year, the founder of the “Settle All Arguments” Open is determined to turn experience into breakthrough.

And Ricardo Roach — MoBay Warriors to the core — is leveling up after his 2024 Masters Division Runner-Up finish. More confidence, more depth, and the same Jamaican fire.

They will face the deepest APCA field in years. IGM Crispin “GOJ” Odhiambo of Kenya, East Africa’s #1 and World #5, makes his APCA debut. Andriy “Andre” Shcherbatyuk of Ukraine, the 2025 Top Masters 2nd Runner-Up, is confirmed. Team USA is loading up with home-grown guns ready to defend turf. But Kenya, Ukraine, and Jamaica didn’t travel thousands of miles just to participate.

For the JDA, Memphis is about more than trophies, it is also about building partnership. Under Delattibudiere’s leadership, Jamaica has secured provisional membership with the World Draughts Federation — a historic first step toward full integration, official world ratings, and elite titles. Next month the team heads to the US Open International 10×10 in Huntington, New York, and the JDA is preparing to launch “Boards & Beyond”, a national drive to fund teams, put boards in schools, and bring the 2028 Pan-American International 10×10 Championships to Jamaica.

Delattibudiere, who also serves as Deputy Superintendent of Police, continues to use draughts as a part of the tool kit for youth development and community safety. “We have moved from survival to revival,” he said at the airport send-off. “This Titan Squad is building a legacy that will outlast us all.”

That send-off was pure Jamaican unity. Present were Dennis Brown, President of the Negril Draughts Club; Justin Angus, 2025 JDA Youth Runner-Up; Orriane Pierce of JDA/Negril; and Kerry-Ann Francis, JDA Honorary Member.

Jamaica, this is our moment. Rally behind the Titan Squad. Cheer for the Black, Green and Gold. Support the dream.

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