(Update: Rui wins his first table)

MESTRE - Finally, Friday at six P.M., he arrived: looking very stressed, sweating all over. Rui Manuel Machado from Portugal, the player the organizers of the OEMC2011 at Mestre had been waiting for so long.

It was all a misunderstanding, he claimed: he thought the tournament, which now was about to finish its first day, was not due until Saturday.

After ample discussion, the Organizing Committee decided to let him play the remaining two days of the championship. But, since he missed the first four rounds, he has to start with zero points and he will not get the score of his substitute player Renato Tiengo.
Rui was very grateful he could play. “I love mahjong, and it is great to be here, being able to compete.”

Four points

In this fifth round - his first - he won his table, so he won four table points. This means that, in the general ranking, he is already listed above his countrywoman Paula Rijnders-Pereira Gomes, who is in the same Dutch/Portuguese 'DuPo' team.