World Scrabble Championship

Competition to determine the World Champion in Scrabble

This article is about the tournament in English. For other uses, see World Scrabble Championships (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with the Scrabble Players Championship or the WESPA Championship.

World Scrabble ChampionshipSport| Scrabble

|

Founded| 1991
Most recent
champion(s)| David Eldar (2nd title)
(2023)
Sponsor(s)| Mattel, MSA

The World Scrabble Championship (WSC) is played to determine the world champion in competitive English-language Scrabble. It was held in every odd year from 1991 to 2013; from 2013 onwards, it became an annual event.

The most successful player in world championship history is Nigel Richards from New Zealand, who won a record five titles between 2007 and 2019.

## History

[edit]

Sponsorship of the World Scrabble Championship (WSC) formerly alternated between Hasbro and Mattel, the North American and global owners of the Scrabble trademark, respectively. However, after Hasbro declined to sponsor WSC 2005, Mattel has organized and sponsored all championships. Mind Sports International (MSI) began sponsoring the event in 2013 after successfully organizing their own major Scrabble tournament in Prague in 2012. As of 2018, it has been sponsored by Mindsports Academy.

On 17 May 2013, Mattel announced[1] that the event would be renamed the Scrabble Champions Tournament, and the tournament would be held annually as part of Mind Sports International's Prague Mind Sports Festival. MSI introduced a 'Last Chance Qualifier' tournament, giving players a last opportunity to qualify for 5 places in the main event if they failed to achieve a place on their national team. A four-way knockout stage was introduced for the top four finishers, which consisted of a best-of-3 semi-final followed by a best-of-5 final. Nigel Richards became World Champion here, making him the first player to defend his world title.

In 2014 the Scrabble Champions Tournament continued in London, but it became an open event, with all players invited to compete. A quarter-final stage was added, meaning that the top 8 progressed to the knockout stages. Craig Beevers won the event, making him the first British World Scrabble Champion since Mark Nyman in 1993.

In 2015, following cancellation of the SCT, Mattel and MSI agreed to allow WESPA to organize the 2015 WESPA Championship (WESPAC). It was held in Perth, Australia and followed the invitational format of pre-MSI WSC events. 130 players qualified to play. Wellington Jighere of Nigeria emerged as WESPA Champion after beating Lewis Mackay 4–0 in the final.

In 2016, the tournament was split into two divisions based on players' rankings. MSI also hosted world championships in other languages, including French, German, Spanish and Catalan, alongside the French Duplicate Championship.

The 2017 MSI World Championships followed the same format as the 2016 event. This was won by Australian David Eldar.

The 2018 World Scrabble Championship was organised by Mindsports Academy. The main event was held in Torquay, Devon, but the best-of-5 final was held in London to celebrate the game's 70th anniversary. The event was won by Nigel Richards.

In 2019 Nigel Richards went on to defend his title (and win his fifth championship) against David Eldar at the Riviera International Centre in Torquay.

After 2019, unofficial world championships are held at WESPAC because WESPA has been denied permission from Mattel and/or Hasbro to be called an official world championship.

## List of finals

[edit]

Year  | Winner  | Runner-up  | Location  | Entrants  | Winner's prize  | Total prize pool  | Sponsor

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1991 |  Peter Morris |  Brian Cappelletto | London, United Kingdom  | 48  | US$10,000[2] | US$19,000[2] | Spears
1993 |  Mark Nyman |  Joel Wapnick | Plaza Hotel, New York City, United States  | 64  | US$10,000[3] | US$24,950[3] | Hasbro
1995 |  David Boys |  Joel Sherman | Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom  | 64  | US$11,000[4] | US$29,550[4] | Mattel
1997 |  Joel Sherman |  Matt Graham | Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C., United States  | 80  | US$25,000[5] | US$50,100[5] | Hasbro
1999 |  Joel Wapnick |  Mark Nyman | Carlton Crest Hotel, Melbourne, Australia  | 98  | US$15,000[6] | US$34,200[6] | Mattel
2001 |  Brian Cappelletto |  Joel Wapnick | Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas, United States  | 88  | US$25,000[7] | US$50,100[7] | Hasbro
2003 |  Panupol Sujjayakorn |  Pakorn Nemitrmansuk | Corus Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  | 90  | US$17,500[8] | US$40,000[8] | Mattel
2005 |  Adam Logan |  Pakorn Nemitrmansuk | Marriott Regent's Park Hotel, London, United Kingdom  | 102  | US$15,000[9] | US$30,500[9] | Mattel
2007 |  Nigel Richards (1)  |  Ganesh Asirvatham | Taj President Hotel, Mumbai, India  | 104  | US$15,000[10] | US$30,500[10] | Mattel
2009 |  Pakorn Nemitrmansuk[11] |  Nigel Richards[12] | Zon Regency Hotel, Johor Bahru, Malaysia[13] | 108  | US$15,000[14] | US$30,500[14] | Mattel
2011 |  Nigel Richards (2)  |  Andrew Fisher | Hilton Hotel, Warsaw, Poland[15] | 106  | US$20,000[16] | US$50,000[16] | Mattel
2013 |  Nigel Richards (3)  |  Komol Panyasophonlert | Andel's Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic  | 110  | US$10,000[17] | US$25,000[1] | Mattel, MSI
2014 |  Craig Beevers |  Chris Lipe  | ExCeL Arena, London, United Kingdom  | 108  | £3,000  | £7,000[18] | Mattel, MSI
2015 |  Wellington Jighere[19] |  Lewis Mackay  | Gloucester Park, Perth, Australia  | 130  | A$10,000  | A$28,400  | WESPA (1)
2016 |  Brett Smitheram |  Mark Nyman | Grand Palais, Lille, France  | 72  | €7,000 | €40,000 | Mattel, MSI
2017 |  David Eldar |  Harshan Lamabadusuriya | Nottingham, United Kingdom  | 77  | £7,000[20] |  | Mattel, MSI
2018 |  Nigel Richards (4)  |  Jesse Day | Torquay (final in Westfield London), United Kingdom  | 75  | £6,200  | £15,500[21] | Mattel, MSA
2019 |  Nigel Richards (5)  |  David Eldar | Riviera International Centre, Torquay, United Kingdom  | 46  | $8,000  |  | Mattel, MSA
2023  |  David Eldar (2)  |  Harshan Lamabadusuriya  | Las Vegas, United States  | 134  | $10,000  |  | WESPA

From 1993 to 2023, New Zealand, represented by Nigel Richards with his 5 victories, is the most successful country participating in the World Scrabble Championship. This accounts for 27.8% of the total wins. The United Kingdom and Canada each secured 3 victories, placing them both in second place.[22]

## See also

[edit]

* World Youth Scrabble Championships
* List of world championships in mind sports

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Press Release". Forum.mindsportsinternational.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
2. ^ a b WSC 1991 results at cross-tables.com
3. ^ a b WSC 1993 results at cross-tables.com
4. ^ a b WSC 1995 results at cross-tables.com
5. ^ a b John J. Chew III. "WSC 1997 Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
6. ^ a b WSC 1999 results at cross-tables.com
7. ^ a b "2001 World SCRABBLE® Championship". Scrabble-assoc.com. 3 May 2001. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
8. ^ a b "Scrabble Masters". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
9. ^ a b John J. Chew III. "2005 WSC Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
10. ^ a b John J. Chew III. "2007 WSC Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
11. ^ "WSC 2009 Standings: Round 24". live.wscgames.com. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
12. ^ John J. Chew III. "WSC 2009: Finals". Live.wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
13. ^ John J. Chew III. "2009 WSC Venue". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
14. ^ a b John J. Chew III. "2009 WSC Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
15. ^ John J. Chew III. "2011 WSC Venue". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
16. ^ a b John J. Chew III. "2011 WSC Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
17. ^ "Prize Table". Event.poslfit.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
18. ^ "World SCRABBLE Championship – NASPAWiki".
19. ^ "Nigeria celebrates Africa's first English-language Scrabble win". BBC News Online. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
20. ^ "Obscure word propels Londoner to victory in world Scrabble championships". www.telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
21. ^ "Sulky word wins Scrabble championship". BBC News. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
22. ^ "Percantage of World Scrabble Championship by Country (1993–2023)". www.crosswordsolver.com. Retrieved 1 August 2024.

* v
* t
* e

World Scrabble Championship winners

* 1991: Peter Morris
* 1993: Mark Nyman
* 1995: David Boys
* 1997: Joel Sherman
* 1999: Joel Wapnick
* 2001: Brian Cappelletto
* 2003: Panupol Sujjayakorn
* 2005: Adam Logan
* 2007: Nigel Richards
* 2009: Pakorn Nemitrmansuk
* 2011: Nigel Richards
* 2013: Nigel Richards
* 2014: Craig Beevers
* 2015: Wellington Jighere
* 2016: Brett Smitheram
* 2017: David Eldar
* 2018: Nigel Richards
* 2019: Nigel Richards

* v
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* e

Scrabble

* English
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* Players

Game elements|

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Organisations|

| Associations|

* Association of British Scrabble Players
* NASPA Games
* World English-Language Scrabble Players' Association
* Belgian Scrabble Federation

|

Companies|

* Hasbro
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People|

* Alfred Mosher Butts
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Media & books|

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Predecessors|

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Variants &
spin-offs|

| Official games|

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|

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Olympic sports|

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|

Individual|

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Discontinued|

* Basque pelota
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| Team|

* Blind football
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|

Individual|

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Mind sports|

* Backgammon
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|

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Other|

* Aeroplane sport
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* offshore
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* 1:10 electric off-road
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Other sports|

| Team|

* American football
* men
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* Australian football
* Baseball5
* Ball hockey
* Bandy
* men
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* women
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* Cricket
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* Beach handball
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* men
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* men's club
* women
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* men
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* Inline hockey
* Kabaddi
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* Korfball
* Lacrosse
* indoor
* Life saving
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* Netball
* Padel tennis
* Quidditch/Quadball
* Ringette
* Rogaining
* Roll Ball
* Roller derby
* men
* women
* Roller hockey
* men
* women
* Rugby league
* men
* men's club
* women
* Rugby union
* men
* women
* Sailing
* Yachts
* Dinghies
* Sepaktakraw
* Socca
* Synchronized skating
* Tchoukball
* Underwater hockey
* Underwater rugby

|

Individual|

* Air sports
* ballooning
* gliding
* parachuting
* paragliding
* Aquatics
* water skiing
* Armwrestling
* Archery
* indoor
* 3D
* field
* Athletics
* cross country
* half marathon
* indoor
* women's decathlon
* relays
* 100 km
* mountain running
* long distance mountain running
* snowshoe running
* skyrunning
* trail running
* Bowling
* Tenpin
* Ninepin (singles, team)
* Bowls
* indoor
* outdoor
* Canoeing
* marathon
* ocean race
* wildwater
* SUP
* canoe sailing
* freestyle
* waveski
* Crokinole
* Cycling
* cyclo-cross
* indoor
* mountain bike marathon
* trials
* Darts
* BDO
* PDC
* team
* Finswimming
* Fishing
* freshwater
* fly fishing
* Gymnastics
* acrobatic
* aerobic
* parkour
* Ice Climbing
* Modern pentathlon
* biathle
* triathle
* laser run
* Mounted games
* Orienteering
* foot
* ski
* mountain bike
* trail
* Pétanque
* Powerlifting
* Racquetball
* Roller Sports
* artistic skating
* inline alpine
* inline downhill
* inline speed skating
* roller freestyle
* scooter
* Rowing
* coastal
* indoor
* Shooting
* practical handgun
* practical rifle
* practical shotgun
* Skiing
* flying
* speed
* ski mountaineering
* telemarking
* Squash
* individual
* doubles
* team
* Summer biathlon
* Surfing
* short board
* long board
* big wave
* SUP/paddleboard
* Swimming
* short course
* Teqball
* Triathlon
* Aquathlon
* Duathlon
* Ironman
* Ironman 70.3
* cross
* cross duathlon
* long distance
* long distance duathlon
* sprint
* winter
* Yo-yo

Esports|

* Call of Duty
* Counter-Strike
* Dota 2
* eSailing
* FIFA
* Fortnite
* League of Legends
* Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
* NES Tetris
* Overwatch
* Pro Evolution Soccer
* Rainbow Six Siege
* Rocket League
* Smite
* StarCraft II
* Valorant

* See also: World cups

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