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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]].
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]].


In 2019 the third WESPA Championship <ref>https://nsw.scrabble.org.au/ATB1219.pdf</ref> was also held in [[Goa]], [[India]]. The best of seven final was contested between [[Nigel Richards (Scrabble player)|Nigel&nbsp;Richards]] and Jesse Day. The seventh and deciding game was won by Nigel Richards with a crucial triple-triple.
In 2019 the third WESPA Championship was held in [[Goa]], [[India]]. The best of seven final was contested between [[Nigel Richards (Scrabble player)|Nigel Richards]] and Jesse Day. The seventh and deciding game was won by Nigel Richards with a crucial triple-triple.


Due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] there was no tournament play in 2020.
Due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] there was no tournament play in 2020.


In 2021 the fourth WESPA Championship was called the WESPAC 2021 Virtual Gladiators Scrabble Championships<ref>https://www.24newshd.tv/05-Dec-2021/new-zealand-s-alastair-richards-wins-gladiators-virtual-scrabble-world-championship</ref> and was held online at [https://woogles.io Woogles], hosted in [[Pakistan]] by the PSA (Pakistan Scrabble Association). In the seventh and final game, Alastair Richards of [[New Zealand]] won the title with a 13-point lead, defeating Australia’s [[David Eldar]]. The winner received €3,500 while the runner-up received €1,500.
In 2021 the fourth WESPA Championship was called the WESPAC 2021 Virtual Gladiators Scrabble Championships and was held online at [https://woogles.io Woogles], hosted in [[Pakistan]] by the PSA (Pakistan Scrabble Association). In the seventh and final game, Alastair Richards of [[New Zealand]] won the title with a 13-point lead, defeating Australia’s [[David Eldar]].


The 2023 the fifth WESPA Championship in [[Las Vegas]] marked the first time since 2001 that a world championship was contested in North America. The winner was [[David Eldar]] who defeated Harshan Lamabadusuriya to capture the $10,000 first prize in a four-day, 32-game tournament, becoming the second person to win more than one world championship.
The 2023 the fifth WESPA Championship in [[Las Vegas]] marked the first time since 2001 that a world championship was contested in North America. The winner was [[David Eldar]] who defeated Harshan Lamabadusuriya to capture the $10,000 first prize in a four-day, 32-game tournament, becoming the second person to win more than one world championship.
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|Mattel, [[Mind Sports International|MSI]]
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|{{Flagicon|BHR}} [[Akshay Bhandarkar]]<ref>http://www.breakingthegame.net/2017wespac</ref>
|{{Flagicon|NGR}} Moses Peter
|[[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]]
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|[[World Scrabble Championship 2023|2023]]
|[[WESPA Championship 2019|2019]]
|{{Flagicon|NZ}}[[Nigel Richards (Scrabble player)|Nigel Richards]] (6) <ref>https://nsw.scrabble.org.au/ATB1219.pdf</ref>
|{{Flagicon|USA}} Jesse Day
|[[Goa]], [[India]]
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|[[World English-Language Scrabble Players' Association|WESPA]] (3)
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|[[WESPA Championship 2021|2021]]
|{{Flagicon|NZ}}[[Alastair Richards]]<ref>https://www.24newshd.tv/05-Dec-2021/new-zealand-s-alastair-richards-wins-gladiators-virtual-scrabble-world-championship</ref>
|{{Flagicon|AUS}} [[David Eldar]]
|{{Flagicon|AUS}} [[David Eldar]]
|[https://woogles.io Woogles] and [[Pakistan]]
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| align="right" | €3,500
| align="right" | €1,500
|[[World English-Language Scrabble Players' Association|WESPA]] (4)
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|[[World Scrabble Championship 2023|2023]]
|{{Flagicon|AUS}} [[David Eldar]]<ref>{{cite web |url= https://slate.com/culture/2023/08/scrabble-world-championship-2023-david-eldar-harshan-lamabadusuriya.html</ref>
|{{Flagicon|ENG}} [[Harshan Lamabadusuriya]]
|{{Flagicon|ENG}} [[Harshan Lamabadusuriya]]
|[[Las Vegas]]
|[[Las Vegas]]
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| align="right" | {{currency|10000|USD|linked=yes}}<ref>{{cite web |url= https://slate.com/culture/2023/08/scrabble-world-championship-2023-david-eldar-harshan-lamabadusuriya.html</ref>
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|[[World English-Language Scrabble Players' Association|WESPA]]
|[[World English-Language Scrabble Players' Association|WESPA]] (5)
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Revision as of 13:16, 21 August 2023

This article is about the tournament in English. For other uses, see World Scrabble Championships (disambiguation).
World Scrabble Championship
SportScrabble
Founded1991
Most recent
champion(s)		Nigel Richards (5th title)
(2019)
Sponsor(s)Mattel

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 six titles between 2007 and 2019.

History

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 and WESPA.

The number of players competing in the tournament has risen steadily over time, from 48 in 1991 to 108 in 2009. Each country is allocated seats for the championship, and individual countries' national associations determine which of their players represent them. This is typically done by means of a national rating system or qualifier tournaments. A good performance by a national team according to specific criteria will earn further permanent places for that country.

The official dictionary, used in the majority of English-language Scrabble-playing countries and colloquially known as SOWPODS (an anagram of OSPD and OSW), was used until 2007. It is a combination of two dictionaries: OSPD (Official Scrabble Players Dictionary), published in the US, and OSW (Official Scrabble Words), published in the UK. Local tournaments used only their respective dictionary for the tournament, and each contains words chiefly used and spelled in US English and UK English. Since 2007, Collins supplies the only dictionary used in the WSC, Collins Scrabble Words, which is published in the UK.

On May 17, 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 second WESPA Championship (first held in 2015) was held in Nairobi, Kenya in November, won by Akshay Bhandarkar.

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.

In 2019 the third WESPA Championship was held in Goa, India. The best of seven final was contested between Nigel Richards and Jesse Day. The seventh and deciding game was won by Nigel Richards with a crucial triple-triple.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic there was no tournament play in 2020.

In 2021 the fourth WESPA Championship was called the WESPAC 2021 Virtual Gladiators Scrabble Championships and was held online at Woogles, hosted in Pakistan by the PSA (Pakistan Scrabble Association). In the seventh and final game, Alastair Richards of New Zealand won the title with a 13-point lead, defeating Australia’s David Eldar.

The 2023 the fifth WESPA Championship in Las Vegas marked the first time since 2001 that a world championship was contested in North America. The winner was David Eldar who defeated Harshan Lamabadusuriya to capture the $10,000 first prize in a four-day, 32-game tournament, becoming the second person to win more than one world championship.

List of finals

Year Winner Runner-up Location Entrants Winner's prize Total prize pool Sponsor
1991 United States Peter Morris United States Brian Cappelletto London, United Kingdom 48 US$10,000[2] US$19,000[2] Spears
1993 England Mark Nyman Canada Joel Wapnick Plaza Hotel, New York City, United States 64 US$10,000[3] US$24,950[3] Hasbro
1995 Canada David Boys United States Joel Sherman Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom 64 US$11,000[4] US$29,550[4] Mattel
1997 United States Joel Sherman United States Matt Graham Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C., United States 80 US$25,000[5] US$50,100[5] Hasbro
1999 Canada Joel Wapnick England Mark Nyman Carlton Crest Hotel, Melbourne, Australia 98 US$15,000[6] US$34,200[6] Mattel
2001 United States Brian Cappelletto Canada Joel Wapnick Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas, United States 88 US$25,000[7] US$50,100[7] Hasbro
2003 Thailand Panupol Sujjayakorn Thailand Pakorn Nemitrmansuk Corus Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 90 US$17,500[8] US$40,000[8] Mattel
2005 Canada Adam Logan Thailand Pakorn Nemitrmansuk Marriott Regent's Park Hotel, London, United Kingdom 102 US$15,000[9] US$30,500[9] Mattel
2007 New Zealand Nigel Richards (1) Malaysia Ganesh Asirvatham Taj President Hotel, Mumbai, India 104 US$15,000[10] US$30,500[10] Mattel
2009 Thailand Pakorn Nemitrmansuk[11] New Zealand Nigel Richards[12] Zon Regency Hotel, Johor Bahru, Malaysia[13] 108 US$15,000[14] US$30,500[14] Mattel
2011 New Zealand Nigel Richards (2) Australia Andrew Fisher Hilton Hotel, Warsaw, Poland[15] 106 US$20,000[16] US$50,000[16] Mattel
2013 New Zealand Nigel Richards (3) Thailand Komol Panyasophonlert Andel's Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic 110 US$10,000[17] US$25,000[1] Mattel, MSI
2014 England Craig Beevers United States Chris Lipe ExCeL Arena, London, United Kingdom 108 £3,000 £7,000[18] Mattel, MSI
2015 Nigeria Wellington Jighere[19] England Lewis Mackay Gloucester Park, Perth, Australia 130 A$10,000 A$28,400 WESPA (1)
2016 England Brett Smitheram England Mark Nyman Grand Palais, Lille, France 72 €7,000 €40,000 Mattel, MSI
2017 Australia David Eldar England Harshan Lamabadusuriya Nottingham, United Kingdom 77 £7,000[20] Mattel, MSI
2017 Bahrain Akshay Bhandarkar[21] Nigeria Moses Peter Nairobi, Kenya US$20,000 WESPA (2)
2018 New Zealand Nigel Richards (4) United States Jesse Day Torquay (final in Westfield London), United Kingdom 75 £6,200 £15,500[22] Mattel, MSA
2019 New Zealand Nigel Richards (5) Australia David Eldar Riviera International Centre, Torquay, United Kingdom 46 Mattel, MSA
2019 New ZealandNigel Richards (6) [23] United States Jesse Day Goa, India 140 US$20,000 WESPA (3)
2021 New ZealandAlastair Richards[24] Australia David Eldar Woogles and Pakistan €3,500 €1,500 WESPA (4)
2023 Australia David Eldar[25] England Harshan Lamabadusuriya Las Vegas US$10,000 WESPA (5)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Press Release". Forum.mindsportsinternational.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  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 2014-02-23.
  6. ^ a b WSC 1999 results at cross-tables.com
  7. ^ a b "2001 World SCRABBLE® Championship". Scrabble-assoc.com. 2001-05-03. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  8. ^ a b "Scrabble Masters". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  9. ^ a b John J. Chew III. "2005 WSC Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  10. ^ a b John J. Chew III. "2007 WSC Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  11. ^ "WSC 2009 Standings: Round 24". live.wscgames.com. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  12. ^ John J. Chew III. "WSC 2009: Finals". Live.wscgames.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  13. ^ John J. Chew III. "2009 WSC Venue". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  14. ^ a b John J. Chew III. "2009 WSC Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  15. ^ John J. Chew III. "2011 WSC Venue". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  16. ^ a b John J. Chew III. "2011 WSC Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  17. ^ "Prize Table". Event.poslfit.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  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. ^ http://www.breakingthegame.net/2017wespac
  22. ^ "Sulky word wins Scrabble championship". BBC News. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  23. ^ https://nsw.scrabble.org.au/ATB1219.pdf
  24. ^ https://www.24newshd.tv/05-Dec-2021/new-zealand-s-alastair-richards-wins-gladiators-virtual-scrabble-world-championship
  25. ^ {{cite web |url= https://slate.com/culture/2023/08/scrabble-world-championship-2023-david-eldar-harshan-lamabadusuriya.html
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