Josh Sokol (Scrabble player)

Last updated

Joshua Sokol
Born
Joshua Sokol-Rubenstein

(1994-03-24) March 24, 1994 (age 30)
Montreal, Canada
Other namesaxcertypo
Occupations
Years active2013–present

Joshua Sokol-Rubenstein (born March 24, 1994) is a Canadian competitive Scrabble player and influencer. He won the 2023 Scrabble Players Championship.

Career

Sokol, who is Jewish, has said Scrabble was his parents' "favourite board game" and began memorizing obscure words for the game as a child. [1] [2] He joined the Montreal Scrabble Club at age 10 and soon began seriously competing. [1] He has played at the Scrabble Players Championship (formerly North American Scrabble Championship) since 2013. [3] He excelled at the Scrabble Players Championship in Las Vegas in 2023, with a 23–5 record going into the finals (four games ahead of anyone else), where he then won 3–2. [3] He was the second Montrealer in a row to win the tournament after Michael Fagen the previous year. [2]

Sokol has described himself as a "Scrabble influencer". [3] [4] He started livestreaming on Twitch in 2020 and has uploaded hundreds of YouTube videos under the username axcertypo. [1] [5] He has also commentated for Scrabble tournament livestreams. [6] [7]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Caruso-Moro, Luca (July 20, 2023). "Montreal Scrabble champion picks up $10,000 prize at Las Vegas tournament". Montreal: CTV News . Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "A Jewish guy from Montreal just won North America's biggest Scrabble tournament". Canadian Jewish News (podcast). July 19, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Schwartz, Susan (July 26, 2023). "Montreal 'Scrabble influencer' axcertypo wins North American championship". Montreal Gazette . Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  4. Fatsis, Stefan (November 15, 2023). "Horsefeatherses!". Slate . Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  5. Krolikowski, Anthony (July 1, 2023). "2023 Scrabble Word Cup playing letters in Albany". WTEN . Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  6. Fatsis, Stefan (March 22, 2022). "Magic in the Tiles". Slate . Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  7. Fatsis, Steven (August 9, 2023). "This Year's World Scrabble Champion Blew Everyone Away With a Three-Letter Word". Slate . Retrieved November 15, 2023.