World Scrabble Championship

Last updated
World Scrabble Championship
Sport Scrabble
Founded1991
Most recent
champion(s)		 Nigel Richards (5th title)
(2019)
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.

Contents

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

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 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 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

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

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References

  1. 1 2 "Press Release". Forum.mindsportsinternational.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  2. 1 2 WSC 1991 results at cross-tables.com
  3. 1 2 WSC 1993 results at cross-tables.com
  4. 1 2 WSC 1995 results at cross-tables.com
  5. 1 2 John J. Chew III. "WSC 1997 Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  6. 1 2 WSC 1999 results at cross-tables.com
  7. 1 2 "2001 World SCRABBLE® Championship". Scrabble-assoc.com. 2001-05-03. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  8. 1 2 "Scrabble Masters". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  9. 1 2 John J. Chew III. "2005 WSC Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  10. 1 2 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. 1 2 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. 1 2 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. ↑ "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 2024-08-01.
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