Jump to content

World Scrabble Championship

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the tournament in English. For other uses, seeWorld Scrabble Championships (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with theScrabble Players Championshipor theWESPA Championship.
World Scrabble Championship
SportScrabble
Founded1991
Most recent
champion(s)		Nigel Richards(5th title)
(2019)
Sponsor(s)Mattel,MSA

TheWorld Scrabble Championship(WSC) is played to determine the world champion in competitiveEnglish-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 isNigel RichardsfromNew Zealand,who won a record five titles between 2007 and 2019.

History[edit]

Sponsorship of the World Scrabble Championship (WSC) formerly alternated betweenHasbroandMattel,the North American and global owners of the Scrabble trademark, respectively. However, after Hasbro declined to sponsorWSC 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 inPraguein 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 Richardsbecame 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 Beeverswon the event, making him the first British World Scrabble Champion sinceMark Nymanin 1993.

In 2015, following cancellation of the SCT, Mattel and MSI agreed to allow WESPA to organize the2015 WESPA Championship (WESPAC).It was held inPerth,Australiaand followed the invitational format of pre-MSI WSC events. 130 players qualified to play.Wellington Jighereof 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 AustralianDavid Eldar.

The 2018 World Scrabble Championship was organised by Mindsports Academy. The main event was held inTorquay,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) againstDavid Eldarat the Riviera International Centre inTorquay.

After 2019, unofficial world championships are held atWESPACbecause 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 United StatesPeter Morris United StatesBrian Cappelletto London,United Kingdom 48 US$10,000[2] US$19,000[2] Spears
1993 EnglandMark Nyman CanadaJoel Wapnick Plaza Hotel,New York City,United States 64 US$10,000[3] US$24,950[3] Hasbro
1995 CanadaDavid Boys United StatesJoel Sherman Park Lane Hotel,Piccadilly,London,United Kingdom 64 US$11,000[4] US$29,550[4] Mattel
1997 United StatesJoel Sherman United StatesMatt Graham Mayflower Hotel,Washington, D.C.,United States 80 US$25,000[5] US$50,100[5] Hasbro
1999 CanadaJoel Wapnick EnglandMark Nyman Carlton Crest Hotel,Melbourne,Australia 98 US$15,000[6] US$34,200[6] Mattel
2001 United StatesBrian Cappelletto CanadaJoel Wapnick Venetian Hotel,Las Vegas,United States 88 US$25,000[7] US$50,100[7] Hasbro
2003 ThailandPanupol Sujjayakorn ThailandPakorn Nemitrmansuk Corus Hotel,Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia 90 US$17,500[8] US$40,000[8] Mattel
2005 CanadaAdam Logan ThailandPakorn Nemitrmansuk MarriottRegent's Park Hotel,London,United Kingdom 102 US$15,000[9] US$30,500[9] Mattel
2007 New ZealandNigel Richards(1) MalaysiaGanesh Asirvatham Taj President Hotel,Mumbai,India 104 US$15,000[10] US$30,500[10] Mattel
2009 ThailandPakorn Nemitrmansuk[11] New ZealandNigel Richards[12] Zon Regency Hotel,Johor Bahru,Malaysia[13] 108 US$15,000[14] US$30,500[14] Mattel
2011 New ZealandNigel Richards(2) AustraliaAndrew Fisher Hilton Hotel,Warsaw,Poland[15] 106 US$20,000[16] US$50,000[16] Mattel
2013 New ZealandNigel Richards(3) ThailandKomol Panyasophonlert Andel's Hotel,Prague,Czech Republic 110 US$10,000[17] US$25,000[1] Mattel, MSI
2014 EnglandCraig Beevers United StatesChris Lipe ExCeL Arena,London,United Kingdom 108 £3,000 £7,000[18] Mattel, MSI
2015 NigeriaWellington Jighere[19] EnglandLewis Mackay Gloucester Park,Perth,Australia 130 A$10,000 A$28,400 WESPA(1)
2016 EnglandBrett Smitheram EnglandMark Nyman Grand Palais,Lille,France 72 €7,000 €40,000 Mattel, MSI
2017 AustraliaDavid Eldar EnglandHarshan Lamabadusuriya Nottingham,United Kingdom 77 £7,000[20] Mattel,MSI
2018 New ZealandNigel Richards(4) United StatesJesse Day Torquay(final inWestfield London),United Kingdom 75 £6,200 £15,500[21] Mattel,MSA
2019 New ZealandNigel Richards(5) AustraliaDavid Eldar Riviera International Centre,Torquay,United Kingdom 46 $8,000 Mattel,MSA

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Press Release".Forum.mindsportsinternational.Retrieved2014-02-23.
  2. ^abWSC 1991results atcross-tables
  3. ^abWSC 1993results atcross-tables
  4. ^abWSC 1995results atcross-tables
  5. ^abJohn J. Chew III."WSC 1997 Prizes".Wscgames.Retrieved2014-02-23.
  6. ^abWSC 1999results atcross-tables
  7. ^ab"2001 World SCRABBLE® Championship".Scrabble-assoc. 2001-05-03.Retrieved2014-02-23.
  8. ^ab"Scrabble Masters".Wscgames.Retrieved2014-02-23.
  9. ^abJohn J. Chew III."2005 WSC Prizes".Wscgames.Retrieved2014-02-23.
  10. ^abJohn J. Chew III."2007 WSC Prizes".Wscgames.Retrieved2014-02-23.
  11. ^"WSC 2009 Standings: Round 24".live.wscgames.Retrieved2022-02-16.
  12. ^John J. Chew III."WSC 2009: Finals".Live.wscgames.Retrieved2014-02-23.
  13. ^John J. Chew III."2009 WSC Venue".Wscgames.Retrieved2014-02-23.
  14. ^abJohn J. Chew III."2009 WSC Prizes".Wscgames.Retrieved2014-02-23.
  15. ^John J. Chew III."2011 WSC Venue".Wscgames.Retrieved2014-02-23.
  16. ^abJohn J. Chew III."2011 WSC Prizes".Wscgames.Retrieved2014-02-23.
  17. ^"Prize Table".Event.poslfit.Retrieved2014-02-23.
  18. ^"World SCRABBLE Championship - NASPAWiki".
  19. ^"Nigeria celebrates Africa's first English-language Scrabble win".BBC News Online.9 November 2015.Retrieved9 November2015.
  20. ^"Obscure word propels Londoner to victory in world Scrabble championships".telegraph.co.uk.Telegraph Media Group.27 August 2017.Retrieved28 August2017.
  21. ^"Sulky word wins Scrabble championship".BBC News.29 October 2018.Retrieved30 October2018.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Scrabble_Championship&oldid=1227648898"