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.
| Sport | 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
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 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
| 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 | US$19,000 | Spears |
| 1993 |  Mark Nyman
|
 Joel Wapnick
|
Plaza Hotel, New York City, United States | 64 | US$10,000 | US$24,950 | Hasbro |
| 1995 | David Boys
|
Joel Sherman
|
Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom | 64 | US$11,000 | US$29,550 | Mattel |
| 1997 | Joel Sherman
|
Matt Graham
|
Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C., United States | 80 | US$25,000 | US$50,100 | Hasbro |
| 1999 | Joel Wapnick
|
Mark Nyman
|
Carlton Crest Hotel, Melbourne, Australia | 98 | US$15,000 | US$34,200 | Mattel |
| 2001 | Brian Cappelletto
|
Joel Wapnick
|
Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas, United States | 88 | US$25,000 | US$50,100 | Hasbro |
| 2003 |  Panupol Sujjayakorn
|
Pakorn Nemitrmansuk
|
Corus Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 90 | US$17,500 | US$40,000 | Mattel |
| 2005 | Adam Logan
|
Pakorn Nemitrmansuk
|
Marriott Regent's Park Hotel, London, United Kingdom | 102 | US$15,000 | US$30,500 | Mattel |
| 2007 |  Nigel Richards (1)
|
 Ganesh Asirvatham
|
Taj President Hotel, Mumbai, India | 104 | US$15,000 | US$30,500 | Mattel |
| 2009 | Pakorn Nemitrmansuk
|
Nigel Richards
|
Zon Regency Hotel, Johor Bahru, Malaysia | 108 | US$15,000 | US$30,500 | Mattel |
| 2011 | Nigel Richards (2)
|
 Andrew Fisher
|
Hilton Hotel, Warsaw, Poland | 106 | US$20,000 | US$50,000 | Mattel |
| 2013 | Nigel Richards (3)
|
Komol Panyasophonlert
|
Andel's Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic | 110 | US$10,000 | US$25,000 | Mattel, MSI |
| 2014 | Craig Beevers
|
Chris Lipe
|
ExCeL Arena, London, United Kingdom | 108 | £3,000 | £7,000 | Mattel, MSI |
| 2015 |  Wellington Jighere
|
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 | Mattel, MSI | |
| 2018 | Nigel Richards (4)
|
Jesse Day
|
Torquay (final in Westfield London), United Kingdom | 75 | £6,200 | £15,500 | 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.
See also
References
- ^ "Press Release". Forum.mindsportsinternational.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ WSC 1991 results at cross-tables.com
- ^ WSC 1993 results at cross-tables.com
- ^ WSC 1995 results at cross-tables.com
- ^ John J. Chew III. "WSC 1997 Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ WSC 1999 results at cross-tables.com
- ^ "2001 World SCRABBLE® Championship". Scrabble-assoc.com. 3 May 2001. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ "Scrabble Masters". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ John J. Chew III. "2005 WSC Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ John J. Chew III. "2007 WSC Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- "WSC 2009 Standings: Round 24". live.wscgames.com. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- John J. Chew III. "WSC 2009: Finals". Live.wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- John J. Chew III. "2009 WSC Venue". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ John J. Chew III. "2009 WSC Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- John J. Chew III. "2011 WSC Venue". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ John J. Chew III. "2011 WSC Prizes". Wscgames.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- "Prize Table". Event.poslfit.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- "World SCRABBLE Championship – NASPAWiki".
- "Nigeria celebrates Africa's first English-language Scrabble win". BBC News Online. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- "Obscure word propels Londoner to victory in world Scrabble championships". www.telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
- "Sulky word wins Scrabble championship". BBC News. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- "Percantage of World Scrabble Championship by Country (1993–2023)". www.crosswordsolver.com. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
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