World SCRABBLE Championship
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The World SCRABBLE® Championship (WSC) was the world’s top international SCRABBLE championship tournament. Although it ceased to be held under this name in 2011, this page also lists its successor events, which continue to fill the same role within the global competitive SCRABBLE community.
The tournament rules and word list for current events are set by the World English-Language Scrabble Players' Association (WESPA). The direct involvement of NASPA is limited to selecting the American and Canadian teams.
For more information about the next event, see 2019 WESPA Championship.
Contents
History
The first WSC was organized by Philip Nelkon of Mattel in London in 1991 and won by Peter Morris, a Canadian residing in the United States, who defeated American Brian Cappelletto in a best-of-three finals.
Two years later in 1993, the National SCRABBLE Association under John D. Williams, Jr. organized the next event, sponsored by Hasbro and directed by Michael R. Wise in New York City. It was won by Mark Nyman of England.
From then until 2003, the WSC was organized and sponsored in biennial alternation by Hasbro and Mattel, during which period Americans and Canadians won two more titles each, and and Thailand one.
From 2005 to 2011, the event was organized and sponsored by Nelkon and Mattel.
In 2013 and 2014, Mattel licensed Mind Sports International (MSI) to hold the 2013 World SCRABBLE Championship in place of the WSC.
WESPA has announced that they will be holding the 2015 WESPA Invitational Masters as a replacement event for the WSC in Perth, Australia.
2014 SCRABBLE Champions Tournament
| Date | November 19–23 |
|---|---|
| Place | ExCeL London Exhibition and Convention Centre, London, England |
| Winner | Craig Beevers (Eng) |
| Runner-Up | Chris Lipe (USA) |
| Winning Teams | Sri Lanka (singleton), Canada (multiplayer) |
| Winner’s Prize | £3,000 |
| Prize Pool | £7,000 |
| Players | 108 |
| National Teams | 32 |
| Format | 24 rounds followed by best-of-3 quarterfinals, best-of-5 semifinals and best-of-5 finals |
| Sponsor | Mattel |
| Organizer | MSI |
| Director | John Chew |
- This was the first event held in an even-numbered year.
- This was the first event to feature quarterfinals.
2013 SCRABBLE Champions Tournament
| Date | December 4–8 |
|---|---|
| Place | andel’s Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic |
| Winner | Nigel Richards (NZL) |
| Runner-Up | Komol Panyasophonlert (THA) |
| Winning Teams | Israel (singleton), Australia (multiplayer) |
| Winner’s Prize | $10,000 |
| Prize Pool | $22,500 |
| Players | 110 |
| National Teams | 38 |
| Format | 31 rounds followed by best-of-5 semifinals and best-of-5 finals |
| Sponsor | Mattel |
| Organizer | MSI |
| Director | John Chew |
- Nigel Richards became the first player to win the title for a third time.
- Nigel Richards became the first champion to successfully defend the title.
- This was the first event in this series organized by MSI.
- This was the first event in this series to be called the SCRABBLE Champions Tournament.
- This was the first event in this series to include a Last Chance Qualifier.
- This was the first event in this series to include official side events: Clabbers, Duplicate, Speed, three Opens, Czech, German, Norwegian and Polish.
2011 World SCRABBLE Championship
| Date | October 11–16 |
|---|---|
| Place | Hilton Hotel, Warsaw, Poland |
| Winner | Nigel Richards |
| Runner-Up | Andrew Fisher |
| Winning Team | Northern Ireland |
| Winner’s Prize | $20,000 |
| Prize Pool | $50,000 |
| Players | 106 |
| National Teams | 39 |
| Format | 34 rounds followed by best-of-5 finals |
| Sponsor | Mattel |
| Organizer | Philip Nelkon |
| Director | Wilma Vialle |
- Nigel Richards became the first two-time champion.
- In Round 7, Edward Martin and Chollapat Itthi-Aree discovered that a “G” tile was missing from their game. The incident was widely reported in the news media, but the tile was eventually found later on in the event under innocuous circumstances.
- First event to be held under WESPA rules (Version 2)
2009 World SCRABBLE Championship
| Date | November 26–29 |
|---|---|
| Place | Zon Regency Hotel, Johor Bahru, Malaysia |
| Winner | Pakorn Nemitrmansuk |
| Runner-Up | Nigel Richards |
| Winning Teams (mean team member rank) |
India (singleton), Thailand (multiplayer) |
| Winner’s Prize | $15,000 |
| Prize Pool | $30,500 |
| Players | 108 |
| National Teams | 39 |
| Format | 24 rounds followed by best-of-5 finals |
| Sponsor | Mattel |
| Organizer | Philip Nelkon |
| Director | Wilma Vialle |
- First event to be held under WESPA rules (Version 1)
2007 World SCRABBLE Championship
| Date | November 9–12 |
|---|---|
| Place | Taj President Hotel, Mumbai, India |
| Winner | Nigel Richards |
| Runner-Up | Ganesh Asirvatham |
| Winning Teams (mean team member rank) |
U.A.E. (singleton), Malaysia (multiplayer) |
| Winner’s Prize | $15,000 |
| Prize Pool | $30,500 |
| Players | 104 |
| National Teams | 38 |
| Format | 24 rounds followed by best-of-5 finals |
| Sponsor | Mattel |
| Organizer | Philip Nelkon |
| Director | Wilma Vialle |
2005 World SCRABBLE Championship
| Date | November 16–20 |
|---|---|
| Place | Marriott Regent’s Park, London, England |
| Winner | Adam Logan |
| Runner-Up | Pakorn Nemitrmansuk |
| Winning Teams (mean team member rank) |
Qatar (singleton), Australia (multiplayer) |
| Winner’s Prize | $15,000 |
| Prize Pool | $30,500 |
| Players | 102 |
| National Teams | 39 |
| Format | 24 rounds followed by best-of-5 finals |
| Sponsor | Mattel |
| Organizer | Philip Nelkon |
| Director | Wilma Vialle |
2003
- Information to follow
2001
- Information to follow
1999
- Information to follow
1997
- Information to follow
1995
- Information to follow
1993
- Information to follow
1991
- Information to follow