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World Scrabble Championship

The World Scrabble Championship is the most prestigious title in competitive English-language Scrabble. It has been held every second year since 1991, and annually since 2013. The reigning World Scrabble Champion is Wellington Jighere, who won the title at Perth, Australia in 2015.

Sponsorship formerly alternated between Hasbro and Mattel, respectively the owners of the Scrabble trademark in North America and the rest of the world. However, Hasbro declined to sponsor WSC 2005, and instead Mattel has organised and/or sponsored all championships since 2005.

The number of players competing in the tournament has risen steadily over time, from 48 in the World Scrabble Championship 1991 to 108 in the World Scrabble Championship 2009. In 2011 it remained stable with 106 contestants. A set number of places is allocated to each competing country and it is then up to individual countries' national associations to determine which of their players will represent them. This is typically done by means of a national ratings system or qualifier tournaments or some combination of the two. A good performance by a national team according to specific criteria will earn further permanent places for that country.

The dictionary used is colloquially known as SOWPODS, which is the word authority used in the majority of English-language Scrabble-playing countries. It is commonly known as Collins Scrabble Words and was updated on 1 September 2015.

On May 17, 2013, Mattel announced that the event would be renamed the Scrabble Champions Tournament, and would be held as part of Mind Sports International's 2013 Prague Mind Sports Festival, to be held annually. MSI introduced a 'Last Chance Qualifier' tournament, giving players a last opportunity to qualify for the main event instead of having to be on their countries' teams; in 2013 this resulted in 5 extra players competing. In 2014 the SCT continued in London but it became an open event, inviting all players to compete.

In 2015 there was a traditional World Scrabble Championship hosted by WESPA. It was an invitational event with 131 players qualifying to play.

Individual championships

Year Winner Runner-up Location Entrants Winner's prize Total prize pool Sponsor
2015 Wellington Jighere
(Nigeria)		 Lewis Mackay
(England)		 Gloucester Park, Perth, Australia 130 AUD 10,000 AUD 28,400 Mattel, MSI, WESPA
2014 Craig Beevers
(England)		 Chris Lipe
(United States)		 ExCeL Arena, London, UK 108 GBP 3,000 GBP 7,000 Mattel, MSI
2013 Nigel Richards (3)
(New Zealand)		 Komol Panyasophonlert
(Thailand)		 Andel's Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic 110 USD 10,000 USD 25,000 Mattel, MSI
2011 Nigel Richards (2)
(New Zealand)		 Andrew Fisher
(Australia)		 Hilton Hotel, Warsaw, Poland 106 USD 20,000 USD 50,000 Mattel
2009 Pakorn Nemitrmansuk
(Thailand)		 Nigel Richards
(New Zealand)		 Zon Regency Hotel, Johor Bahru, Malaysia 108 USD 15,000 USD 30,500 Mattel
2007 Nigel Richards (1)
(New Zealand)		 Ganesh Asirvatham
(Malaysia)		 Taj President Hotel, Mumbai, India 104 USD 15,000 USD 30,500 Mattel
2005 Adam Logan
(Canada)		 Pakorn Nemitrmansuk
(Thailand)		 Marriott Regent's Park Hotel, London, UK 102 USD 15,000 USD 30,500 Mattel
2003 Panupol Sujjayakorn
(Thailand)		 Pakorn Nemitrmansuk
(Thailand)		 Corus Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 90 USD 17,500 USD 40,000 Mattel
2001 Brian Cappelletto
(United States)		 Joel Wapnick
(Canada)		 Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas, USA 88 USD 25,000 USD 50,100 Hasbro
1999 Joel Wapnick
(Canada)		 Mark Nyman
(England)		 Carlton Crest Hotel, Melbourne, Australia 98 USD 15,000 USD 34,200 Mattel
1997 Joel Sherman
(United States)		 Matt Graham
(United States)		 Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C., USA 80 USD 25,000 USD 50,100 Hasbro
1995 David Boys
(Canada)		 Joel Sherman
(United States)		 Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly, London, UK 64 USD 11,000 USD 29,550 Mattel
1993 Mark Nyman
(England)		 Joel Wapnick
(Canada)		 Plaza Hotel, New York, USA 64 USD 10,000 USD 24,950 Hasbro
1991 Peter Morris
(United States)		 Brian Cappelletto
(United States)		 London, UK 48 USD 10,000 USD 19,000 Spears

National representative totals throughout the years

Country 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015
Australia 5 4 4 4 7 4 4 4 5 6 7 8
Bahrain 1 2 2 2 3 2 1 2 1 1
Barbados 1 1 1
Cameroon 1 1
Canada 3 4 5 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 8 7 5
Czech Republic 1 2
England 3 4 5 5 10 9 9 12 10 9 10 11 16
European Community 1
France 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Gambia 1
Germany, Federal Republic of 1 1 1
Ghana 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 1 2
Gibraltar 1
Gulf Champion 1 1 1
Guyana 1 1 1 1 1
Hong Kong 1 1 1
India 1 2 1 2 4 1 2 2
Indonesia 1 1 1 1 1 2
Ireland 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Israel 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 1
Japan 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 1
Kenya 2 2 2 3 5 4 4 2 4 4 3
Kurdistan-Iraq 1 1 1 1 1 1
Kuwait 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Last chance qualifier 5
Malaysia 1 1 1 2 4 2 4 2 2 5 2 3
Malta 1 1 1 2 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 1
Netherlands 1 1 1 1 1
New Zealand 3 4 4 4 5 4 4 5 5 4 4 5
Nigeria 2 2 2 1 3 3 3 4
Northern Ireland 1 1 1 2 3
Norway 1 1
Oman 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 1
Pakistan 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 3 1 2
Philippines 2 2 1 1 4 3 3 2 3 2 1 2
Poland 1 1 1 1 4 1
Qatar 1 1 1 1 1
Romania 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1
Saudi Arabia 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Scotland 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 5
Seychelles 1 1 2
Singapore 1 1 1 2 3 2 2 3 3 4 4 4
Slovakia 1 1
South Africa 3 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 3 2
Sri Lanka 1 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 1 1
Sweden 1 1 1 1 1
Tanzania 1 1 1 1 1
Thailand 2 3 4 3 3 4 5 6 7 6
Trinidad and Tobago 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Uganda 1 1 1
United Arab Emirates 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 2
United Kingdom 8 5 4 4
United States 8 18 10 12 13 15 15 15 15 14 15 14
Wales 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 2 1
World Champion 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
World Youth Champion 1 1 1 1
WSC Runner-Up 1 1
Zambia 1 1 1 1 1
Totals 48 64 64 80 98 88 90 102 104 108 106 110 130

Individual competitor results throughout the years (Pre 2000s)

This list contains the names of players who took part in one or more World Championships before 2001.

Competitor 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2014
Abdullah, Raja Fuadin 61 68
Abraham, Arvind 68
Acton, David 12 60
Addo, Joshua 27 35
Alimohamed, Amirali 62
Ananga, Yawo Takyi 30 40
Appleby, Phil 33 12 14 14 41 43 42
Arreola, Pepito 57 70
Asirvatham, Ganesh 55 36 22 4 2
Assesa, Dixon 79 64
Avrin, Paul 42
Awowade, Femi 41 28 22 18 36
Ballard, Nick 31
Benjamin, Larry 8 53
Berger, Averil 42
Berlin, Barbara 70
Bhandarkar, Akshay 26 8 57 21 26 5 48
Blom, Roger 36 43 87
Bondin, Owen 54
Boyd, Kendall 6 12 53
Boys, David 3 1 11 3 39 16 7 17 6 13
Broderick, Chris 64
Brown, Christine 31
Butler, Lynne 34 50 56 83 88
Bwire, Matayo 52 88
Byers, Russell 21 30 7 6 45
Caba, Catalin-Eugen 98 100
Cansfield, Joyce 6
Cappelletto, Brian 2 30 11 10 11 1
Carroll, Charlie 13
Carter, Gerald 37 42 38 65 88 36
Catto, John 16
Charles, Leslie 86 63 77 83 50 18
Cherry, James 38 57
Chinnaiyah, Suresh 54 16 28 30
Chishty, Ishtiaq 46 42 83
Chune, Albert 71
Chunkath, Mohan Verghese 21 59 80
Cleary, Paul Stephen 45 24 58 69 19 6
Clenaghan, Nuala O' Rourke 52 73 45
Cohen, Evan 12 43 81 71 15
Cook, Andrew 9
Costello, Catherine 85 86
Credo, Ronald 29 24 60 69
Daniel, Robin Pollock 39 14 38 42 30
Davids, Gerald 64
Day, Darrell 22
Dennis, Di 19 27 45
Donkoh, George 30
Downer, Penny 21 64
Early, Dylan 61 72 58 79 84
Eburu, Gold 83
Edley, Joe 4 18 5 3 28 20
Elbourne, Peter 14 32 32 50 67 37
Epstein, Paul 25
Fasuba, Johnson 93
Felt, Robert 36 6 16 4 45 26
Fernando, Naween Tharanga 23 19 13 11 8 3 31 7 39 34
Filio, Candido 37 57
Filio, Roland 29 42 47 55
Finley, Peter 11 36 48 62
Fisher, Andrew 20 20 22 5 5 29 21 16 15 2 17
Fisher, Stephen 9
Gan, Cher Siong 71
Geary, Jim 47 46 14 12
Gibbons, Randall 79
Gibson, David 3
Gipson, Helen 49 11 29 15 10 18 96
Goh, Eugene 90
Gongolo, Michael 30 13 70 30 50
Gonzalez, Ricardo V 62 75 103
Graham, Matt 28 2 46
Grant, Jeff 17 24 3 13 41 33 13 59 63 35
Grayson, John 44 51 75
Greenspan, Randy 17
Gruzd, Steven 38 6 34 31 47 67 83
Hahn, Albert 39 53 32
Hale, Glennis 50
Harridge, Barry 32
Harrison, Trevor 58
Heaton, Ken 47
Hersom, Randy 44 35 43 26 69
Hirai, Keiichiro 72 38 52 37 74
Holgate, John 19 55 49 20 10 40
Holmes, Michael 62
Hossy, Debbe 55
Hovelmeier, Trevor Mark 73 52 53 87 34 67 27 57
Ismal, Muhammed 44
Jackman, Bob 56 37 26 39 71
Jaruwan, Ong-Arj 29
Jimoh, Saheed 51
Jonah, J.J. 53
Judd, Rodney 78 95
Kane, Alistair 26 89
Kaufman, Zev 25 44 58
Khan, Rashid Ateeq 48 69 71 83 79
Khoshnaw, Karl 41 39 52 49 47 66
Klaphajone, Jakkrit 42 18 29
Kong, Chock Heng 77
Kuroda, Kunihiko 59 59 82 84 101 101 105
Lao, Armando 51 57
Lawrie, Glenys 35
Leader, Zelig 45
Lerman, Jerry 54 49
Levine, Eli 47
Lipton, Bob 23 4 58 63 6 24
Lobo, Selwyn 53 76 63 69
Lobo, Yvonne 61
Logan, Adam 11 8 9 4 10 1 25 9 10 3
Luebkemann, John 34 49 20 25 34
Lund, Richie 14
Mamadou, Wone 76 58
McDonnell, Brendan 74 90
Mead, Jeremiah 45 31
Meghan, Eileen 60 74
Mensah, Edem Kafui 55
Metivier, Edward 88
Michel, Antonin 95
Morris, Peter 1 12
Nakai, Ken 48 72
Nanavati, Jim 66 92
Nanayakkara, Harischandra 80
Nderitu, Patrick Gitonga 16 27 10 17 53
Ndungu, Stanley Njoroge 25 24 44
Nelkon, Phil 13
Nemitrmansuk, Pakorn 40 16 2 2 1 3 27
Neuberger, Jim 51
Nevarez, Johnny 37 47
Norr, Rita 58 44
Nyman, Mark 22 1 17 5 2 4 52 19 15
Odom, Lisa 15 23 38
Okosagah, Sammy 22 16 8 3
Onani, Magwanga 49
Onyeonwu, Ifeanyi 13 29
Orbaum, Sam 40
Paolella, Libero 48 77
Penaflor, Vivian 80
Perez, Gerardo 61
Perrins, Esther 31 12
Placca, Chrys 28 40 22 36 54
Ploysangngam, Amnuay 26 37
Polatnick, Steve 38 64 4 38 30 72 85 73
Pra, Michael 39
Pratesi, Diane 28
Pray, Linda Hazel 70 81
Pui, Cheng Wui 32 50 56
Quek, Sim Ho 59
Quiballo, Virgilio 19
Raychbart, Paloma 48 60 89
Richards, Nigel 8 47 1 2 1 1 11
Rio, Odette Carmina 43 27 21 72 62
Roff, Lynn 63
Romany, Rodney 54 59 58
Rosenthal, Joan 40 18 32
Rowe, Dennis 38
Saldanha, Allan 40 5 9 14
Saldanha, Norbert 39 62
Saliba, Mario 63 97
Salih, Sala Fadl Mohamed 69
Samarasundera, Wimal 60
Sandu, Dan Laurentiu 78 91 84 85 100 98 88
Sapong, Kwaku 18
Schoenman, Bob 8
Schonbrun, Lester 24 46 48
Scott, Neil 24 26 19 36 43
Sherman, Joel 10 2 1 15 51 19 29
Siddiqui, Anwar 52
Sigley, Michael 25 7 19 40
Silva, Dhanpala 96
Sim, Tony 41 35 29 60 17 23 49
Simmons, Allan 25 21 75 40 62 30 53
Simonis, Sandie 7
Sinton, Peter 66 12 78 59
Smitheram, Brett 44 7 43 6 8 5
Southwell, Charlie 10
Spate, Clive 21 9 46 27
Springer, Robert 56 75
Sukhumrattanaporn, Charnwit 33 14 56
Sutthasin, Taewan 59 76 68
Tan, Kiat Hing Austin 65
Tan, Teong-Chuan 31
Tang, Michael 65 58 99
Thobani, Shafique 43 7 23 36
Thompson, Martin 46
Thorogood, Blue 20 43 75 47 83
Tiekert, Ron 5 15 7
Ul-Haq, Assad 67 56
Usakiewicz, Wojciech 84 98 84
Violett, Bob 23
Wanniarachchi, Lakshan 94 80 80 81 53 78 70
Wapnick, Joel 27 2 15 36 1 2 17 33 4 9 35 56 23
Warner, Howard 33 19 20 18 22 47 26 32
Warusawitharana, Missaka 15 33 21 18
Warwick, Wilma 56
Webb, Alice 75
Webb, David 27 68 23 75 49 67
Webb, Mark 41
Widergren, Jeff 35
Wiegand, David 17 9 55 8 3 4 3 4
Williams, Gareth 4 34 26 34 34 32 5 19 85 97
Willis, Mike 33
Wright, Geoff 45
Yeh, Winnie 64 63

Individual competitor results throughout the years (2000s)

This list contains the names of players who started taking part in the World Championships after 1999.

Competitor 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2014
Abela, Kevin 82
Abordo, Chris 77 64 88 86
Abordo, Ferrer 86
Adamson, Timothy 10 25 8 76 72
Addo-Quaye, George 71
Ahmad, Adeeb 95
Ajayi, Olajide Ademola 93
Akonor, Michael 60 93 46
Alban, Loreta 104
Ali, Mohammed Zafar 60
Allan, Paul 9 12 42 51 20 25 16
Amalean, Shaila 79 63
Amarasinghe, Asanka 91
Amarasinghe, Indunil 92
Amarasinghe, Samitha 92
Andersson, Gunnar 96 79 90
Andronowski, Piotr 52 24
Anthonius, Ferdy 49 98 79 89 94
Apindi, Isaac 54
Armstrong, Peter 28 40 9
Baker, Michael 49
Baker, Rich 72
Balasingam, Vannitha 52 20 12
Ball, Nick 31 27 72
Balogun, Rasheed Olajide 34
Bassett-Bouchard, Conrad 24
Beevers, Craig 8 11 5 1
Benedict, Nathan 32 12 48
Berger, Ben 103
Berofsky, Evan 45 52 31
Bjorkman, Marten 102
Bohbot, Herve 87 93 94 85 100 99
Bowman, Brian 23 63 41
Brousson, Theresa 35 26 30 67 47 14
Buddhdev, Anand 86 74 82 90
Bullock, Orlet 81 35
Capuno, Leonardo 35 65
Carter, Patrick 25
Cavenagh, Nicholas 100
Chakrabarti, Amit 59 35
Chakravarthy, Ranganathan 81 88
Cheah, Siu Hean 61 10 33 43 51
Chicoine, Emanuel 81
Chong, Aaron 57 24
Choomai, Apirat 64
Chow, Jie Ming Benjamin 70
Clinchy, Evans 33 27
Clottey, Aaron 66
Cohen, Laurie 73
Collins, Frederick 97
Cotejo, Danny 87
Craig, Joanne 90 87 34 39 33
Cree, Chris 80 64 80
Dangoor, Elie 89 38
Davis, Andrew 27 7 44
Day, Jesse 31 25
De Souza, Margarida Ana 63
Delia, Jojo 39 84
Delicata, David 74 33 82 72 36 61
Dominiczak, Rafal 55 95 50
Dundas, Suzanne 102
Edwards, Calum 60 15
Edwin-Mugisha, Phillip 101
Eichler, Maor 48
Eldar, David 11 11 46 29 2
Esmail, Mushtak 89 99 95 102
Farlow, Cameron 38
Fehily, Peggy 108
Fernandes, Cecil 107
Fernandes, Marie 98
Filio, Ben 91
Fomum, Samuel Tanee 84
Frydenlund, Anlaug 104 104 92
Gabriel, Marty 64 74 76 45 37
Gallen, Paul 8 7
Geamsakul, Warodom 106
Gillam, Simon 58 78 84
Goh, Jiang Pern 54
Golding, Andrew 37 73 92
Gomes, Anthony 108
Graham, Haigh 56
Green, Neil 85 49 80
Grover, Udayan 40
Halsall, Trevor 57 56 58
Hardiyanto, H 109 105
Harrison, Martin 45 26
Hemachandra, Sanath 79 86 102
Hingorani, Varisht 48
Hoekstra, Ron 45 61 50 37 66
Holden, Stewart 62 28
Idalski, Jason 94
Ikawa, Victor 80
Ikekeregor, Dennis 41 66 16
Ikolo, Anthony 73
Inayatullah, Mohammad 103
Iqbal, Wajid 43 58 82
Itthi-Aree, Chollapat 68
Jabbar, Abdul 76
Jegels, Llewellin 96
Jighere, Wellington 3 11
John, Robin K.T. 79
Kalumba, Paul Yandisha 73 78 71 85
Kamath, Pramit 69
Kang, William 90 67
Kantimathi, Sam 71 29 86
Katz-Brown, Jason 60 44 14
Keller, Jason 94 35
Kelly, Wayne 65 21 63
Kenas, Mark 66 51 68 29 37
Kennedy, Rik 17 55 17
Kenny, Bronagh 90
Ker, Jen Ho 70
Khatri, Waseem 44 44 13
Khongthanarat, Charnrit 93 86
Kirk, Terry 46 20 46 60 26
Koenig, David 62 28 41
Koowirat, Thacha 77 23
Kougi, Peter 69 31
Kpentey, Bennet 77
Kramer, James 48
Kramer, Jim 3 5 61 24 22 43 6
Kurnia, Andy 30 68
Lam, John 54
Lamabadusuriya, Harshan 56 17 55 34
Landau, Naomi 90
Leah, Tony 89 37 42 62
Liew, Kian Boon 37
Limprasert, Pichai 31
Linn, Robert 31 67 78 34
Lipe, Chris 12 46 7
Litunya, Patrick 67 15 57 6 41 60
Lloyd, David 65
Lobo, Ralph 36 67 41 97
Mackay, Lewis 20 25 11 19
MacNeil, Rod 75
Mallick, Joey 15 46
Manase, Joshua Otieno 30 76 62 91
Martin, Edward 24 54 51
Martus, Teodoro 59
Matsuda, Manabu 73
May, Christopher 57 5 14
Mayhew John 86
McDonald, Abigail 96 54
McKenna, Michael 87
McMahon, Kevin 65 18
Miranda, Mario 85
Modeste, Anthony 102
Mpundu, Patrick Mulemena 92
Mwangi, Willy 55
Nassen, Greger 103
Newman, Geoffrey 92
Nicholson, Mikki 18 14
Ntege, Chris 94 100
Oduwole, Olatunde 64
Okulicz, Edward 23 13 28 32 16
Okwelogu, Chinedu Nosike 68
O'Laughlin, John 28 14 28 32 50 42 10
O'Neill, Shane 87
Ong, Suanne 12 98
Owolabi, Lukeman 9 82
Oyekunle, Lanre 10
Oyende, Allan 81
Panitch, Max 54 63
Pantis, Mihai 77 97
Panyasophonlert, Komol 6 18 5 7 2
Parchamento, Roger 76
Pastucha, Ivan 106
Perry, Andrew 22 3
Philpotts, Adam 51
Phiphatboonserm, Manop 27
Pieta, Bartosz 105 93
Poder, David 53
Poku, Kwame 62
Prabhu, Cecil Fernandes 83 82
Prabhu, Nakul 91
Pratt, Daniel 61
Prudencio, Marlon 71
Purnomo, Ricky 64 69
Quao, Michael Arthur 35 50 15 100
Ranasuriya, Mario Shalendra 65
Recedes, Mario 74
Reshamwala, Shakir 99 99
Richards, Alastair 10 13 8
Rivera, Oscar T. 23
Robertshaw, Phil 39 33 66 48 29
Roddis, Marc 91
Rodr, Tomas 105 107
Rodrigues, Sherwin 70 78 13 44 9
Rosin, Sam 39 41
Saengsit, Weera 56
Saeyorn, Sivanesan 88
Saidu, Ayorinde 24
Saldanha, Dean 73 13 47 46
Saldanha, Dielle 84 52
Sanni, Moshood Olasunkanmi 18
Satria, Fadlan 75
Sayavesa, Navapadol 77
Schellenberg, Mark 53 38
Shabaz, Muhammad 66
Shin, Austin 81 22
Siddiqui, Irfan 61 95 74 39
Simpson, Evan 41
Sinclair, Alan 78
Singh, Lewis 82
Siriwangso, Marut 4 22
Snabel, Viliam 106 108
Sosseh, Abraham Ebi 101
Sreejayan, Sanjeev 101
Srichawla, Daniel 87
Sujjayakorn, Panupol 1 16 50 25
Sulaiman, Mohammad 20 23 73 44
Sykes, Christopher 32
Tabasa, John Edward 48
Talbot, Rodney 50
Talosig, Rogelio 68 55
Tamas, Adrian 36 59
Tan, Jin Chor 61 75
Tanee, Samuel Fomum 72
Tanveer, Rohaina 97 104
Thevenot, Geoff 21 21 16
Toh, Weibin 33
Tunnicliffe, Matthew 22
Umujose, Emmanuel 9
Wachira, Francis 76
Weatherhead, Feargal 57
Wee, Ming Hui Hubert 7 40 17 19
Whitmarsh, Bradley 38
Wieckowski, Zbigniew 89
Wilde, Howard 65
Williamsova, Radana 110
Willingham, Walker 42 98
Withers, Ben 51 42
Wong, Zhi Yuan 43
Wright, James Charles 88
Yeo, Kien Hung 74 70 45
Zbikowski, Mateusz 96

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