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 Score Runner-up Location Entrants Winner's prize Total prize pool Sponsor1991 Peter Morris2–1 Brian Cappelletto London, United Kingdom48Spears1993 Mark Nyman3–2 Joel Wapnick Plaza Hotel, New York City, United States64Hasbro1995 David Boys3–2 Joel Sherman Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom64Mattel1997 Joel Sherman3–1 Matt Graham Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C., United States80Hasbro1999 Joel Wapnick3–1 Mark Nyman Carlton Crest Hotel, Melbourne, Australia98Mattel2001 Brian Cappelletto3–1 Joel Wapnick Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas, United States88Hasbro2003 Panupol Sujjayakorn3–2 Pakorn Nemitrmansuk Corus Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia90Mattel2005 Adam Logan (1)3–0 Pakorn Nemitrmansuk Marriott Regent's Park Hotel, London, United Kingdom102Mattel2007 Nigel Richards (1)3–2 Ganesh Asirvatham Taj President Hotel, Mumbai, India104Mattel2009 Pakorn Nemitrmansuk3–1 Nigel Richards Zon Regency Hotel, Johor Bahru, Malaysia108Mattel2011 Nigel Richards (2)3–2 Andrew Fisher Hilton Hotel, Warsaw, Poland 106Mattel2013 Nigel Richards (3)3–2 Komol Panyasophonlert Andel's Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic 110 Mattel, MSI2014 Craig Beevers 3–1 Chris Lipe ExCeL Arena, London, United Kingdom 108 Mattel, MSI2015 Wellington Jighere4–0 Lewis Mackay Gloucester Park, Perth, Australia 130 WESPA (1)2016 Brett Smitheram3–0 Mark Nyman Grand Palais, Lille, France 72 Mattel, MSI2017 David Eldar (1)3–0 Harshan Lamabadusuriya Nottingham, United Kingdom 77 Mattel, MSI2018 Nigel Richards (4)3–1 Jesse Day Torquay (final in Westfield London), United Kingdom 75 Mattel, MSA2019 Nigel Richards (5)3–1 David Eldar Riviera International Centre, Torquay, United Kingdom 46 $8,000 Mattel, MSA2023 David Eldar (2)4–3 Harshan Lamabadusuriya Las Vegas, United States 134 $10,000WESPA2025 Adam Logan (2)4–2 Nigel Richards The Palms by Eagles, Airport City, Accra, Ghana 129 $10,000 $34,000WESPA 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. Canada has 4 victories. The United States of America and England each secured 3 victories, placing them in third place.

Championships by country CountryTitles5433221

See also World Youth Scrabble Championships List of world championships in mind sports

References