World Scrabble Championship 2003

The World Scrabble Championship 2003 was held in the Corus Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The winner was Panupol Sujjayakorn of Thailand.

The format was notably different from previous WSCs. The tournament began with the Australian Draw system, with each player playing sixteen games over two days. On the third day the players played eight games in a King Of the Hill format. After this, the top two players competed in a best-of-five final to decide who would be the seventh World Scrabble Champion.

Prize money started at $17,500 for the winner, with all the top twenty players receiving prizes down to $200.

Results

The winner was Panupol Sujjayakorn of Thailand. This was the first time that a player won the WSC while representing a country for which English is not the first language.

Complete Results PositionNameCountryWin–lossSpreadPrize (USD)1Sujjayakorn, PanupolThailand18–6+146117,5002Nemitrmansuk, PakornThailand17–7+13838,5003Perry, AndrewEngland17–7+12024,0004Nyman, MarkEngland16–8+9752,5005Kramer, JimUnited States16–8+7121,7506Panyasophonlert, KomolThailand16–8+4181,0007Davis, AndrewEngland16–8+1887508Fernando, Naween TharangaSri Lanka15–9+6136009Allan, PaulScotland15–9+53250010Adamson, TimUnited States15–0+43840011Helen GipsonEngland15–9+31730012Geary, JimUnited States15–9+19830013Grant, JeffNew Zealand15–9-5830014Appleby, PhilEngland14½–9½+42430015Litunya, PatrickKenya14–10+104330016Boys, DavidCanada14–10+84320017Wapnick, JoelCanada14–10+69020018Sanni, Moshood OlasunkanmiNigeria14–10+58120019Cleary, Paul StephenAustralia14–10+43620020Warner, HowardNew Zealand14–10+31620021Bhandarkar, AkshayBahrain14–10+31522Asirvatham, GaneshMalaysia14–10+14423Sim, TonySingapore14–10-924Lipton, BobUnited States13½–10½+54125Carter, PatrickNew Zealand13½–10½+22926Hersom, RandyUnited States13–11+73827Dennis, DiEngland13–11+53728O'Laughlin, JohnUnited States13–1+36029Fisher, AndrewAustralia13–11+28630Kurnia, AndySingapore13–11+27031Linn, RobertUnited States13–11+25132Williams, GarethWales13–11+13233Delicata, DavidMalta13–11+8034Balogun, Rasheed OlajideNigeria13–11-5535Capuno, LeonardoPhilippines13–11-16136Lobo, RalphOman13–11-19537Golding, AndrewCanada13–11-35738Polatnick, SteveUnited States12½–11½+22639Jackman, BobAustralia12–12+66640Placca, ChrysGhana12–12+56941Ikekeregor, DennisNigeria12–12+51542Willingham, WalkerUnited States12–12+24843Iqbal, WajidPakistan12–12+16844Ndungu, Stanley NjorogeKenya12–12+12645Berofsky, EvanCanada12–12+5846Kirk, TerryEngland12–12+1147Khoshnaw, KarlKurdistan-Iraq12–12-17348Finley, PeterEngland12–12-26749Anthonius, FerdyIndonesia12–12-30450Quao, Michael ArthurGhana12–12-35051Withers, BenUnited States12–12-75752Hirai, KeiichiroJapan12–12-79453Hovelmeier, Trevor MarkSouth Africa11½–12½+92954Lam, JohnMalaysia11½–12½+12055Wiegand, DavidUnited States11–13+36756Pui, Cheng WuiMalaysia11–13+19857Chong, AaronMalaysia11–13+3058Mamadou, WoneKuwait11–13-20959Chakrabarti, AmitUnited States11–13-24360Credo, RonaldPhilippines11–13-25761Hoekstra, RonCanada11–13-29762Holden, StewartEngland11–13-32863Lobo, SelwynUnited Arab Emirates11–13-34264Abordo, ChrisBahrain11–13-45365Lloyd, DavidAustralia11–13-84166Kenas, MarkUnited States11–13-94767Gruzd, StevenSouth Africa10½–13½-27068Talosig, RogelioNew Zealand10½–13½-48069Kamath, PramitIndia10½–13½-69870Gongolo, MichaelKenya10–14+67571Kantimathi, SamUnited States10–14+8972Baker, RichUnited States10–14-9273Saldanha, DeanCanada10–14-27274Recedes, MarioPhilippines10–14-46775Gonzalez, Ricardo VGulf Champion10–14-46976Manase, Joshua OtienoKenya10–14-54277Kpentey, BennetGhana9½–14½-44978Kalumba, Paul YandishaZambia9–15-4579John, Robin K.T.Trinidad and Tobago9–15-12580Wanniarachchi, LakshanSri Lanka9–15-23281Chicoine, EmanuelCanada9–15-46882Abela, KevinMalta9–15-84483Chishty, IshtiaqSaudi Arabia9–15-95884Kuroda, KunihikoJapan8–16-120185Sandu, Dan LaurentiuRomania8–16-65186Abordo, FerrerBahrain8–16-79987Bohbot, HerveFrance8–16-84488Saeyorn, SivanesanSri Lanka8–16-98989Esmail, MushtakTanzania7½–16½-19090Kenny, BronaghIreland2–22-3166

FINALS: Game 1: Panupol 418 – Pakorn 380 Game 2: Pakorn 495 – Panupol 384 Game 3: Pakorn 514 – Panupol 470 Game 4: Panupol 446 – Pakorn 433 Game 5: Panupol 444 – Pakorn 387

References