World Scrabble Championship 1993

The World Scrabble Championship 1993 was the second World Scrabble Championship. The winner was Mark Nyman,[1] representing the United Kingdom, as this was before the countries of the UK were given individual representation.

World Scrabble Championship 1993
27 August 1993 – 30 August 1993
WinnerMark Nyman
Number of players64
LocationNew York
SponsorHasbro

The first 15 rounds used modified Swiss pairing. After this, players #1 and #3 and players #2 and #4 played a best-of-five semifinal to determine the finalists while the remaining 64 players played three more games. The semifinals were followed by a best-of-five finals while the two other semifinalists played a best-of-five match to determine third and fourth place.

The first game of the finals looked like it would go Nyman's way when he bingoed with MUTAGENIC from an MU on his second play and then challenged off Wapnick's DOX. But Nyman later played a phony of his own (VERGINGS) and then got stuck with the Q while Wapnick drew both blanks and won by 38.

In game two, Wapnick drew both blanks again and won by almost 100 points, aided by the 102-point DYSURIC.

Game three was tight until Nyman played two successive bingos and went on to a 530-victory. The fourth game again started close, until Wapnick scored 212 points on three successive turns (though he missed a 107-point bingo in the process) and took a seemingly insurmountable 174-point lead. A few turns later, Wapnick had the opportunity to take a 212 point lead with HELMING, but the play would have opened a triple-triple line with both blanks unseen so he opted for a more conservative 41-point play and still led by 170. Against the odds, Nyman came back with a 50-point X play and bingos with both blanks and went on to a devastating 9-point victory.

The key point in the final game came when Wapnick, holding a blank, played STUM instead of SMUR (of which he was unsure). Nyman then bingoed with BEDAWIN setting up an S-hook on the O column. Unable to play a bingo ending in S because of his STUM play, Wapnick instead played GROANERs when he could have blocked the O column with ORANGiER. Sure enough, Nyman drew an S and played VELURES for 91 points then coasted to an easy win to become the first non-North American to win the world championship.

Complete Results

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Position Name Country Win–loss Spread Prize (USD)[1]
1 Nyman, Mark England 18-7 +779 10,000
2 Wapnick, Joel Canada 17-8 +1200 6,000
3 Gibson, David United States 16-9 +503 3,000
4 Williams, Gareth Wales 15-10 +404 1,500
5 Saldanha, Allan United Kingdom 13-5 +951 900
6 Felt, Robert United States 12-6 +642 750
7 Sigley, Michael New Zealand 12-6 +467 600
8 Schoenman, Bob United States 12-6 +131 500
9 Spate, Clive United Kingdom 11-7 +530 400
10 Sherman, Joel United States 11-7 +526 300
11 Logan, Adam Canada 11-7 +477 250
12 Morris, Peter World Champion 11-7 +421 200
13 Nelkon, Phil United Kingdom 11-7 +336 175
14 Lund, Richie United States 11-7 +224 150
15 Odom, Lisa United States 11-7 +221 125
16 Catto, John United Kingdom 10-8 +557 100
17 Greenspan, Randy United States 10-5 +541
18 Edley, Joe United States 10-5 +495
19 Dennis, Di England 10-5 +399
20 Thorogood, Blue New Zealand 10-5 +326
21 Byers, Russell England 10-5 +215
22 Day, Darrell United States 10-5 +204
23 Lipton, Bob United States 10-5 +196
24 Grant, Jeff New Zealand 10-5 +188
25 Kaufman, Zev Canada 10-5 +26
26 Ploysangngam, Amnuay Thailand 10-5 -433
27 Nderitu, Patrick Gitonga Kenya 9-6 +743
28 Graham, Matt United States 9-6 +319
29 Jaruwan, Ong-Arj Thailand 9-6 +274
30 Cappelletto, Brian United States 9-6 +272
31 Ballard, Nick United States 9-6 +168
32 Elbourne, Peter Malta 9-6 +52
33 Warusawitharana, Missaka Sri Lanka 9-6 +34
34 Luebkemann, John United States 9-6 -141
35 Sim, Tony Singapore 9-6 -164
36 Finley, Peter England 9-6 -230
37 Nevarez, Johnny United States 9-6 -293
38 Gruzd, Steven South Africa 9-6 -362
39 Daniel, Robin Pollock Canada 8-7 +463
40 Rosenthal, Joan Australia 8-7 +62
41 Khoshnaw, Karl Kurdistan-Iraq 8-7 -34
42 Filio, Roland Philippines 8-7 -48
43 Cohen, Evan Israel 8-7 -113
44 Grayson, John Wales 8-7 -177
45 Wright, Geoff Australia 8-7 -379
46 Chishty, Ishtiaq Saudi Arabia 8-7 -482
47 Heaton, Ken United Kingdom 8-7 -737
48 Raychbart, Paloma Israel 7½-7½ -259
49 Onani, Magwanga Kenya 7½-7½ -391
50 Butler, Lynne New Zealand 7-8 +190
51 Neuberger, Jim United States 7-8 -123
52 Clenaghan, Nuala Ireland 7-8 -245
53 Benjamin, Larry South Africa 7-8 -331
54 Lerman, Jerry United States 7-8 -424
55 Holgate, John Australia 7-8 -617
56 Jackman, Bob Australia 6½-8½ -525
57 Filio, Candido Philippines 6½-8½ -588
58 Norr, Rita United States 6-9 -372
59 Koroda, Kunihiko Japan 6-9 -913
60 Meghan, Eileen Éire 6-9 -950
61 Abdullah, Raja Fuadin Malaysia 6-9 -1205
62 Alimohamed, Amirali United Arab Emirates 5-10 -1237
63 Roff, Lynn South Africa 5-10 -867
64 Yeh, Winnie Hong Kong 3-12 -896
  • Semifinals
  • Mark Nyman 3 – David Gibson 2
  • Joel Wapnick 3 – Gareth Williams 2
  • Consolation Match
  • David Gibson 3 – Gareth Williams 2
  • Finals
  • Game 1: Wapnick 446 – Nyman 408
  • Game 2: Wapnick 443 – Nyman 357
  • Game 3: Nyman 530 – Wapnick 374
  • Game 4: Nyman 469 – Wapnick 460
  • Game 5: Nyman 417 – Wapnick 369

References

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  1. ^ a b WSC 1993 results at cross-tables.com