World Scrabble Championship 2017

The MSI World Scrabble Championship 2017 was a Scrabble tournament organised by Mattel and Mindsports International (MSI) to determine the world champion in English Scrabble. It was held from 22 to 27 August in Nottinghamshire, England.

World Scrabble Championship 2017
22 August 2017 – 27 August 2017
WinnerDavid Eldar
Number of players77
LocationNottinghamshire, England

The event was split into two divisions according to players' World English-Language Scrabble Players' Association (WESPA) ratings; the top division comprised some 77 players. 35 games were played on the first four days, after which the top eight proceeded to a 3-game quarterfinals, with the winners advancing to a 5-game semifinals on the same day; the top two players, David Eldar and Harshan Lamabadusuriya, played a best-of-five final the day after for the top prize of €7,000. Eldar beat Lamabadusuriya 3–0.

Background

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The World Scrabble Championship 2017 was originally slated to take place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Qatar, as part of the 4th Mindsports World Championship (comprising chess, go, e-sports, and Scrabble events) organised by the Mindsports Academy (MSA).[1][2] However, due to the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis, the championship was relocated to Nottingham Trent University in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, and held from 22 to 27 August[3] under the auspices of Mindsports International (the parent organisation of MSA) and sponsored by Mattel, the Qatar Tourism Authority, SamTimer, and the World Mind Sport Federation.[4] MSA also hosted a Junior World Scrabble Championship for players under 21 at the same venue from 19 to 21 August.[3][5]

Results

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Preliminary

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After 35 preliminary rounds, the top eight, which included three-time World Champion Nigel Richards (2007, 2011, and 2013) and 1993 champion Mark Nyman, advanced to the quarterfinals. 2016 champion Brett Smitheram finished in fourteenth place, thus failing in his title defence.

Position Name Number of wins Cumulative spread
1 Nigel Richards 26.5 +1893
2 Austin Shin 24.5 +757
3 Harshan Lamabadusuriya 23 +1185
4 Neil Scott 22.5 +1244
5 Goutham Jayaraman 22 +1549
6 Mark Nyman 22 +817
7 Elie Dangoor 22 +519
8 David Eldar 21 +1675
9 Paul Gallen 21 +1202
10 David Webb 21 +888
11 David Koenig 21 +811
12 Neil Rowley 21 +806
13 Waseem Khatri 21 +580
14 Brett Smitheram 20 +1059
15 Joel Wapnick 20 +888
16 Vincent Boyle 20 +830
17 Chris Cummins 20 +638
18 Paul Allan 20 +402
19 Calum Edwards 20 +384
20 Alex Tan 20 -788

Source:[6][dead link]

Knockout

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Quarterfinals (best of 3) Semifinals (best of 5) Final (best of 5)
         
1 Nigel Richards 0
8 David Eldar 2
David Eldar 3
Goutham Jayaraman 2
4 Goutham Jayaraman 2
5 Neil Scott 0
David Eldar 3
Harshan Lamabadusuriya 0
2 Mark Nyman 0
7 Harshan Lamabadusuriya 2
Austin Shin 2
Harshan Lamabadusuriya 3
3 Elie Dangoor 0
6 Austin Shin 2

Source:[7]

Finals

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  David Eldar (AUS)   Harshan Lamabadusuriya (LKA)
3 0
Born 1989
27 years old
Born ???
44 years old
Finalist Finalist
WESPA Rating: 2203 (World No. 2)[8][dead link] WESPA Rating: 2087 (World No. 15)[9][dead link]
Round David Eldar Harshan Lamabadusuriya
1 468 426
2 575 384
3 450 420
4
5

Source:[7]

UK-based poker player[10] and real estate agent David Eldar, who was born in Australia, whitewashed Sri Lankan doctor Harshan Lamabadusuriya in the best-of-five finals; Eldar was awarded £7000 for becoming 2017 World Scrabble Champion, whereas runner-up Lamabadusuriya netted £3000.[11] Notable plays by Eldar included CARRELS for 74 points, ASINICOS (idiots; 64), and OBVS (slang for obvious; 10).[12] Austin Shin beat Goutham Jayaraman 2–1 in a best-of-three third-place playoff.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "4th Mindsports World Championships to take place in Doha, Qatar in August this year". Qatar Tourism Authority. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  2. ^ "2017 4th Mindsports World Championships". Mindsports Academy. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Scrabble events relocated to Nottingham". Dawn. 25 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Event Venue and Information". Mindsports Academy. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  5. ^ "MSA Junior World Scrabble Championship 2017". Mindsports Academy. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  6. ^ "25.08.2017 MSI World Scrabble Championship: A". WESPA. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  7. ^ a b c "Updates, Results and Information". Mind Sports Academy. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  8. ^ "25.08.2017 MSI World Scrabble Championship: David Eldar". WESPA. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  9. ^ "25.08.2017 MSI World Scrabble Championship: Harshan Lamabadusuriya". WESPA. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  10. ^ Pempus, Brian (10 October 2017). "High-Stakes Online Poker Player Crowned Scrabble World Champion". Card Player.
  11. ^ "Oh my word: Aussie-born David Eldar is world Scrabble champion". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 August 2017.
  12. ^ "World Scrabble champ crowned after 74-point 'carrels'". BBC. 28 August 2017.