MSI World Scrabble Championship 2016
World Scrabble Championship 2016
Won by Brett Smitheram
from 72 players
31 August 2016 — 4 September 2016
Held in Lille, France
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The MSI World Scrabble Championship 2016 was a Scrabble tournament organised by Mattel and Mind Sports International (MSI) to determine the world champion in English Scrabble. It was held from 31 August to 4 September 2016 in Lille, France.
The event was split into two divisions based on players' World English-Language Scrabble Players' Association (WESPA) ratings. The top division comprised some 72 players. 24 games were played on the first three 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, Brett Smitheram and Mark Nyman, played a best-of-five final the day after for the top prize of €7,000. Smitheram beat Nyman 3-0. The World Championship was held in conjunction with that of Scrabble in other languages.
Background
The MSI World Scrabble Championship 2016 was held from 31 August to 4 September 2016 under the auspices of Mind Sports International and sponsored by Mattel and HarperCollins (the publisher of the official lexicon used in play), as part of the Mindsports International 2016 Championships.[1] The playing venue was the Lille Grand Palais. There were two divisions based on players' WESPA ratings: A (1700 and above, or by invitation by WESPA or the World Mind Sports Federation) and B (below 1700 or unrated).[1] MSI also hosted World Championships in other languages, including French, German, Spanish and Catalan, alongside the French Duplicate Championship.[1]
Results
Preliminary
After 24 preliminary rounds, the top eight advanced to the quarterfinals. Three-time World Champion Nigel Richards (2007, 2011, and 2013) failed to qualify for the knockout rounds, as did 2015 and 2014 World Champions Wellington Jighere and Craig Beevers.[2]
| Position | Name | Number of wins | Cumulative spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Nyman | 19 | +1262 |
| 2 | David Webb | 19 | +1152 |
| 3 | Allan Simmons | 18 | +974 |
| 4 | Robert Robinsky | 17 | +1216 |
| 5 | Brett Smitheram | 16 | +1424 |
| 6 | Adam Logan | 16 | +854 |
| 7 | Lewis MacKay | 16 | +771 |
| 8 | Joel Wapnick | 16 | +676 |
| 9 | David Koenig | 15 | +334 |
| 10 | Paul Allan | 15 | +175 |
| 11 | Dennis Ikekeregor | 15 | -50 |
| 12 | Terry Kirk | 14½ | +155 |
| 13 | Nigel Richards | 14 | +987 |
| 14 | Peter Armstrong | 14 | +985 |
| 15 | Moiz Ullah Baig | 14 | +924 |
| 16 | Evans Clinchy | 14 | +649 |
| 17 | Winter | 14 | +393 |
| 18 | David Eldar | 14 | +312 |
| 19 | Scott Jackson | 14 | +224 |
| 20 | Jason Keller | 14 | +93 |
Source:[2]
Knockout
| Quarterfinals (best of 3) | Semifinals (best of 5) | Final (best of 5) | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Allan Simmons | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Adam Logan | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Lewis MacKay | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Brett Smitheram | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Robert Robinsky | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Brett Smitheram | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Brett Smitheram | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Mark Nyman | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | David Webb | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Lewis MacKay | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Adam Logan | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Mark Nyman | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Mark Nyman | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Joel Wapnick | 1 | ||||||||||||
Semi-finals losers Lewis MacKay and 2005 World Champion Adam Logan were scheduled to play a best-of-three third-place playoff, but Logan forfeited and MacKay automatically clinched the title of second runner-up.[5]
Finals
 Brett Smitheram (ENG) |
Mark Nyman (ENG) |
| 3 | 0 |
| Born 8 March 1979 37 years old |
Born 14 October 1966 49 years old |
| Finalist | Finalist and winner of the World Scrabble Championship 1993 |
| WESPA Rating: 2170 (World No. 3)[6] | WESPA Rating: 2065 (World No. 20)[7] |
| Round | Brett Smitheram | Mark Nyman |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 583 | 323 |
| 2 | 451 | 403 |
| 3 | 638 | 351 |
| 4 | - | - |
| 5 | - | - |
Source:[8]
UK-based recruitment consultant Brett Smitheram beat fellow Englishman and writer Mark Nyman, the 1993 World Scrabble Champion, 3-0 in the best-of-five finals, and became the 2016 World Scrabble Champion and won €7,000.[9] Notable plays by Smitheram included BRACONID for 181 points[10] (176 points plus 5 points for an unsuccessful challenge by Nyman), GYNAECIA (95) and PERIAGUA (76).[11] Incidentally, Smitheram was a former contestant on the television programme Countdown, and Nyman was one of its producers.[11] In the second division, Jack Mpakaboari beat Sandy Nang 3-0 in a best-of-five finals.[12]
References
- 1 2 3 "Mindsports International 2016 Championships". Mind Sports International. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- 1 2 "02.09.2016 MSI WSC Lille: A". WESPA. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ↑ "MSI World Scrabble Championships Semi Finals – Top 8". Mind Sports Academy. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ↑ Duncan, Natalie. "MSI World Scrabble Championships Semi Finals – Division A". Mind Sports Academy. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ↑ "It's 3rd and 4th Play Off". Mind Sports Academy. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ↑ "02.09.2016 MSI WSC Lille: Brett Smitheram". WESPA. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ↑ "02.09.2016 MSI WSC Lille: Mark Nyman". WESPA. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ↑ "It's The Final, Who Will Be World Scrabble Champion 2016?". Mind Sports Academy. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ↑ Willgress, Lydia. "Parasitic wasp wins British recruitment consultant World Scrabble Championship". The Telegraph.
- ↑ "Braconid: Briton wins Scrabble world title with 181-point word". The Guardian. 5 September 2016.
- 1 2 "Brett Smitheram wins World Scrabble Championship". BBC.
- ↑ "Division B Finalists". Mind Sports Academy. Retrieved 22 November 2016.