United States Scrabble Open
Encyclopedia
The National Scrabble Championship is the largest Scrabble
competition in the United States
. The event is held every one or two years, and from 2004 through 2006 the finals were aired on ESPN
and ESPN2
. The current National Scrabble Champion is Nigel Richards
, who won the 2008, 2010, and 2011 events.
Collegiate Dictionary was used to rule on challenges, and the official word judge was Skolnick's then-wife Carol. Carol's sister, Shazzi Felstein, who would later finish in ninth place at the first North American Invitational tournament, won the first preliminary round with 1,321 points over three games. The final round took place on April 15, and Jonathan Hatch was the winner of the first official Scrabble tournament.
The summer of 1973 saw two more tournaments, held respectively at Grossingers (won by Minerva Kasowitz) and the Concord hotel (won by Harriet Zucker) in New York's Catskill region. Another two tournaments quickly followed in November that same year: in Baltimore, Gordon Shapiro topped approximately 400 contestants; and at the Brooklyn War Memorial approximately 2,000 people entered the nine weekly preliminary rounds of the first all–New York City Scrabble Championship. It was won by Bernie Wishengrad. The New York City Championship was thereafter held annually, jointly sponsored by Selchow and Righter and the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.
The first national tournament was the North American Invitational, held May 19–21, 1978, in the Presidential Suite of the Loews Summit Hotel in New York City. Joel Skolnick and Carol Felstein, as usual, served as the tournament director and word judge, respectively. David Prinz took the $1,500 first prize, followed by Dan Pratt and Mike Senkiewicz.
In 1980, soon after the publication of the first Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, control of the national tournament passed to the National Scrabble Association
. They continued to organize the tournament until 2008.
The official name of the tournament has been National SCRABBLE Championship in recent years, except in 2006 when it was named US SCRABBLE Open.
Starting in 2009, the tournament is organized annually by the newly formed North American SCRABBLE Players Association
. The first event under NASPA
was held in Dayton, Ohio
in August, 2009. The 2010
and 2011 events were held in Dallas, Texas
, and the 2012 Championship will be held in Orlando, FL, where it was held in 2008.
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
competition in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The event is held every one or two years, and from 2004 through 2006 the finals were aired on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
. The current National Scrabble Champion is Nigel Richards
Nigel Richards (Scrabble)
Nigel Richards is a Scrabble player who represents New Zealand in international competition. He is the reigning World Champion and a three-time U.S. National Champion, the only player to have held both titles concurrently...
, who won the 2008, 2010, and 2011 events.
NSC history
The first officially sanctioned Scrabble tournaments in the U.S. were spearheaded, organized and run by Joel Skolnick in the mid-1970s. Skolnick was a recreation director for the New York City Parks and Recreation Department. He approached Selchow and Righter in late 1972, and the first tournament, open to Brooklyn residents only, commenced on March 18, 1973. The Funk and WagnallsFunk and Wagnalls
Funk & Wagnalls was an American publisher known for its reference works, including A Standard Dictionary of the English Language , and the Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia Funk & Wagnalls was an American publisher known for its reference works, including A Standard Dictionary of the English...
Collegiate Dictionary was used to rule on challenges, and the official word judge was Skolnick's then-wife Carol. Carol's sister, Shazzi Felstein, who would later finish in ninth place at the first North American Invitational tournament, won the first preliminary round with 1,321 points over three games. The final round took place on April 15, and Jonathan Hatch was the winner of the first official Scrabble tournament.
The summer of 1973 saw two more tournaments, held respectively at Grossingers (won by Minerva Kasowitz) and the Concord hotel (won by Harriet Zucker) in New York's Catskill region. Another two tournaments quickly followed in November that same year: in Baltimore, Gordon Shapiro topped approximately 400 contestants; and at the Brooklyn War Memorial approximately 2,000 people entered the nine weekly preliminary rounds of the first all–New York City Scrabble Championship. It was won by Bernie Wishengrad. The New York City Championship was thereafter held annually, jointly sponsored by Selchow and Righter and the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.
The first national tournament was the North American Invitational, held May 19–21, 1978, in the Presidential Suite of the Loews Summit Hotel in New York City. Joel Skolnick and Carol Felstein, as usual, served as the tournament director and word judge, respectively. David Prinz took the $1,500 first prize, followed by Dan Pratt and Mike Senkiewicz.
In 1980, soon after the publication of the first Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, control of the national tournament passed to the National Scrabble Association
National Scrabble Association
The National Scrabble Association was created in 1978 by Selchow & Righter, then the makers of Scrabble, to promote their game. It coordinated local clubs and Scrabble tournaments in North America, including the National Scrabble Championship, until 2009. The current director is John D...
. They continued to organize the tournament until 2008.
The official name of the tournament has been National SCRABBLE Championship in recent years, except in 2006 when it was named US SCRABBLE Open.
Starting in 2009, the tournament is organized annually by the newly formed North American SCRABBLE Players Association
North American SCRABBLE Players Association
The North American Scrabble Players Association is an organization founded in 2009 to coordinate competitive Scrabble tournaments and clubs in North America...
. The first event under NASPA
2009 National Scrabble Championship
The 2009 National Scrabble Championship was the first championship under the domain of the North American Scrabble Players Association, won by Dave Wiegand.Winners of the other four divisions:...
was held in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
in August, 2009. The 2010
2010 National Scrabble Championship
The 2010 National Scrabble Championship was held in Addison, Texas from August 7 to August 11, 2010, under the North American Scrabble Players Association. 408 players attended the tournament. Nigel Richards was the Division One Champion, winning 25 games out of 31. Winners of the other four...
and 2011 events were held in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, and the 2012 Championship will be held in Orlando, FL, where it was held in 2008.
NSC events and Division 1 winners
| Year | Winner | Location | Entrants | Winner's Prize | Total Prize Pool |
| 2011 | Nigel Richards Nigel Richards (Scrabble) Nigel Richards is a Scrabble player who represents New Zealand in international competition. He is the reigning World Champion and a three-time U.S. National Champion, the only player to have held both titles concurrently... (3) |
Dallas Dallas, Texas Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States... |
329 | USD United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... 10,000 |
USD 42,075 |
| 2010 2010 National Scrabble Championship The 2010 National Scrabble Championship was held in Addison, Texas from August 7 to August 11, 2010, under the North American Scrabble Players Association. 408 players attended the tournament. Nigel Richards was the Division One Champion, winning 25 games out of 31. Winners of the other four... |
Nigel Richards Nigel Richards (Scrabble) Nigel Richards is a Scrabble player who represents New Zealand in international competition. He is the reigning World Champion and a three-time U.S. National Champion, the only player to have held both titles concurrently... (2) |
Dallas Dallas, Texas Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States... |
408 | USD United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... 10,000 |
USD 42,075 |
| 2009 2009 National Scrabble Championship The 2009 National Scrabble Championship was the first championship under the domain of the North American Scrabble Players Association, won by Dave Wiegand.Winners of the other four divisions:... |
Dave Wiegand (2) | Dayton Dayton, Ohio Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census... |
486 | USD 10,000 | USD 43,175 |
| 2008 | Nigel Richards Nigel Richards (Scrabble) Nigel Richards is a Scrabble player who represents New Zealand in international competition. He is the reigning World Champion and a three-time U.S. National Champion, the only player to have held both titles concurrently... (1) |
Orlando Orlando, Florida Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States... |
662 | USD 25,000 | USD 85,385 |
| 2006 | Jim Kramer Jim Kramer Jim Kramer won the 2006 United States Scrabble Open in Phoenix, Arizona. Kramer has competed in 15 U.S. championship Scrabble tournaments and has represented the United States at the World Scrabble Championships six times. Before winning the 2006 USSO, he had top-ten finishes in the national... |
Phoenix Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data... |
625 | USD 25,000 | USD 85,385 |
| 2005 | Dave Wiegand (1) | Reno Reno, Nevada Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area... |
682 | USD 25,000 | USD 85,415 |
| 2004 | Trey Wright Roger Wright Roger Robinson Wright III is an American classical concert pianist. He is also a Scrabble player who won the United States National Scrabble Championship in 2004.-Early life and musical training:... |
New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population... |
837 | USD 25,000 | USD 92,805 |
| 2002 | Joel Sherman Joel Sherman Joel Sherman , nicknamed "GI Joel", is a top American Scrabble expert and former world champion. He is chronicled in Stefan Fatsis's book Word Freak, in Eric Chaikin's film Word Wars, and in Scott Petersen's film Scrabylon. He is also mentioned in Collins Gem's reference book... |
San Diego San Diego, California San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round... |
696 | USD 25,000 | USD 89,290 |
| 2000 | Joe Edley Joe Edley Joseph Edley is a professional Scrabble player and author, and the first player to win the National Scrabble Championship three times.-Pre-Scrabble life:... (3) |
Providence Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region... |
598 | USD 25,000 | USD 89,290 |
| 1998 | Brian Cappelletto Brian Cappelletto Brian Cappelletto is a Scrabble player who represents the United States in international competition. He was the runner-up at the inaugural World Scrabble Championship in 1991 and won the event in 2001... |
Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... |
535 | USD 25,000 | USD 82,200 |
| 1996 | Adam Logan Adam Logan Adam Logan is a research mathematician and a top Canadian Scrabble player. He won the World Scrabble Championship in 2005, beating Pakorn Nemitrmansuk of Thailand 3-0 in the final. He is the only player to have won the Canadian Scrabble Championship three times... |
Dallas Reunion, Dallas The Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas is an area in western downtown anchored by the Hyatt Regency Dallas and Reunion Tower named for the early mid-nineteenth century commune, La Reunion.... |
412 | USD 25,000 | USD 75,485 |
| 1994 | David Gibson David Gibson (Scrabble) David Gibson is a mathematics instructor and professional Scrabble player from South Carolina. He was the winner of the 1995 National Scrabble Championship, the 1994 Scrabble Superstars Showdown, and the 2003 Scrabble All Stars Championship... |
Los Angeles Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... |
294 | USD 15,000 | USD 50,585 |
| 1992 | Joe Edley Joe Edley Joseph Edley is a professional Scrabble player and author, and the first player to win the National Scrabble Championship three times.-Pre-Scrabble life:... (2) |
Atlanta Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in... |
315 | USD 10,000 | USD 35,910 |
| 1990 | Robert Felt Robert Felt Robert Felt was a computer programmer, USCF-rated chess Expert, Tennessee Junior chess champion, and champion Scrabble player.Born in Memphis, he entered the University of Chicago in 1971 and tested out of so many requirements that he was awarded Junior status... |
Washington Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... |
282 | USD 10,000 | USD 37,400 |
| 1989 | Peter Morris | New York New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... |
221 | USD 5,000 | USD 24,425 |
| 1988 | Robert Watson Robert Watson (Scrabble player) Robert Watson is the 1988 National Scrabble Championship champion, who subsequently retired from tournament Scrabble to pursue other interests, including medicine... |
Reno Reno, Nevada Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area... |
315 | USD 5,000 | USD 23,100 |
| 1987 | Rita Norr | Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous... |
327 | USD 5,000 | USD 16,850 |
| 1985 | Ron Tiekert | Boston | 302 | USD 10,000 | USD 52,370 |
| 1983 | Joel Wapnick Joel Wapnick Joel Wapnick is a Scrabble player from Montreal, Canada, best known for winning the 1999 World Scrabble Championship .Wapnick reached the WSC finals in 1993 and 2001... |
Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... |
32 | USD 5,000 | USD 13,600 |
| 1980 | Joe Edley Joe Edley Joseph Edley is a professional Scrabble player and author, and the first player to win the National Scrabble Championship three times.-Pre-Scrabble life:... (1) |
Santa Monica Santa Monica, California Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and... |
32 | USD 5,000 | USD 10,100 |
| 1978 | David Prinz | New York New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... |
65 (invitational) | USD 1,500 | USD 8,400 |
See also
- World Scrabble ChampionshipWorld Scrabble ChampionshipThe World Scrabble Championship is the most prestigious title in competitive English-language Scrabble. It has been held every second year since 1991. The current World Scrabble Champion is Nigel Richards...
- World Youth Scrabble ChampionshipsWorld Youth Scrabble ChampionshipsThe first World Youth Scrabble Championships were held in Wollongong, Australia 2006. Competitors from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, England, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka. Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab...
- Canadian Scrabble ChampionshipCanadian Scrabble ChampionshipThe Canadian National Scrabble Championship is the Canadian national Scrabble competition in the English language, open by invitation and special qualification only to the top rank of Canadian players. All CNSC events have been held in Toronto....
- Brand's Crossword Game King's Cup
- National School Scrabble ChampionshipNational School Scrabble ChampionshipThe National School Scrabble Championship is a Scrabble tournament for 5th-8th graders held in North America. It has been held annually since 2003. In 2009, for the first time ever, the event was won by a team of 5th graders. In 2010, and some prior years, the winners were invited to be on Good...