World Scrabble Championship 2023
22 July 2023 – 26 July 2023
WinnerDavid Eldar
Number of players135
LocationLas Vegas, NV, USA

The 2023 WESPA Championship (WESPAC) was a Scrabble tournament organized by NASPA Games as part of the NASPA Double Down in Las Vegas - at the Westgate Las Vegas Resorts & Casino in Las Vegas, NV.[1]

The 2023 event was the first in-person World Scrabble Championship event since 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[2] and was the first world championship to be held in North America since 2001.[3]

The event held as a single division, with players seeded by World English-Language Scrabble Players' Association (WESPA) ratings. 32 games were played on the first four days, after which the top two players, 2017 champion David Eldar and Harshan Lamabadusuriya, played a best-of-seven final the day after for the top prize of $10,000.[3] Eldar beat Lamabadusuriya 4-3 to earn a second world title.[4]

The 2023 event had a record-breaking 900 live viewers on Twitch.[5]

Finals

 David Eldar (AUS)  Harshan Lamabadusuriya (ENG)
4 3
(1989-09-26) September 26, 1989 (age 34) 44 years old
Finalist and winner of the World Scrabble Championship 2017
22–9–1[5] 23–9
Round David Eldar Harshan Lamabadusuriya
1 377 462
2 542 364
3 444 458
4 510 409
5 382 480
6 477 464
7 480 439[6]

References

  1. ^ "2023 NASPA Double Down in Las Vegas". scrabbleplayers.org. NASPA. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  2. ^ "World SCRABBLE Championship". scrabbleplayers.org. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b "2023 WESPA Championship (WESPAC)". scrabbleplayers.org. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  4. ^ "David Eldar wins the 2023 WESPA Championship". The Association of British Scrabble Players (ABSP). 27 July 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b Fatsis, Stefan (9 August 2023). "This Year's World Scrabble Champion Blew Everyone Away With a Three-Letter Word". Slate. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  6. ^ "WESPA Championship Finals (CSW) (WORLD SCRABBLE CHAMPIONSHIP)". cross-tables.com. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
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