With 300 players locking horns in regional events, only 40 remain to vie for the title of National Scrabble Champion, along with the £1,000 first prize and trophy. The National Scrabble Championship dates back to 1971 and is considered by many to be the biggest tournament in the UK.
You can check out the last thirty year's winners via
the ABSP's website - the last ten years' winners are listed below and include some of the UK's best ever players.
2007 Paul Allan
2008 Allan Simmons
2009 Craig Beevers
2010 Mikki Nicholson
2011 Wayne Kelly
2012 Paul Gallen
2013 Paul Allan
2014 Chris May
2015 Craig Beevers
2016 Phil Robertshaw
This year's venue (pictured below) is the Mercure Dunkenhalgh Hotel and Spa, Blackburn, and will be held on the weekend of Oct 7-8.
Last year's champion Phil Robertshaw (38) of Nailsea (pictured, originally from Ellesmere Port) will be looking to defend his crown from top players across the UK, including seven other Scrabble grandmasters. There will also be a last ditch qualifying event on Friday, for anyone looking to mix it with the best players in the UK over the weekend.
The tournament will be decided by 17 rounds of Scrabble across two days. Fixtures are generated using a Swiss-style pairing system, with the player who wins the most games being crowned the UK National Champion. If players are equal on wins then spread (aggregated points difference) is the next tie-breaker.
Interested persons can follow regular updates on the
British Scrabble Facebook Page, with photographs, videos and latest standings all posted regularly throughout the event. There will also be live streaming video coverage via
Twitch of the top table game for all 17 rounds, complete with expert commentary.
