World Scrabble Championship 1991

World Scrabble Championship 1991
Won by Peter Morris from 48 players
27 September 1991 30 September 1991
Held in London
Sponsored by Mattel



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The World Scrabble Championship 1991 was the first World Scrabble Championship. The winner was Peter Morris,[1] a Canadian, representing the United States.

Plans for a World Scrabble Championship had formed as early as 1986/87. After Coleco bought Selchow and Righter, the company announced that they were interested in helping players to organize a "World-Class Open" in 1988. At the 1987 Nationals, John Williams announced that the first World Scrabble Championship would be held the following summer in New York. It would be 1991, however, before it became a reality.

The 48 players were separated into random groups of 6 and played round robins within their groups. The top 2 players from each group then played a knockout to produce two finalists who played a best-of-three finals.

Morris and Cappelletto split their first two games then met for a final game to decide it all. On his tenth move, Cappelletto made a rare blunder by playing the phony SMAIL instead of CLAIMS. The move may have cost him the championship. As it was, Morris pulled out a complicated end game for a 4-point win and the first world title.

Complete Results

Position Name Country Prize (USD)[1]
1 Morris, PeterUnited States10,000
2 Cappelletto, BrianUnited States5,000
3 Boys, DavidCanada2,500
4 Edley, JoeUnited States1,000
5 Tiekert, RonUnited States500
6 Cansfield, JoyceUnited Kingdom
7 Simonis, SandieUnited Kingdom
8 Benjamin, LarrySouth Africa
9 Fisher, StephenCanada
10 Southwell, CharlieUnited States
11 Finley, PeterEngland
12 Cohen, EvanIsrael
13 Carroll, CharlieUnited States
14 Elbourne, PeterMalta
15 Warusawitharana, MissakaSri Lanka
16 Nderitu, Patrick GitongaKenya
17 Grant, JeffNew Zealand
18 Sapong, KwakuGhana
19 Holgate, JohnAustralia
20 Fisher, AndrewUnited Kingdom
21 Spate, CliveUnited Kingdom
22 Nyman, MarkEngland
23 Violett, BobUnited Kingdom
24 Schonbrun, LesterUnited States
25 Sigley, MichaelNew Zealand
26 Kane, AlistairAustralia
27 Wapnick, JoelCanada
28 Pratesi, DianeUnited Kingdom
29 Filio, RolandPhilippines
30 Donkoh, GeorgeGhana
31 Brown, ChristineÉire
32 Harridge, BarryAustralia
33 Appleby, PhilEngland
34 Butler, LynneNew Zealand
35 Lawrie, GlenysAustralia
36 Felt, RobertUnited States
37 Filio, CandidoPhilippines
38 Rowe, DennisEuropean Community
39 Saldanha, NorbertUnited Arab Emirates
40 Saldanha, AllanUnited Kingdom
41 Sim, TonySingapore
42 Berger, AverilSouth Africa
43 Thobani, ShafiqueKenya
44 Ismal, MuhammedMalaysia
45 Cleary, Paul StephenAustralia
46 Thompson, MartinUnited Kingdom
47 Levine, EliSouth Africa
48 Nakai, KenJapan

References