This past weekend I competed in what was billed as the largest Scrabble tournament of the decade. It was also the biggest Scrabble tournament I’m aware of that’s ever been held online (92 entrants from 11 countries), as online play only really took off since COVID.
Despite a very competitive field, I managed to go 11-2 +1311 to win the top NWL division of 36 players! I am beyond excited about this result. It’s my first two-day tournament win, and I managed to clinch victory with one round remaining.
This was a big turnaround from my first Scrabble tournament of the year in which I went 0-5 -775, finishing in last place in the top division.
This dichotomy is Scrabble in a nutshell. One day you draw good tiles and win, the next you draw poorly and lose. It’s important to stay focused on improvement over the long term as any individual tournament can be biased by the sample size.
Next up I will compete for Canada in the Can-Am tournament. Will be an honour to represent my country for the first time, win or lose. I will try and focus on remaining calm and making good decisions and letting the tiles fall where they may.
Jared Cappel 